HIS paintings are often described as very detailed and real. Perhaps the realities of life—both pleasant and harsh—inspired the strokes, colors and shades of this Cebuano architect’s artworks.
Architect Allan Cuyos’ story is something people can consider as a great source of inspiration. In fact, the fondness for painting came to him when he was in high school and he had to stop going to school because of financial problems. Thanks to boredom, he got his hands busy with his newfound love for art.
After eventually finishing high school, he decided to take up architecture. Allan was dead set in being an architect that he had worked as a construction laborer to earn money for his education. “The experience taught me how to love my work no matter how tiring it was. Being a construction worker gave me a chance to look and interpret plans into reality,” he said.
After six years, he earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture at the University of the Visayas, and passed the architecture licensure examinations in 1985. At present, he has his own architecture office specializing initially in residential projects before venturing into more complex building types. He is also active in his chapter of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP). He will serve his second term as president of the UAP Rajah Humabon Chapter this month.
Amid all the challenges, Allan revealed that painting was very instrumental in keeping his poise, even up until today.
“What I love about painting is it allows me to release the stress in my daily work load as an architect,” he said. “I can’t recall how many paintings I have done already since my high school days. Some of them are unfinished and I kept them in one corner of our house, at times eaten by termites.”
Exhibiting his works, he said, is the last thing in his mind.
“I am very hesitant to show my works in public because I never had any formal education about painting. For me, painting was just intriguing that I enjoy digging facts, meanings; finding stories and roots of all art forms,” he narrated. But he is very welcome to the idea of entertaining people who want to view his works at home.
For him, being an architect is an advantage in doing highly detailed paintings. “The most challenging thing about painting is to capture and produce color most pleasing to the eye. And for us architects, I think we have the advantage to produce paintings with perfect proportions (in realism) because we’re highly trained in perspective drawings,” explained Allan.
Challenges and hardships are realities in life that one must be always ready to overcome in life, according to Allan. People just need to lean on a “constant supply of positive influences,” which in this architect’s case, are his paintings.