Grade 12 artist makes awesome artworks with banana catsup

When hard times strike and traditional resources are out of reach, the most creative of us can find ingenious ways to make one-of-a-kind works of art.

This is especially true for Filipinos—and no one proves our resourcefulness and creativity more than this amazing Grade 12 artist, who didn’t need paint or pencils to create artwork. No, Vincent Dwight Paulo from Nueva Ecija uses banana catsup to draw portraits of famous personalities while staying at home during the community quarantine.

While he first started with a catsup portrait back in 2018, it was during the quarantine when he really started honing this unique art skill. “I really engaged myself in doing catsup art since school and art supplies shops were closed,” said Vincent. “I was running out of materials, so I used catsup instead.” With creating catsup art being only a hobby for him, Vincent never thought it would become as popular as it did.

 Working with catsup

 
Catsup was not the first medium he had used to create art, but it was the one within reach at home—which is how he ended up creating portraits of celebrities like Liza Soberano, Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Taylor Swift, and One Direction.

“I really loved catsup because it is readily available inside the house,” Vincent shared. “I really love exploring and trying other mediums just to try something new. I don’t like to stick to the conventional and typical artworks that we see.”

Our Save The Date (STD) video by ABC Films

It takes great confidence and convincing powers to be able to do this video - confidence for me and convincing powers for my partner to participate in my kaartehan. To be honest, my husband wouldn't want to have any elaborate preparation for the wedding such as this 'Save The Date' video and I totally understood. 

I guess for practical reasons, since we are already a family of four and we've been living together for 12 years already, we may not need any more of this stuff. What's important is to have an intimate celebration for the blessing of our union with family and closest friends. That was the plan until two weeks before the wedding. I thought I wanted to have some photos to be displayed at our reception venue so I decided on a whim to have a prenup photoshoot. I was able to squeeze in too a prenup video within my budget after searching for an affordable and quality package for both. 

Everything was on rush, we both couldn't file a leave to do the pictorial, the date was moved to a week prior to the wedding day. We did the shoot on a Friday morning right after our night work shifts, my goodness. Although I hired an amazing makeup artist, the 'puyat' look in our faces is still evident in some or probably the most parts of the photo and videos. But knowing how modest we both are, we managed to pull it off caring less on how the output will be.

In the end, I have no regrets and more than happy to see the video. There were lots of awkwardness and I guess it makes it raw and beautiful. Each scene would accumulate tons of bloopers too but I'm so proud that up to the last take, my husband cooperates even though he can't wait for the shoot to be over :).

Here's our very own 'Save The Date' video with Counting Crows' "Accidentally in Love" song :)

I. Am. Married. Finally!

We are married. And I'm a Miguel...finally! Yeheeyyy!!

After 12 years of living together, DH and I finally realized we're far better together as married couple...and that I should change my last name too to his.

You read it right, I finally came to my senses that I should marry the man who gave me two children, enough reason for me to marry him right? Lol. After all, I have no other options, he's the only one I've been with for eighteen long years eh. Now the book about us being 'single ' has come to it's final chapter because today is the first page of a new story to unfold for a newly wed couple, naks!

On Being Grateful and Choosing Happiness

It’s been days after Christmas and only three days left before the New Year is here.  While some still stays in their bed longer than usual, taking advantage of some of the holiday’s privileges - unlimited rest and sleep, being work-free and doing nothing, I found myself in our warehouse picking some linens, décor materials and catering utensils.  Then I went straight to a Clubhouse where a gathering will be held and started preparing tables and chairs with the help of DH's nephews.

Yesterday, DH’s family had their annual reunion and the kids were actually the most excited about it, they are happily looking forward to it every year, buti pa sila hehe.  It’s sad that some family members were abroad however, what makes sadder is having families who were here and yet didn’t want to be part of the gathering, I can only just sigh.

While some tried to reach out to estranged families, the latter still chose to be excluded and they even grew in number, haay. No matter how you try to stay calm and positive, I realize that we can only do so much especially if we have already step our foot first towards the path of reconciliation. I guess we’ll just have to accept things the way it is right now, and maybe, pray and hope that in time, everything will go back to how it used to be.

Start them young...

Last week was a special bonding moment with my first born. He was part of the service team for our client in Ortigas. He was one of the buffet attendants/food server and his salary for barely half a day of work is 150 and a jollibee treat. He was very happy receiving his first hard-earned money out of doing a 'job'. He was complaining for a sore arm but anticipating his next schedule already :).

In the photo, he's wearing our 'staff uniform', I choose a size that fits him and asked him to do a few tasks like fixing the spoon & fork in the buffet table so I could take his photo where he's supposed to be 'busy doing something' hehe.  I'm glad that Kuya never complains, I can see that he was having fun doing his 'job'. 

I guess it's paying off now, I've always been vocal to him about working hard and earning your worth in time. That whenever he wants something, especially material things, he needs to work on it and be deserving of it. I may not be a perfect parent but the wisdom of great sacrifice, hard work and gratitude lives in me. I was able to send myself to college by juggling school and work, had my first corporate job even before graduation, completed college and eventually helped provide for the family. For all these things, I'm grateful to the LORD for He strengthens me. He blessed me with a fighting heart that made me not give up amidst the struggles. It was indeed a beautiful journey, a story worth retelling.  And it's a gift I want to pass on to my children too, Im glad it is slowly making sense to Kuya, I'm a proud momshie hehe.

Do the hustle!

When weekend is supposed to be for fun, chill-out and netflix-ing in bed after a week of being a night owl worker, still, I have to be in an event to personally see everything's well and good. Never mind if I've been a zombie for 24 hours or more as long as I get to see my staff are well and doing good in their jobs, my client's fulfilled, the guests' are happy and 'filled', okay na yun. Even if I got colds and headache dahil naulanan at puyat pero, laban pa din.

So, this is exactly what I felt after seeing the set-up of our event yesterday. Despite the pagod and puyat the past days, it always become an automatic pambawi kapag succesful ang event. Owning a business while being employed is indeed tiring and stressful because you really have to spend time and effort on both and owning a business that is events-related, there's a lot more of stress to expect. 

I've been doing events for the past three years but it's only last year when I decided to go back to work again, primarily because I wanted to earn a little more to support our catering business since my other partners and I decided to go separate paths late last year. I needed to earn extra to buy stuff and equipment that was taken out of the original inventory when we had our 'assets division'. Someday soon, I will be able to concentrate on this business and I won't need to indulge my time doing two different things at the same time. 

Yesterday's another kind of 'Do the Hustle' day and while I am helping out the waiters putting chair covers, I imaginatively hears Van McCoy popular disco hit playing in my head, so when I got home I downloaded.  I will soon transfer it to my iPod so it will be my 'pick me up' song whenever I'm feeling exhausted.

Nothing much to say because I'm still taking advantage of time to regain strength and sleep. Certainly, there will be a related/follow-up post about the event's theme and other details, hopefully I'll be able to post this weekend :)  So for my closing words, let me leave here my self-coined #WhenggieSpeaks quotes:

"It's when you hustle and put love in it that makes the difficult stuff bearable"

Making a Decision to a Lifetime Covenant

Early this year, DH and I decided to attend a Wedding Preparation Seminar held at Victory Christian church. I was a little surprised when he agreed to my suggestion of attending the seminar.  I thought it wasn't easy to indulge him but I was wrong, he was more than willing. 

The seminar was a three hour session for three Saturdays and it was a little bit hard on my part to commit to it because I'm coming from a night shift work on Fridays. Contrary to my ‘future husband’ who was always early and ready and that is despite he comes from a night time work too sometimes. I guess that is one aspect I cannot win over him, committing to something and really devoting time and so much effort to it.  There are times he would keep bugging me to finish my work immediately because he doesn’t want us to be late even if the church is just a three minute walk from our house, that’s how serious he was.  For the longest time, I never thought that we will come to this point where we would actually be preparing now for the one BIG day we’ve been anticipating for all these years and he’s more excited than I am. This is indeed an early provision this year and I’m so grateful the LORD has made it possible very soon.