Alfred Vincent Linco Villaruel, or
Alvin, comes from a family of artists. On both sides of the family, he has relatives who are visual, musical and performance artists. However, Alvin has developed his own style of visual painting and one which is quite uncommon but visually appealing.
Alvin started drawing when he was about two years old. Being his older sister, I can remember him on the floor with old newspapers as his canvass and multi-coloured marker pens were his first medium. His drawings, squiggles of lines and curves that resembled big fat puffy fishes on yesterday's news. It also helped that, at that time, our dad was trying to kick the habit of smoking and had resorted to painting, small oil paintings of Bacolod's landmarks and some watercolour paintings of their (mom and dad) early years in Manila.
At the age of three, almost four, Alvin was at Nursery school at the St. Francis of Assisi school in Cebu City. Their teacher asked everyone in the class to draw a fish on the board using coloured chalks. She was pleasantly surprised to find Alvin, draw an entire ecosystem of underwater creatures that included "normal-looking" fishes, a couple of sharks, a whale, an octopus, several seaweeds, shells and a frog man complete with mask, snorkel and flippers. Early on, Alvin knew he wanted to be an artist.
Strange enough, he was never one to vandalise. He kept the wall of our home clean and opted to draw on his notebooks and newspapers.
By grade school, he was a master illustrator of Voltes V, Mazinger Z and Mekanda robots. He would draw them and show them
only to me. He was quite shy about his talent and the minute I told our parents about his drawings, he'd get quite upset and would instantly destroy the said illustration.
High school came and 'The Transformers' and many other cartoon TV shows replaced his earlier models but his passion for drawing never stopped. It sort of remained in hibernation, until he was sure that visual arts and being an artist is the path he would take.
When choosing a course to take for college, he first tried Economics. He told our parents that he would like to take Fine Arts but then they advised that painting can be a hobby and a degree in another field would yield a better assurance of a paycheck every 15th and 30th of the month. Dutifully he obliged the folks for a year.
He kept asking me about the Fine Arts program at the University of the Philippines and so I accompanied him to get the necessary forms and inquire about procedures for transferring courses as well as schools. He had to take the TDT -
talent determination test - for the University to determine whether there indeed is merit to accept him into the College of Fine Arts. He succeeded and began thus his official entry into the art world.
No longer a shy, unsure boy but one who is growing into the shoes of a man that has a unique talent and unwavering conviction that this is the world he truly belongs and where he is the most happy, Alvin is on his way to realizing his dreams of being quite a successful artist and a unique talent in his field.
I'm always proud of him, whom I call Turtle, and feel a rush of pride when I view his works or attend one of is exhibits. He is quite prolific and works well way after sundown. A vampire by habit, he paints until the break of dawn. Then he sleeps and rests during the day.
His successful shows in Manila and abroad have created for him a small niche where he is comfortable and pleased. Not one to rest on his laurels, he is looking further to reaching a more varied audience who would appreciate and consider his art. Thus, the reason for this blogsite which I hope you will enjoy browsing.
If you would like to contact him directly, email him by clicking on this link: Email Alvin
If you are based in Manila, his mobile number is +920 - 626 1100. You can also visit him at home and view his paintings at: #4 Hope Street, Remanville Subdivision, Paranaque, Metro Manila. Better to call first before going so he knows and will be there.
