IMMORTALIZING SHOWBIZ PERSONALITIES ON CANVASS

MANILA, December 9, 2005 (STAR) STARBYTES By Butch Francisco - Considering that practically everyone now has a camera (in their cell phones and the real one), it’s puzzling that there are some people who still sit for artists for portraits. "That’s because it’s art," reasons out book publisher/art patron Marlene Aguilar-Pollard.

Those who want to have their portraits done, however, should carefully choose the artist who will immortalize them on canvas. A generation or so from now, your portrait may become a valuable work of art if the artist of your choice becomes a major one – a national artist, if you really get lucky.

One young artist whose talent Ms. Pollard swears by and is fast-becoming popular among showbiz folk when it comes to portraiture is Demetrio "Dems" de la Cruz.

A Fine Arts graduate of the Far Eastern University, Dems recently participated in the prestigious Philip Morris nationwide art competition and ended up in the Top 30.

An impressionist/romanticist, Demetrio, whose medium is watercolor, started drawing at the age of four – when he would have the chance to grab a pencil from his mother’s hand.

Today, he now has celebrity clients in show business that include Chin-Chin Gutierrez, Freddie Aguilar and Bessie Badilla.

Bessie, according to him, is "a very cooperative subject." She sat down for him, for two hours and kept still all throughout – with nary a complaint.

Demetrio usually spends a couple of hours with the subject, which gives him the time to put down on canvas the person’s face and the proportion of his/her body. When he gets to his studio in Novaliches, he begins putting on the details.

A portrait, he claims, should not be photo-like. He also believes that the subject’s character should come out.

One of his favorite works is that of Chin-Chin Gutierrez –although he admits having been intimidated by the award-winning actress in the beginning of the session "because she was very quiet." Chin-Chin, however, was more than satisfied with the outcome –especially after Demetrio added an environmental touch to it.

Demetrio was also responsible for the cover album of Freddie Aguilar’s latest collection of songs, The Best of Freddie Aguilar Live! He says that Ka Freddie’s most striking features are his eyes. "You see the sincerity in them," says the young artist. Demetrio admits, however, that he enhanced the portrait a bit by putting movement in the legendary singer’s long hair.

One showbiz personality he wants to put on canvas is grand-slam queen Lorna Tolentino. He admits being fascinated with the progressive changes in the actress’ character and personality. "If you go over her pictures in old magazines, you will notice the change in her. Now that she is already mother to two grown-up boys, she looks even more interesting," points out Demetrio. "She comes out as simpleng elegante. Very classy."

Lorna Tolentino, he says, is one of those people who are easy to capture on portrait. According to him, there are subjects whose faces are difficult to paint on canvas. No, these hard-to-paint-people are not necessarily bad-looking — not at all. In fact, when I went over his list of the showbiz personalities who are difficult to put on portrait, some are among the most beautiful in the country today.

But first, let us check his list of movie celebrities who are easy to paint on canvas:

Nora Aunor – The easiest to put on portrait because of the mole on her face.

Dolphy – Easy to capture on canvas because of the very Oriental eyes and his prominent nose.

Rudy Fernandez – His famous moustache makes it easy for any artist to paint his portrait.

Richard Gutierrez – Has sharp mestizo features that are easily translated on canvas. But then, there’s also the possibility of confusing him with identical twin Raymond.

Joey de Leon – The prominent forehead and round face will help any portraitist immortalize him on canvas.

Vic Sotto – With this very talented host-comedian, all you have to do is draw a long face and you can easily add the details to his portrait.

Ai-Ai de las Alas – She is also easy to put on canvas because of the elongated face that you easily associate with her.

KC Concepcion – Very easy to work on because of her well-chiseled features.

In contrast, there are prominent showbiz personalities who – in spite of the fact that they are the best-looking in the land – are difficult to put on canvas. Here they are:

Cristina Gonzalez – She is one very mestiza person blessed with soft features that unfortunately (for the portraitists) are difficult to transfer on canvas.

Toni Rose Gayda – Always on the list of one of the most beautiful faces (one of the best-looking Camay Girls), the popular host is difficult to put on portrait because she looks different when she’s in a pensive mood as compared to the expression of her face when she is happy and smiling. She is one subject an artist cannot paint from memory. She really has to sit with the artist and what will come out is her mood for the moment.

Ali Sotto – A beautiful mixture of Oriental and Occidental blood, Ali, with her nice fair complexion, is rather difficult to capture on canvas because she has no sharp features for the artist to focus on.

Gretchen Barretto – Undeniably one of the loveliest faces in the country, it surprises me to find out from Demetrio de la Cruz that Ms. Barretto is difficult to paint on canvas. The reason he says is that – like some great models – she has this universal look that can sometimes be mistaken for Mexican, Asian and other nationalities.

UP Madrigals sing for Pinoys in SF The Philippine Star 12/10/2005

The award-winning UP Madrigal Chorale or "the Madz" brought Christmas joy to Filipino-Americans in the San Francisco Bay area with their amazing repertoire of Filipino songs last week.

The Philippine consulate general in San Francisco reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday the success of the event which was held at the Philippine Center Social Hall on Dec. 1.

"The music lovers in the audience couldn’t help but cheer song after song," Consul General Maria Rowena Mendoza Sanchez said.

"The UP Madrigals have been showing the world what we Filipinos already know, and that is the Filipino is among the best when it comes to singing."

The Chorale was in the United States to perform a series of concerts.

"The UP Madrigals are one of the many chorales that act as our ambassadors of culture and goodwill, " Sanchez said.