We were sitting at the receiving area of Elvin Vitor’s garage-turned-studio, fresh off the boat from Cebu. The first thing I noticed about him was that although he appears as a youthful man, when he starts to speak, I feel like I am talking to an old soul. He looked me straight in the eye when he replied, not flinching even if difficult questions were thrown his way.
This is his story.
Background
This true-blue Boholano was born in Tagbilaran City, but spent his early childhood in the mountains of Sierra Bullones, then finally moved to Baclayon in 2011, where he is now based. His father was a teacher and Elvin would observe him as he made visual aids for class. He was so intrigued by art that his father encouraged him to join contests during his elementary years. In high school, he became an introvert as his family focused more on religion, but he expanded his artistic skills to editorial cartoons and poster making. The decision for him to study drafting instead of fine arts in college was made by his parents and soon enough, he felt that he was unable to express his creativity in this field and had to take the matter of his schooling into his own hands.
First, he found work in a souvenir shop, where he began to come out of his shell, as he had to deal with different people. An aunt working abroad also helped him out so he could enroll himself in Fine Arts, always bearing in mind a message he heard from a speaker during his high school days — that one had to work hard and give your best if you want to achieve your dream. He graduated after seven years, juggling two jobs with schoolwork.
At the start, Elvin was painting on the side while also working as a graphic artist for a local newspaper. But he soon developed eye exhaustion (he suffers from a severe case of myopia but refuses to undergo surgery to correct it) and had to give up his job, thereby shifting focus to painting and their family devotion to promoting their church. His first “big” sale was to a foreigner who purchased his still life in oil for P4,000 and from there he developed the style he is now known for: Hyperrealism.
Controversy
A social media page operated from Bohol proudly announced that Elvin Perocho Vitor “had won” the 6th Leonardo Da Vinci International Prize for visual art. The buzz around the painting featured in the catalog was Elvin’s depiction of Pedro Angco — a fellow artist and a passionate environmentalist. This 53 x 89 inch portrait is stunning, both in size and detail.
“Gold in the face can symbolize many things. It is hot on the eyes and can mean one is a gold digger or a cloud chaser or it can represent a valuable treasure as Heaven is known to have gold, right? It can also represent my golden dream or maybe crumpled dreams of building a legacy,” Vitor said.
This piece of news spread like wildfire and before he knew it, national media descended upon him — media outlets featured him one after another and with all that buzz came the bashers.
Some reports in the media missed out on the details. The said prize is actually the title of a publication, “6th International Prize Leonardo Da Vinci The Universal Artist” which featured a curation by Doctors Salvatorre Russo and Francesco Saverio Russo of excellent artworks from around the world. Commentaries on social media called him a fraud, accusing him of misrepresenting himself.
So what really happened?
Elvin said he never claimed he won because there was never any contest. He received an invitation to send samples of his artwork by a representative of the team behind two catalogs. After a vetting process, if an artist’s work was approved for feature, the artist would have to pay an inclusion fee that guarantees him a copy of both catalogs and a marble trophy.
The final step is the issuance of an invitation letter to attend the event for an artist to present to the Italian Embassy for visa processing. The aim of the publication is to promote young artists’ work in the international market, and this was the reason why Elvin chose to tread this path — to gain exposure in the European art world.
Experience
Vitor said there were only two Filipino artists among the 10 that were chosen to be featured. He is grateful he got enough support to fund this European sojourn and he traveled from Italy to Greece to France to Portugal and finally Spain without a fixed itinerary relying on the kindness and graciousness of fellow Filipinos.
For him, the level and quality of artwork in Europe are unparalleled, so he immersed himself in it and came back with a mission. Despite having the option to join the rest of his family in Canada, he has decided to stay in Bohol, investing his life in promoting and uplifting Boholano Art. He truly enjoys mentoring young artists and is generous with his time with them and shares that he wants to teach them properly so they can “fly.”
His plans for the next chapter of his life? The essence of this Boholano, he said, is to keep soaring high despite the crabs. His ultimate dream is to put his ideas into one masterpiece and quotes one of the mantras he lives by, which a Pastor friend told him: “Our God is the creator of everything, so when you create something because you have the identity of God within you, you are the ambassador of our ‘Creator’ and this is why I only create only positive art.”