(Photo: Niña Venus)
There are no blank walls in the Marquina house, they are either painted or lined-up with anime figurines ranging from One Piece to Gundams. This cozy house is home to Arnold Marquina, a high school teacher whose lessons go beyond classrooms.
Arnold Marquina, 50, is an artist who is easy to find. His trail of breadcrumbs is muraled walls portraying familiar characters from children’s shows like Pokemon, Dragonball and Naruto.
His painting started out as a passive enjoyment. He was merely keeping his barkada company and he did not know he would pick up their talent.
What makes Sir Arnold different is that he is not awash with the usual elitist attitude of an artist. If he walks right into the slums of Pasig, people would recognize and casually talk to him.
“You cant be high and mighty. Even with my students, I tell them that we have to start with the most basic resources,” he told The Filipino Times.
And true to his word, this teacher does not have to buy expensive canvas and easel to make his art. He tries whatever medium he has at hand: blank walls, T-shirts, illustration boards, styrofoam, and even denim jeans.
Everything he needs is in a toolbox: assorted brushes, five cans of paint—black, white and the primary colors. But what makes his mural different is his creativity; his passion for his work outweighs his talent.
This artist is easy-go-lucky. There are no blank canvases for him, he merely holds the brush and the tip will glide itself into a colorful mural on the wall. He does not believe in the artist’s equivalent of writer’s block.
“There is no inspiration, you give what the client needs,” he explained.
(Photo courtesy of Arnold Marquina)
The needs of his clients have brought him to different areas of Pasig, to the foodparks in Antipolo and even to the streets of the cradle of the artists—Angono.
“I was pressured then, the people were looking at me. I asked myself, ‘who am I to infiltrate this established home of national artists?'”
But more than an artist, Mr. Marquina is a nurturer. He is a teacher before he is an artist. His students affectionately call him tatay and he sees potential in every one of them. He is an effective teacher because he is not obsessed with perfection.
“We should let them do their art, let them make mistakes. That’s why we are here to guide and correct them.”
This eye for talent and appreciation is not imbued but rather adapted because Arnold Marquina was not a prodigy.
“My talent was given to me, I did not ask for it. If I do not share, it might be taken as sudden as it arrived.”
He started painting when he was 23, and more than 20 years have passed since then. He owes his development to these words: Focus on the art, not on the artist.
“When I was starting, my companions could not stress enough to avoid looking at them. And it is what I teach my students, ‘look at the brush strokes; if you look at me, you may get intimidated. You’ll say it is hard, I cannot do that.'”
He continued, “This is easy, you can do touch-ups in painting. If you think it’s hard then it will really be.”
Sir Arnold is content with what he does, he said, “There is no use chasing after the spotlight. For me it is a personal fulfillment to ride in a jeep and see your work in the streets.”
His firm belief that everybody can hold a brush encouraged his students to believe in their own talents. If he can acquire it, so can anybody. The humble, nurturing, and generous nature of Tatay Arnold beautifies the city one painting at a time.
