Artwalk Cebu was successfully launched last April 27 outside the Rizal Memorial Library and Museum.
Mother Nature was kind to the artists: The rain was held up in the clouds just for the day. Sunday had perfect weather to us… no rain, not too much sunshine.
Armed with determination to write our own history, we came with our artworks for display and sketchpads to draw and paint what we saw.
For the record, the first model for the artists to sketch was Jemelyn Go, a pretty young nursing student. The first artist to make a sale of his art was Cesar Castillo, a dedicated disciple of Jose “Kimsoy” Yap Jr., a master watercolorist and excellent portrait artist. Castillo’s calachuchi flowers found the first collector of the Artwalk Cebu launching in Dolores Chan.
Jap and Joy Punsalan were the first young married couple to commission chairman Celso Pepito for a joint portrait sketch on the spot. Garry Watin and John Dinglasa joined the session with the rest of the senior artists.
Jun Alfon, who happened to be in the right place at the right time, was welcomed as a new member of the group. A name not new to us, Jun is a Cebuano artist based in Manila. The Taiwan based Cebuana-Chinese artist, Yumin Tseng is the first member from outside our country.
Benji “Goya” Goyha used his zoom lens to record the highlights of the day. Vice-Chairman Jobril Villaver, together with this writer, were the earliest birds to prepare the area for the day’s activities.
Jose Marie “Van Gogh” Picornell came with an easel, a canvas and a paintbox. A real pro, he proceeded to dab his oil paint unto his canvas.
“Reminds us of the streets of Paris, where artists enjoyed their time painting, while artworks are being enjoyed by the people,” quipped a young lady who parked her car by the side of the road to enjoy the atmosphere.
Ritchie Quijano, the secretary, brought to the site his beautiful paintings and his pretty young wife. Luther Galicano saved himself from extinction as he struggled to come after his art session with students at the Cebu Art Academy. Thumbs up for his effort.
The artists met new friends as the day wore on. Some wished that the activities initiated by the Artwalk Cebu artists would be made regular on weekends.
Truly, that is our aim. But with the numerous invitations that our group received, it is difficult at the moment to fix our skeds. We will have two major formal exhibits for this year and town sojourns to record the natural sites that abound our island. Let us walk with art in our hearts… that is the essence of Artwalk.