Painter learns from pa, makes a living off art
Arnel Salvacion (left) entertain guests who showed interest in his paintings during the Pasko Juan bazaar. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
ARNEL Salvacion has made painting his lifelong passion and means of living.
“Na-engganyo ko kay kita ko nga mahalin jud ang mga painting (I was encouraged because I saw that the paintings really sold well),” he said during the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD 7) “PaskoJuan” bazaar held recently.
Salvacion, 46, is one of the agency’s beneficiaries under the Sustainable Living Program (SLP). Salvacion started painting when he was just 16.
His father, who used to be a painter and a sculptor in Basak, Pardo, trained him.
With few materials, the young Salvacion developed his art and hasn’t stopped since.
He started to sell his artworks when he was 22. Going from household to household on the streets of Balamban, he would knock on doors, showing his artworks to the residents and hoping for the best.
Over 20 years ago, his paintings sold for P500 apiece. Now, they sell for as much as P1,500 each.
“This is what I do for a living. I am focused on painting,” Salvacion said in Cebuano.
Asked what his inspiration is, he said it is all for his family.
A father of six, Salvacion said he has been hard-pressed to send his children to school. One of his children is also a beneficiary of DSWD for its sustainable living program, he said.
To save on materials, Salvacion prepares his own canvass.
“This is cheaper than buying ready-made canvasses from stores,” he said. He buys his own cloth and wooden frames.
Because the cloth is thin and this wastes a lot of the oil paint, which can be quite expensive, he also layers a base coat on the cloth to make the oil paint adhere better.
Painting only begins after the base coats are completely dry. It takes several days for Salvacion to complete his works, from canvass preparation down to painting and framing the artworks.
Not one to keep his knowledge to himself, he also conducts painting classes during the summer. He has conducted three summer trainings at the Balamban municipal hall since 2012.
“I also accept bulk orders and commissions,” he said. Interested buyers can visit his Facebook page at https://m.facebook.com/pages/Arnel-Salvacion/122375961240071.
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