Gallery of Living Masters

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Evan was picked unanimously in a blind jurying as the Grand Prize winner of our Jose Rizal National Portraiture competition awarded in May 2022 at Nemiranda Gallery. Only 23 yrs old born at Camarines Sur, now based at Caloocan City he bested over 100 entries from midcareer realism artists. A protege of Maestro Rafael Maniago. He started Editorial Cartooning at Fifth Grade, and aleady earned so many awards and accolades throughout his young career as an artist. Definitely to watch out for, a rising star in the genre of contemporary realism.

Born to four generations of artists, Darby won a local competition at a young age. He pursued a course in computer engineering and worked as a renderer graphic designer, before he rejoined his family of artists, further honed by the Living Master Orley Ypon. Twice a grand awardee of the Art Petron Painting competition, he also won the watercolor category of Metrobank Arts and design composition. Darby has been featured in several publications. watch his family legacy to art. See Darby's works: https://youtu.be/yEFOTGaIMjU

Gary is a graduate of Fine Arts from the University of San Carlos, Top Seventh in our Jose Rizal National Portraiture competition. Aside from painting, his other passion is teaching. He eagerly shares his knowledge in the arts as an instructor of Multimedia Arts in Cebu Institute of Technology- University. He is trained in the style of Realism and loves to paint portraits. His aim as a portrait artist is not just to paint any body’s faces, but people he considers as “Winners”.

Winners for him are “everyday folks” like a hardworking and responsible father, loving husband, devoted wife, obedient children or passionate people like athletes, entrepreneurs, innovators and movers of society. The reason why he paints these “winners”, because of their contagious positive attitudes. He wants to be infected with it and be like them as “winners”. Somehow these people are very idealistic in their “approach of life”, very similar to Garry’s approach i

Our Top Ninth out of over a hundred entries in the Jose Rizal National Portraiture competition awarded in May 2022, Cris is the 8th of 12 children from Ronda, Cebu, he worked at Art Crafts Exports British Company at age 14 and was a designer at Bon Ace Fashion Tools. His skills were developed at Aroma Art Atelier where he learned the basics of anatomy, perspective and color theory. He won second place at Cebu Sinulog Foundation painting contest in 2012. Today, he is one of the most sought after realism artist. Meet him in person: https://youtu.be/b-SQGX_D

A native of Kidapawan City, Lucas was engaged in cinema ads for 30 years, until 2005 when technology took over his job. He then focused on painting, inspired by the greatest Filipino realism artists, including our Living Master Orley Ypon. Among many competitions he won, Lucas is a recent finalist in figurative category for the 14th Annual ARC Salon (2019-2020), our Matanglawin Honorable Mention during the 2020 Fourth of July Virtual Exhibit. Meet Lucas: https://youtu.be/vK0iGQw5hTY

 Studied Architecture in the Philippines but eventually loved building pieces of art by form of painting. In a remarkably short period of time, he has emerged as one of Kansas' realist artists. His art translates photographic images into the opposite of what a camera does, he sees degrees of values and hues that the camera and most people can never see. His canvases pulse with the subtle energy of a living thing. Meet Pat: https://youtu.be/G-jEUREoWbk

Rembert topped the blind jurying and emerged as Grand Prize winner  of our First Matanglawin Award for Realism category, on Fourth of July 2020 Exhibit, a very promising virtuoso in the making. Rembert’s biggest advantage as an artist is the support he gets growing up in an encouraging home. Having a mom who likes to draw, a father who supports, and a multi-awarded realist for an uncle, he showed interest in  art as early as five years old. In effect, he cultivated a love for family and a strong dedication towards his craft. The 18-year-old paints portrait and still life, his works speak eloquently of life around him. Meet this young talent: https://youtu.be/HZCWwskXT7A

Jonathan is our Fourth Placer in the Jose Rizal National Portraiture competition awarded in May 2022. He was born in Talisay City, Cebu. Having grown up next to the sea; his love for nature grew tremendously. His fascination for nature draws him to express it in drawing. This interest was cultivated. He took up Graphics and Media in Cebu Institute of Technology University while also attending at Juanito Zafra’s Studio doing Sculptural Works. 

Junevy is our Top Sixth in the Jose Rizal National Portraiture competition awarded in May 2022. He  also won First Prize in the Jose Rizal competition at Cebu in 2021. A sel-taught artist, born in Calubian, Leyte, he calls Rodriguez, Rizal as his home. He is a BS Architecture undergraduate at TIP-QC. He won several competitions as a student incl the Shell National art stude

 At seven, Daniel Yu’s curiosities in art prompted him to practice drawing all through high school. His aspirations to enter Aroma Art Atelier entailed two attempts and it was only on his third --when he further refined his self-taught skills-- that he was finally considered a scholar. Painting in the atelier was a conscious choice the 20-year-old artist made in 2018 without his family’s knowing, all with the exception of his grandfather who has always supported his passions. He's well on his way up, the next gen artist to watch. Daniel assists our videotech. Meet him at our Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/Hx7B7eV-YX0

Renulo was awaded our Matanglawin Honorable Mention at the 2020 Fourth of July Virtual Exhibit, Early awareness of art and painting came by way of his father, who did framing jobs for many local artists. A very promising young man, he trained under Tony and Vidal "Undo" Alcoseba and he actively participated in paintings exhibits in Paris (Cultural Confluence_IV 2011), Malaysia (Art Malaysia Art Tourism Fair 2013, 2014) and also joined Langkawi Art Biennale (LAB 2014) at Malaysia 2014, group exhibit in Kluang Mall, Malaysia, and Aroma Art Atelier group shows. Meet Renulo: https://youtu.be/LcPEH3iBcC4r

Ruel Yu Amistad, a Bachelor of Arts graduate major in Political Science, worked in a BPO company until he lost his job, and fell back to his original love, nature and arts. It was not until 2018 after visiting his cousin’s studio at Aroma Art Atelier in Toledo that fueled back his interest in visual art. With the help of his cousin's studio, he dedicated his time to nurture himself and learn the field of representational classical art, proof that you can be anyone you want to be if you put your mind and heart to it. Ruel assists in the artists' presentation. Meet Ruel: https://youtu.be/8HENf-W3EvY

One of the most versatile artists hail from a fishing village of Bohol, Philippines, graduated with Fine Arts major in Advertising, the “Stripewalker“ braved continents through his performing arts, paintings and sculptures. His endless imagination injected with humor and passion for innovation is unequalled. His series “multitext” found its home at Shangrila Hotel BGC. Sam is the Grand winner of Don Papa Rum at the Art Fair Philippines 2020. Nor surprisingly, he grabbed the blind jurying of our First Matanglawin Awards for Modern Arts in the 2020 Fourth of July Virtual Exhibit. Meet Sam: https://youtu.be/Q6ZJPnp0R4Q

An Iliganon-Cebuano artist, Jean "Govinda" Marquesto is a self-taught visual and theatre artist-musician. As a biology graduate, he is captivated by wild life and the Philippine culture, and uses them as recurring themes. He is also influenced by Dadaism, cubism figurative abstraction. Finalist in the 2018 International artist competition in Taipei, Taiwan.Honorable mention at the Mother May 2020 juried virtual art exhibit by Art Works Inc. at Richmond,VA. Meet Govinda Jean: https://youtu.be/EcU9bxfbLDM  

An art instructor for children, Carl assisted our Mangyan Art Reach 2020 at Puerto Galera, a protege of our adviser Otto Neri, based at Antipolo, he was twice a finalist at 43rd and 44th Shell National Art Competition, 4th placer at Avida 3D Art Competition, qualifying partiicpant at GSIS, Metrobank and Art Petron national level competitions. Meet Carlmel: https://youtu.be/aEiALDqE-4U

Ramel Castillo is a graduate of Advertising and Public relation in Polytechnic University of the Philippines. He continuously participates in local group shows since 2013  and work as freelance photographer, graphic artist, and a painter. His art focuses on ape which, for him, symbolizes common people in the society. He executes his ideas with apes as main subject. Most of his painting reflects the daily lives of the Filipinos. Ramel is a volunteer art instructor at our Mangyan Art Reach 2020. Meet Ramel: https://youtu.be/Js0z25ojBiY

Starting from his humble beginning as an industrial welder doing iron works, Marlon’s flare for action figures led him to his creative figurative art using metal . He brought to life heroes of the past such as revolutionary war and combat figures. Lately, he started incorporating electrical lighting for his bigger than life robots, a rare talent worthy of recognition.

Helen Dimaya took up Fine Arts, major in Advertising at the University of the East. She also studied at the Philippine School of Interior Design (PSID) and opened an interior design firm that specializes in furniture. In the U.S., she did restoration work on old buildings and interior-designed private homes. Helen’s passion for outdoor painting bore fruit when she won in the En Plein Air Easton Quick Draw in 2015, a competition sponsored by the Chesapeake Art Gallery in Maryland and the Avalon Foundation.

Joel R. Francisco, graduated in Fine Arts at Far Eastern University and worked for several years as a designer for Bench Philippines. Design graphics for Morning Star NY, 2009 and member of Society of Philippine American Artist, 2019 and had group exhibitions around NYC. He is also a performing artist who manages a band. Joel actively volunteers to EEC charitable causes at NYC.