“Mabuti pa ang mga paintings namin nakakabiyahe,” painter and CCP 13 Artists awardee Elmer Borlongan jokes.

Two of his paintings are in the Singapore Art Museum, while one is at the Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan.

There will be another Borlongan piece in Singapore soon, as Emong leaves for his first exhibit there at the Art Space, Royal Plaza, organized by Art Sentral Asia. The show, entitled “Beyond Borders II,” will feature artists from India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Emong has been called the “prize of collectors.” It seems everyone, here or abroad, wants to have a piece of him. Locally, morning show host Kim Atienza and broadcast journalist Julius Babao are among those who have authentic Borlongans in their collections.

What is it, indeed, about Borlongan’s pieces that catch attention? It’s probably the realism in his work, how he captures local scenes so unpretentiously, how each little detail is injected into the scene so naturally.

Pinoycentric recently visited Emong in San Antonio, Zambales, where he lives with artist wife Plet Bolipata. As he showed us around his studio and the lovely blue house he shares with Plet, we talked about his beginnings, his craft, and his inspirations, and we find out why a Borlongan piece is indeed priceless.

PinoyCentric: You started art lessons under Fernando Sena at 11. But between then and now, was there ever a time when you wavered in pursuing the arts?
Elmer Borlongan: Drawing and painting has always been a habit since I was a child. When I was at the UP College of Fine Arts in Diliman, Emmanuel Garibay invited me to join ABAY or Artista ng Bayan in 1988. My first project was a large-scale portrait of Lean Alejandro for the funeral procession of the slain activist.

I spent three years doing visual materials for cause-oriented multisectoral groups. There was no room for personal expression. A fellow artist and member, Mark Justiniani, convinced me to go back to painting and exhibit again in the galleries. We initiated “The Jamming Ground Project” to use any alternative spaces and show our works to the public.

Teacher and student: (L-R) Fernando Sena and Elmer Borlongan

From whom did you inherit your artistic inclinations?
My father, who is a chemist by profession, was my first art teacher. He would ask me to draw objects from different angles using pencil. There’s no one in the family who is in the visual arts profession. My retired father still continues his hobby of sculpture using found objects. I was under his “informal” tutelage until my aunt encouraged me to study under Mr. Sena. I started with Mr. Fernando Sena at the tender age of eleven.

What are your working rituals?
I listen to music. Napapabilis ang brush strokes ko! Beatles. Talking Heads. Ramones. Mga punk. Oasis. The Cure.

Meron din akong draft. Dini-detail ko muna yung mga poses at mga figures. Once natapos ko na yung detailed element, gagawin ko na siya in composition, in full color, tapos yun na yung ipi-present ko sa collector for approval.

I’m sure it’s a dream for the Pinoy artist to be acknowledged globally. How did your paintings end up in museums abroad?
Yung una kong work ang nakuha, right after the CCP Thirteen Artists award. Kakasimula pa lang ng Singapore Art Museum noon and nag-start sila ng acquisition. One of the curators went to Manila and saw our show. They approached Hiraya Gallery, which represents me, and said they were interested in two of my works.

Madalas ko nga sabihin, buti pa ang mga paintings namin, nakakabiyahe, kami naiiwan dito.

Sa Japan (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum), they have a collection of Philippine artworks. Yung painting kong “D.H. (Domestic Helper)” yung nandun.

Isn’t it a wonder that with this global community, Pinoy artists can now show their art to the world?
Oo nga. Madami nang young visual artists ngayon, tapos marami na ring opportunities and competitions, like yung recent Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards and the Metrobank National Painting Competition [Emong won twice, in 1988 and 1992--Ed.].

Nung time namin, when we started in the late eighties, ang gusto mo lang talaga ay venue to exhibit your works, magkaroon ng audience, mapansin ang work mo. Selling is just the icing to the cake, para ma-support lang ang livelihood.

Kaya surprising kasi may mga young artists ngayon who can sell their works.

What are the subjects that you’ve been commissioned to paint?
Ang maganda, yung mga nagpapa-commission sa akin ng mga paintings, familiar na sila sa style ko at sa subjects na pini-paint ko. So yung mga nagpapa-commission sa akin, pinipili ko rin. Kunyari may nagpapagawa sa akin ng churches or flowers or landscape, tinatanggihan ko kasi hindi naman yun yung forte ko.

I notice that almost all your works have the people element. Have you done anything without people?
Dati nung student ako, meron akong mga landscape, still lifes, pero mas na-challenge talaga ako sa figures, sa portrait, basta may tao.

So the distorted figure is really your style.
Yes. Pinagdaanan ko rin noon yung proportioned figures, yung sinusukat pa namin based sa head. Napansin ko, very limiting. Instead na i-concentrate mo na lang ang painting sa content, mas napupunta sa mga proportions. Very academic yung style. Gusto ko mas may freedom.

Is there a conscious effort to inject Filipino themes in your paintings, to be relevant?
Oo. Mostly yung Filipino everyday life ang pinipinta ko. Minsan, nagiging universal na rin yung theme, although di ko masyadong pinapakita yung mga jeepney, mga carabao, mga traditional Filipino imagery na identified with the Philippines. Mostly citizens. Meron pa rin akong eksena sa bus. Mas gusto ko i-reflect yung Filipino experience saka observation ko sa urban life.

Inevitable na rin na kailangan mo mag-make ng stand. Kahit yung art mo aesthetic, kung gusto mong mag-delve into human rights or the environment pwede. May mga artists na consciously ginagamit nila ang mga concept na yun sa art nila.

You’ve been painting for 30 years. How has your art evolved during the last three decades?
Yung primary influence ko was my first art teacher, si Sena, kasi yung style ng teaching niya ay methodical. Susundan mo talaga how he paints. Ginagaya ko talaga siya. Tapos ang habol talaga namin noon is to paint what’s in front of you, makopya mo yung subject realistically.

Nag-develop na lang ako from exposure sa mga artists, art books, galleries, and museums. When I started with Mr. Sena up until high school, I was more into technique. Pero nung napasok ako sa UP, eto naman yung theoretical and conceptual.

Akala ko nun, yun na ang concept ng artist, magaling kang kumopya from photographs or from life. Yun pala, you have to inject your identity and personality. Tapos pwede mo pang i-reflect yung environment as well as yung identity mo as an Asian or Filipino artist.

Nung una kasi ang kilala lang naming artists sina Botong Francisco, Vicente Manansala, Fernando Amorsolo. Yung period nila yung kanilang nire-reflect: rural scenes—planting rice, market scene.

Dun kami napaisip ng mga kaklase ko sa UPFA, kung ire-review tayo ng history, gusto ba natin, ganito tayo maalala? Hindi siguro. Kailangan i-reflect natin sa paintings natin yung ating generation.

If you had not been a painter or a photographer, what would you have wanted to pursue as an alternative career?
I might have been a musician. In art school, I played the guitar for a band called “Is It Safe?”, a band obsessed with punk music. I enjoyed the energy in the clubs. We were doing gigs in the long-gone venue Katrina’s in Malate for our supper. It was very exciting. The band was short-lived because we were always having problems maintaining a drummer. I chose music because it’s creative and you can express yourself.