Jennifer Planas Pastrano is 19 years old who quit for one semester from her Hotel and Restaurant Management course, because she wanted to dwell on her passion. When she registered for the three-month practical study in fine arts at the Academy of Art of the Regional Training Center (RTC) at TESDA Region 7, Cebu City, she brought out several works to show the art instructor what art truly meant to her.
The proud parents, Joselito Pastrano and wife Victoria have given all-out support to their daughter. Jenny has a lavish supply of high quality art materials. There were times she shared her art materials with her poor classmates.
Her interest is varied, from still-life to landscape, birds and flowers. Jenny is a versatile artist and can render her art in any media. She does magic through her very naïve works.
Both born in the month of December, artists John Jerson Constantino Pasigna and Mark Willy Booc Lizaran venture on landscape painting as beginners and wish to be discovered through their works.
Mark, a resident of Buhisan, Cebu City essayed to capture a scene from their locality. A sea of home-grown flowers and bridge across the mountains is a panorama of local colors. John is opposite to Mark, as he is captivated by foreign scenes. Beauty from outside local nature challenge him to discover and learn on how to daub lines, strokes and colors of the scenery from other continents of the world.
Two of the budding artists of RTC of TESDA Region 7 are smelling of blood, as if they are sort of Dracula thirsting for human blood. And this human blood they sought is from our Lord God Jesus Christ.
Artists Felbert Macanim Garces and Arven May Venturina Arriesgado depicted a Jesus Christ in a bloody mess on their canvas. Arven, in his art interpretation, has Jesus nailed not upon his palm, but right on his pulse with a big gory nails. So hyperbolic in presentation! While Jesus is bathed with blood all over his face and body, Felbert made a point that the Jesus was not nailed with His hands but the muscle flexes of His arms were hang-tied upon the cross. Yet Jesus was calm and somewhat staring us. What indeed an unfathomable subject they have come up with!
A young man from San Fernando, Cebu, and presently working at MEPZA, Lapulapu City on shifting schedule, still finds time to study fine arts at the RTC, TESDA for three months.
Today, Arnel Largo Aranas is ready to mount his first art pieces for the RTC art exhibit. There are a new breed in this generation who will follow the footsteps of those so-called masters in visual arts. RTC 7 Academy of Art discovered another gifted person whose works are comparable to the watercolor styles of Kimsoy Yap, Tony Alcoseba and other known local watercolorists.
But closest to his method and styles are works of the known butterfly artist, the late Professor Julian Jumalon. His works are more lucid and symmetrical in colors. It is not daubing, well-put in tone arrangement, not impasto in stroke and line.
Aranas is also versatile in oil painting, and his works will be showcased in the exhibit. One can admit that his works are natural in color blending and composition, as shown in his landscapes, farmers in harvest time and ripe grapes in detailed foliage, in harmony with light green color.
These artists are featured in today’s exhibit at the Metropolitan Cathedral Museum of Cebu, 2p.m.