Megaworld’s Eastwood City Art Market event held May 23-24, 2015 was a massive success. The highlight of the entire weekend was a showcase of different artworks from various artists, arts and crafts materials, and a free portrait sketching and acrylic painting demo from the Father of Art workshops himself, Mr. Fernando Sena. A night concert at the Eastwood City Open Park capped the entire event on Sunday night.
Mural created by the Doodle Art Enthusiasts Community
Art is expressed in various forms, and the diversity of the booths attest to the unparalleled creations of Filipino artists. It shows both our culture and the innermost sentiments of the creators. Art collectors and aficionados went to check out the paintings which were for sale that special weekend.
The creations ranged from fun and chock full of pop culture references to sublime and mystifying.
For the kids and the kids at heart, there were various characters from Marvel and Star Wars.
For the young artists manning the booths, it was a chance for them to show their mettle and craftsmanship to potential customers and lovers of art.
Special shoutout to the guys at Art Boutique for their warmth, unique Blind Date a Book, cute bookmarks, and personalized tote bag paintings!
Hobbyists and beginners who want to try their luck in pursuing an artistic hobby also had their fill of the numerous art supplies available at the event. There were also tiny art souvenirs for those who are daunted by the idea of buying whole paintings on site. They had everything from calligraphy pens, sketch pads, crafts, stickers, doodle materials, and even colorful books about art.
For the more daring passers-by like me in this event, we made sure to participate in the Fernando Sena portrait workshop which was held for almost 3 hours from 4:30pm to 7:00pm on Sunday night. The workshop was free for all, but the materials had to be purchased. We chose the National Bookstore bundle that they had prepared specially for the event. (Mr. Sena has his own scheduled workshops in the future that has 8 sessions running from June 2015 to March 2016 for a more in-depth learning of the art of painting and sketching. It usually costs around Php 4,000 exclusive of the materials.)
The easels’ setup in the center stage was quite intimidating for beginners, but my sister and I swallowed all our inhibitions and opened our minds.
It was a very intense and enriching learning experience. Aside from being able to witness art in action across the Eastwood Park, I was happy to realize that even ordinary people like me have a chance (no matter how slim) to learn how to draw. And this is the core of Mr. Sena’s school of painting: Anyone above the age of six can draw.
Sena accepts people from all walks of life. In fact, he had this to say about art: “There is no retirement and employment in art.” He encouraged people to just try it and see for themselves by attending workshops like this and pursuing some form of artistic hobby to balance the almost mechanical demands of life and live through life with the beauty that comes out of art.
There were two models who were also former students of Mr. Sena and artists during the 20-minute portrait sketching exercise.
After the lesson, the master himself made an impressive demonstration of a landscape acrylic painting on manila paper that he did on the spot in under 20 minutes.
Events like these are few and far in between, but they are worth visiting and coming back to. I stepped in the Park giddy with excitement at the workshop and art shopping prospects. I stepped out and went home with a heightened respect for Philippine artists.
Fernando Sena
Father of Art Workshops in the Philippines
Contact Number: 376-2196 / 09189519989
(Available on weekdays and weekends in different venues in Quezon City)
