“Tatay” Rene Lumawag, Davao City’s most respected photojournalist, handed me this blast from the past: a photo of me with renowned artist Mauro Malang Santos (who was, believe it or not, conferred the National Artist Award only early this year) during an exhibit at The Royal Mandaya Hotel. I can’t remember what year this was taken (Google was no help!), but judging from my the way I look, this would have been early this decade.
He was a very pleasant man and gave a long interview with me and my wife Dadai (I am trying to search my files for the article I wrote so I can post it here). I do remember him giving this advice to Dadai, who is also an artist: Just keep painting. He said he painted every single day and would keep his good works in a chest, a treasure trove from which he could pull out gems whenever he needed it. One could wait for inspiration, he said, but nothing beats discipline. Even in art.
At the end of the interview my wife and I asked for autographs, and he did us one better by drawing sketches on our notebooks and signing them. I will try to find those sketches and scan them so I can post them here.
Thanks, Tatay Rene, for this great photo!
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