Stars of Baldemor

Even all the colors of the season begin in black and white for artist Manny Baldemor, who is holding his 116th one-man exhibit simultaneously at the Megamall and Glorietta, entitled "Stars of Good Blessings".

The exhibit of 20 to 30 works mostly in acrylic runs until December 9, with the common theme of Christmas and its quaintly Pinoy celebrations, from the parol to the simbang gabi and other similar manifestations as depicted in Baldemor’s best-selling UNICEF cards, which organization is sponsoring the event.

Latest audit reports says his UNICEF cards are certified best-sellers that easily break the "boundary," and so benefit more children in more countries which could very well be without borders.

"Nung araw, nakapagdo-drawing lang ako sa gabi, dahil sa araw nagtatrabaho ako (In the old days, I was only able to draw at nighttime, because I worked during the day)," says the 54-year-old Paete native, now Pasig-based. Only when martial law was declared and Graphic magazine, where he worked as illustrator, closed down was he able to concentrate full-time on painting, and discover the endless color combinations in the light of day.

His first drawings were in black and white, pen and ink, done after hours. But these days he cannot paint at night, which is perhaps a paradox: everyone knows that all the true colors of the season come out at night.

It takes four years’ processing before a particular art work gets the go-signal to be used in the UNICEF card; there have been around 15 Baldemor works thus far chosen since 1986, or an average of one a year. Some of these originals will be displayed at the twin exhibits, but won’t be for sale because they belong either to the artist or to a gallery or collector.

There are several other Filipino artists whose works have also been selected to grace the festive greeting card, the sale of which goes to the fund to help the world’s malnourished, underprivileged and generally impoverished children. Malang, Tadena, Alikdan, Amorsolo have also had their works on the card that says "Feliz Navidad!" among other heartfelt yuletide expressions in a variety of languages.

The UNICEF office in Manila has a representative who does the rounds of galleries throughout the year, scouting for possible reproductions to be used for the greeting card.

The actual work itself is never sent to the head office in New York, just slides of it. After a tedious process and the work is finally chosen, the concerned artist and/or gallery is informed that the piece will be gracing a UNICEF card.

Baldemor in fact has a mural entitled "Pasasalamat" displayed in the lobby of the UNICEF building in Vienna, Austria. It is a mixed media work, for which he brought 50 kilos of lahar sand to Vienna, by train from Frankfurt, as part of the finishing material. The 5 x 12 feet painting was unveiled in 1998, and then President Fidel Ramos was there for the ceremony.

Sculpture also takes up much of his time. "It is spatial, and you also have to consider where it is going to be placed," Baldemor says.

He has used mango as well as Antipolo wood, and after storms and typhoons he usually receives calls from friends, such as Neil Cruz, who ring up.

"Sila na mismo ang unang tumatawag kung mayroong kahoy na nahulog sa bakuran nila (They call to tell me if there are fallen trees in their yard)," he says.

Working with wood is his exercise, since one has to be "physically fit" in order to handle the medium. He also has a few hundred woodcuts.

And though he may be partial to acrylic, oil too is "very relaxing" to work with.

Baldemor, though, claims that through the years he has made more friends with writers than with his fellow artists.

"Ang writer kasi, puwede mong awayin isang araw, kinabukasan kakausapin ka pa rin," he says (Even if you quarrel with a writer one day, he’ll still talk to you the next day).

He is in fact a member of umpil, the writer’s union, and has donated wooden sculpture trophies to winners of the organization’s annual Gawad Balagtas awards.

His friendship with writers has made him take up the craft himself, and contributes occasionally to this paper’s lifestyle section.

"It takes me two days to finish an article. Because I research, I read books ... napalaki tuloy and library ko (my library grew as a result)," he says.

Aside from UNICEF cards, his works have also graced the tissue box of Kimberly products, which contracted the use of his work through UNICEF.

Among his future projects is a compilation of his own travel notes and sketches, a scrapbook if you will.

"The shortest I’ve stayed in one place is one month. I’ve stayed everywhere from a five-star hotel to a no-star hotel," Baldemor says, adding that he in turn imbibes much of the local culture in the place where he’s staying.

But Paete, and the folk and native rituals, remain the lifeblood of his work. As a boy growing up in the province, Baldemor idolized Francisco Coching and dreamed of one day illustrating comics like him.

Now, with his 116th one-man show, the good blessings, not to mention the rich colors of the season, continue to rain down on Baldemor. And to think that it all began in black and white, in a humble town in Laguna famous for its wood carvers.