The Story Behind A Painting

Way back in 2008 when I went home to the Philippines, a colleague from work told me that one of her hobbies when she travels is to buy an artwork from the places she visited, specifically a watercolor painting. I had promised her to buy one from the Philippines. When I was getting ready for my return trip back to the USA, I was looking for a good watercolor painting for her. To my frustration I could not find one, mostly on sale were oil on canvas artworks. A friend of mine from Cebu helped me find a contact person to an artist who can do watercolor paintings but unfortunately there was no stock ready for sale. My contact person told me that the artist was working on a watercolor painting that he could offer for sale and I immediately placed my reservation for it. The artwork was ready and finished after two days of waiting and to my surprise, it cost even more than an oil painting much bigger than its size. When I looked at the finished work, I immediately fell in love with it. It depicts women fish vendors in a typical Philippine market setting. I paid for the artwork and decided to have it for myself not only because it cost more than I expected but I really fell in love with it. Since there was no more time to look for another watercolor painting as a gift to my friend, I decided to buy a small oil painting for her instead. Fortunately I was able to buy small framed oil on canvas set on a small easel. It depicts a bunch of guys carrying a house on their backs, the most common picture that represents one of the best Filipino traits of bayanihan spirit. There was a small description about the painting written on the back and that would help non-Filipinos understand what the artist wanted to convey. Fortunately my friend loved it when I gave it to her and she said that it already had a place on her coffee table.

This happened for quite some time now and the framed "Fish Vendors" is still hanging on the wall of our living room. Every time visitors would ask where I got that watercolor painting, I would always tell them this story. Some would say I was bad of not completing my promise to my friend but mostly would say that it was good that I decided to keep it for myself. I could not decipher the artist's signature on the artwork but I promised myself that the next time I will be in the Philippines, I would try to get the identitiy of the artist.