Cebuanos dominate first Cebu National Painting Competition

TWO Cebuano artists dominated last month’s first-ever Cebu National Painting Competition. The two winners, Mark Lloyd Belicario and Adeste de Guilmo, bested 13 other finalists to win their respective categories. Belicario and De Guilmo each bagged the P100,000 grand prize for the Traditional/Representational and Figurative Category, respectively.

The national art competition was a project of Ka-Alyado ng Sining, organized and funded by three art patrons/connoisseurs, Diosdado "Jojo" Allado, Richard T. Ang and Cebuano businessman Michael Lloyd L. Dino. The competition held the judging at the Sacred Heart Center, Cebu in July followed by the awarding of winners, held at SM City Cebu Art Center during the opening of the exhibition of the 26 winning entries.

Second and third prize winners for the Traditional/Representational Category were Felix Catarata with his piece “Mudflat Market,” and Emar Lacorte with his artwork “Kinabuhi sa Quiapo,” respectively.

Second and third prize winners for the Figurative Abstraction Category were “Pasa-Hero” by Ben Cruz and “Kalesa sa Calle Crisologo” by Jeffrey Salon.

Five finalists from the two categories were given P10,000 each and certificates.

Another P5,000 was also given to each of the five merit awardees from the two categories.

Judges for the Traditional/Representational Category were Art Association of the Philippines president Fidel Sarmiento, Fil de la Cruz, a well known painter with a mastery of the mezzotint medium, elite Philippine artist and lepidopterist Justin “Tiny” Nuyda, Cebuano artist Jose “Kimsoy” Yap, Jr. and Chito Alcordo. Sarmiento, dela Cruz, Nuyda along with Cebuano artists Javy Villacin and Karl Roque Jr. were judges for the Figurative Abstraction category.

Ka-Alyado ng Sining also sponsored last year's Carcar Competition. (PR)