Mr. Joey Velasco's Conference

“Sigurado akong Pilipino yung artist.”

“Oo naman ah? Bakit nasabi mo yun?”

“Dahil late siya. Di ba ganyan ang Pilipino? Laging late?”

“LOL…”

—interaction between my friend Martin and I.

Mr. Joey Velasco’s portrait of himself in “Palete de Sangre” (details)

Hahahaha, I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen but it’s not over. Nope. My last post was about Joey Velasco’s paintings. So this one’s kinda related. Nah, don’t worry it ain’t so reflective here. And not so much on his artistry. So I won’t get you zoned out much. But I really must say this was a very odd turn of events…

It was Friday and the time was 2 o’ clock. IntEcom was the next subject (again. After all my M-W-F sched is almost the same) but this time I wasn’t worried on being late. Heck, I had already planned to…cut class! Oh no, Mr. Leon is starting to be a rebel (wow, ngayon lang? Tsk. Dapat ginawa ko nalang sa high school, para mas exciting. Haha, lol. ‘Oy di ko yun ina-advise ha?). But nah, that’s just a pitiful way of being a bad boy. If that were the case I’d be just like the Powerpuff Girls’ Amoeba Boys, who thought of committing the “greatest crime” by…standing on the grass, which had the sign “Keep Off the Grass.” Wow, let’s applaud their genius.

Anyway, anyway, I already decided that passed Wednesday I would go skip IntEcom; I even announced it to the teacher. Why? Well, for two simple reasons: One: IntEcom was not really a concern of mine. Plus it would have the usual routine…of reporters reporting the same repeated reports (tongue twister!). Boring and hellish. And two: The Conference’s theme is not a usual thought. For years, especially the recent days, I’ve been wondering how exactly I can be a good servant of Christ in my animation and art (you might’ve noticed now that I’m kind of religious. Don’t worry, I’m not a zealot or fanatic who’d scream “The End is nigh! Reeepeent, sinner!” or anything like that).

De La Salle-College of St. Benilde is one of those colleges that are obsessed over punctuality. A few absences or lates, you’ll die. It’s funny, you know. It was already 2:40 and nobody showed up yet. What hypocrites. My friend was witty enough to say that Mr. Joey was pretty late because he was Pinoy. Lol. Plus he was an artist and the man of the hour so he should be fashionably late or “artistically late” as quoted from Martin.

Eventually, Mr. Joey Velasco came. He was a rounded, chubby slightly dark-skinned man with short hair and slightly beady eyes. He wore a simple plain yellow polo and black slacks for the conference. Upon scanning him from head to toe, I was really surprised to see him. I had the impression of him having that intellectual aura, whose eyes, nose and chin, knew only the ceiling, the stereotype pose I thought of for an artist, writer (for he was both), and other related poets. Instead, I saw him as a simple guy, the practical Filipino who also didn’t like formalities. Wow! So humble.

Yup, that’s him. Couldn’t get a closer shot, tsk.

The conference began with a song and prayer. For a second, I thought we were gonna have Mass. Then finally the man of the hour came up. “Pwede bang umalis sa podium?” he asked. He then moved out from the podium and went to the center of the stage. “Ay salamat. Masyadong pormal kasi dun.” And then he began to talk. He claimed he was not a good speaker but, for me, he was pretty good in speaking his mind. His speech was not as impressive as any of those fancy dead guys like President Abe, but hey as I always say, simplicity is the best policy.

He talked of his life: his desire for business as a child, his business when he was a child, his collaterals with his girlfriend (he said that his girlfriend always asked for some money. In turn, he took something from her as collateral. How romantic. When they broke up, she paid her debt to him costing her around 5000 or more I think. Now that’s better than romantic.), his Course in Law, his drop-out from the course because he felt called to be like his father as a carpenter (impressively, his father was able to buy him a car and other great things from the humble job), his joyful family life…and soon the diagnosis of his illness (although the true illness was later found out and operated on, it did not end the next event), his sudden depression…and darkness…to the point where he even isolated himself from the world and his family. Soon, he begged the Lord to drop a rope into his dark well so he could climb out of it; even if the rope was made thorns or glass he would do so, he said. But, according to him, instead of a rope, He reached out with a paintbrush. And from then on, he began to paint for fun, for desperation…

Dude, that is just deep…and you know it. But I wonder, where did he get his knowledge in art? I mean I know it didn’t explode suddenly like a World War II bomb underneath the earth that unexpectedly goes boom. His style was realism, something like that of Juan Luna and Félix Resurrección Hidalgo. That’s pretty difficult. So how did he get that? ‘Coz he never told us any of his art past times when he was a kid. Well, anyway, he also taught us three simple basic rules in painting (and I was expecting some technical nose-bleeding words). But listen, they weren’t only literal but also reflective like those in a parable.

1. Mix the colors of your palette. Sabi daw niya, maghalo-halo ka ng mga pintura hanggang makuha mo ang tamang kulay. But I didn’t get the reflection behind it. Maybe it was: keep mixing the challenges of your life. Experiment with all that life’s got to offer. Learn as many skills as possible as you can so that you’ll know exactly where you fit. (I believe some of us can fit in two areas or more of life at the same time). Gets? Hmm…I don’t know really. Mr. Joey Velasco was a business kid, then supposedly a lawyer, then became a carpenter, then recently a painter. He says this could be just phase and the next thing you know—poof!—he’s somebody else. Hmm…for me, that’s what he meant by mixing colors.

2. Find the light. “If you know where the light is, the rest will follow” he said. True, kung nakuha mo na kung saan nanggaling yung liwanag, malalaman mo na kung saan dapat may bright colors o dark colors. Gradual darkening and all. But what’s the reflection? Any ideas? Yup, you guessed it: he’s talking about Jesus, Light of the World. If you find God, if you find Jesus, the rest of your “colors”, your life will follow. You will see the painting of your life. Naks, ang galing naman nun…

3. Position the shadow. Of course, when there’s light, there’s gonna be darkness on the other side. He prefers to paint the shadows behind the characters; never at the front. I believe it’s not a golden rule but just his style of doing things. What’s the lesson? Accordingly, he said something like “Whatever your accomplishments, they’ll be behind you.” Like a tail, a feather in one’s cap. A sign of your greatness that goes with you wherever you go. Hmm, and I guess it means also humility. For if one were to turn his back to look at his shadow, you will stumble and fall since you will lose sight in the darkness. So one should always look to the Light, so you will never fall and keep going and you will see how great He is compared to your shadow. Like when Peter was walking on the lake to Jesus, who was also in the lake, during a storm. He was doing fine until he looked back. Bad move, dude. He began to sink until Jesus pulled him up. Hmm…another way to view the 3^rd rule is, whatever your pains and sufferings, it’s just a shadow or will be a shadow. It’s all behind you now. And so just keep moving forward! (Hello, Disney’s Robinsons.) Keep looking to the light, and just remember the joy you’ll get once you’ve reached the light. So walk as children of light. (Hello, my Divine Light Academy, my elementary school. Miss na kita! ^-^)

After that, he showed us a video discussing the lives of each “apostle” in his Hapag ng Pag-Asa painting, a video which I watched previously in the exhibit (It was always replaying there). It’s a very touching, disturbing documentary about Filipino poverty and suffering. Just check it at YouTube.

A few questions here and there, and then off we left…he stayed for photos and autographs…a celebrity…

By the way, guys, there was one sad fact I learned during the talk: Most of the guys didn’t give much of a care at all to his speech. They didn’t seem to care of his reflections or the poor. All they cared was that this thing was OrDev-Accredited (Oriental and Development of Values—the “Homeroom” of DLS-CSB). One should get a number of activities in order to pass the subject. So there, sigh. Basta nag-attend ka. Yun lang…how I wish my youth at least gave a little thought about our crappy society…