Edwin Wilwayco: An artist looks back

Between critiquing his artworks and analyzing Edwin Wilwayco, the US-based artist whose works are currently on exhibit at the Galerie Roberto, Molito Mall, G/F Ayala Alabang Town Center, until this coming Wednesday, 27 February, and whose other new works will also be on display, this time at the Crucible Gallery at SM Megamall from 26 March to 9 April, I found a third choice.

Today he travels back and forth between the Philippines and the United States, and because he is such a simple guy, the shift from one environment to another, it is obvious, is easy for him

A BEAUTIFUL home for a successful artist. Not only it is easier because I am leaving it to the artist to tell his story with a little guidance from me, it also allows him freedom of expression. If there’s anyone who can talk best about his life, that would be the artist. And it is by knowing him, as he shares his life story, that we get a better understanding of the creator and person that he is.

If you must know how I feel about his works, though, I only have one thing to say. They are beautiful. Beautiful is something that pleases my eye, and that is as far as I should go. But the art admirer in me wants to add his colors and strokes have touched my heart.

But then, Edwin is one artist who is easy to like. He is not only articulate, he is also very frank. There are no layers that need to be discovered or peeled off one after the other. The person you are face to face with is the same artist, the same husband and father, and yes, the same advertising executive who made a go of his corporate career.

Today, he travels back and forth between the Philippines and the United States, and because he is such a simple guy, the shift from one environment to another, it is obvious, is easy for him. For starters, his home in BF Homes is stunning, and in one corner of this property, two lots actually, is his studio, a heaven unto its own where the artist creates his wonderful works. His home is replete with his own artworks, a showcase and a gallery that is obviously also a workshop. In the Philippines at that time were his wife and daughter, and during my visit, they were in Makati for consultation with their beauty and health services providers.

“IN UP, the tuition fee was P84 per semester. I found my school.” Edwin has several cars, including a Volkswagen that looks very modern and sleek. Yes, he is of that era when young men dreamt of owning a Beetle. Now, he owns the latest model plus a number of cars, showing that this artist has indeed arrived even if he still works very hard at his art. That’s probably why he made it — because he has not stopped making it, if I may play with words. But at the same time, I could not help remembering his story about not being active in the art scene in his younger days because right at the start of an art exhibition or a party, “One had to cozy up to others who had cars because chances are from the party, they were going to another party or a drinking place. I decided to just stay at home and paint.”

Here’s sharing with you Edwin’s early years, as he himself told us about them. But let’s not end there. He has so much to share because he has achieved much. He deserves to be proud, but he’s not the boastful kind of guy. He tells his story the way it happened, and we’re impressed because he made good use of his gifts. He inspires us, and his life story tells us this guy has a lot more to give in the coming years.

Daily Tribune (DT): Where are the Wilwaycos from?

Edwin Wilwayco (EW): The several Wilwayco branches came from China, Nueva Ecija and, I think, Surigao. My father’s branch is the one from Nueva Ecija, in Guimba town. My father’s name was Nicodemus. My mother, named Josefina, is from Paoay, Ilocos Norte.

DT: Did you inherit your talent from your father?

EW: He could draw cartoons, like a tinman. One time, he showed me a figure and said, “You can do this too.” So, I drew and copied his drawing. Since he could draw fast, I showed him that I could draw as fast, too. So that’s how he discovered that I had this gift.

When I was in Grade 1, my teacher went to see my father and mother to tell them to tell me to stop drawing on any piece of paper that I took hold of, including notebooks and books. What happened was after I had answered the questions in a quiz, I would get bored so I would end up drawing on the sides of the paper, so they appeared untidy and the teacher, of course, didn’t like that.

Finally, the teacher had no choice but to make me draw the illustrations for the day’s lessons on the blackboard. “Edwin, can you draw this tree, or this dog, or this fruit?” I would, of course, do it. I loved drawing on the blackboard.

HE proposed to Loby after his first one-man show. DT: Did you ever participate in an exhibit?

EW: I was in Grade 5 when my father called the town photographer to take my picture with my drawings at the back. So technically that was my first one-man show. I had about 12 drawings in our sari-sari store. They were the décor on the wall and customers who came to eat could see them.

DT: So, what inspired you to finish all those drawings?

EW: My father would always buy me secondhand imported comics from Claro M. Recto. These were by Hans Christian Andersen. So I drew fairy tale characters like Snow White, the Three Little Pigs and so on.

DT: How did you finally take up Fine Arts?

EW: I think my father asked his sister-in-law who studied in UP (University of the Philippines). The first suggestion was for him to bring me to UST (University of Santo Tomas). So, when I saw the studio, the paintings, the sculptures and all, I told myself, “This life is for me.” But when we went to the Dean’s office, we were told the tuition fee was P1,000 per semester and my father could not afford it. So, that was when my aunt told him to bring me to UP. I passed the test and the tuition fee was P84 per semester. I found my school.

EW: No, there was a compromise. My father asked me, “Why don’t you major in advertising instead? So, you will have a job.” So, I majored in advertising but in my second year, I discovered I could take additional subjects in painting. I had top professors like Dean Jose Joya, Constancio Bernardo and Virginia Agbayani.

EW: In 1972. I finished Advertising but I also took nine subjects in advanced painting. I received the Pitoy Moreno Scholarship in Design first. And then in my fourth year, I also received the Celia Diaz Laurel grant. The college secretary had me called. They took care of the tuition fee, but it was the prestige that counted a lot. It was a source of honor.

DT: So, after college, you ended up working in an advertising firm?

EW: Yes, I worked for Philippine Advertising Counselors. It was owned by Antonio Cumagun. I worked there for 33 years. I worked with Bettina Olmedo. I would always see Onib picking her up. I also worked with Romulo Olazo, who became my boss. When he retired, I got his position as the executive art director.

EW: In 1976. My advantage was even when I was still working, I was already painting, unlike my associates who always used their agency work as an excuse for not painting until their retirement. Of course, overtime was unavoidable. I had to have an extra hour for painting until it became two hours.

“I HAVE always been a risk taker.” DT: How many one-man shows have you had?

DT: How long did it take for you to produce a one-man show?

EW: When I was still working, about eight months. I would paint on and off. Sometimes I could produce 40, sometimes 30 or 20 paintings.

EW: When my wife and I were blessed with a daughter, my typical day always started with talking to her first before I would go to my studio. Then, I would stay there until two in the morning. My wife would text me and then I’d go to sleep. By six my wife and I were both awake to prepare for office because we were both working then. Her name is Loby. I met her in the ad agency. She was there ahead of me. She was the secretary for marketing. She became my girlfriend for five years. My future mother-in-law and future sisters-in-law attended the opening night of my first one-man show. My friends and co-workers were kidding me, “Edwin, you can marry already.” That’s because I sold my paintings. Only three or four were left. This was in 1976, so in a few months, I proposed to her.

DT: What were your succeeding exhibits about?

EW: I was never tempted to repeat a show. I have always been a risk-taker. So, I next did a flag series. I told myself I would be the first Filipino to do a flag series. An American, Jasper Johns, had his series but the flag was flat. I observed flags as they flew in Luneta or in celebrations in town plazas. At a young age, I was featured in Daily Express.

EW: No, only one painting. I had self-doubt. They said I was too ahead of my time. For a year, I didn’t paint.

EW: One time, at the old Makati Commercial Center. I bumped into my old professor, Dr. Rod Paras Perez. So he invited me, he treated me at the Dulcinea beside the old Rizal Theater. “So what have you been doing lately? He found out for some reason that I was not painting anymore. He gave me a lecture and I got teary-eyed. He said that the painting life was not run that way. He suggested that I apply for a British Council Grant and that was when I was given a grant. For six months, I was at the West Surrey College of Arts and Design in the United Kingdom. The British professor advised me. He said that when I get back to Manila, I should think of a subject that’s very Filipino.

EW: I exhibited at the Hidalgo Gallery at the Goldcrest. It was owned by the late Mrs. Alvin Padua. I exhibited the paintings I did in Surrey. At that time I was doing hangers, ropes, chairs and cathedrals, all very calligraphic. They sold very well. At the same time, I was playing with an idea. This was the Jeepney Fantasia. That was my third one-man show. At the old Ayala Museum. I exhibited 24 or 27 jeepneys. Big ones, four feet by five feet. They were all bought. This was in 1989. I was 30 years old.

DT: When did you do your “Birds of Paradise”?

EW: It took me three years to prepare it. The exhibition was in 1992.

DT: What inspired you; why birds of paradise?

EW: One Saturday I was painting the tail end of the jeepney. I saw my wife on the vacant lot which became my wife’s garden. I was attracted to the birds of paradise that she was planting. So I did a transition — from jeepney to birds of paradise. That was the start. They were three, all very graphic.

EW: She is here now, but she is based in America. I named her Moma from the Museum of Modern Art. I availed of my parents’ petition for me to go the United States because of Moma.

DT: How often are you in the United States?

EW: Back and forth every year. Twice a year I am here. I nurtured my career here for about 40 years. So I always come back and do a show. I can never thank this country enough.