I’m back in the year 1995 (approximately), inside one of Victoria Plaza Mall’s open spaces, sitting with a box of my new oil pastels and a drawing pad in front of me. We are tasked to copy the different wooden shapes in front of us—triangles, rectangles, a cone and a circle; and make them look like three-dimensional by using shading techniques. I feel a bit anxious and I have already broken in half two of my new pastels—the red and the yellow (my favorites).
This was my first childhood memory of having some kind of formal training in art — Victor Secuya’s summer workshop. I was roughly seven years old, one of the first times that I had no idea what I was doing but I was captivated by the results—who knew that shading would have profound effects on a simple line drawing? Also, annoyed how oil pastel colors adhered to my hand so stubbornly that I rubbed it on my paper until my fingers burned and my paper looked so untidy. If you were born and raised in Davao City, there is a chance that we share this same memory, implanted in us by one of the pioneer and most familiar artists in our city.
Now having a few years passed, I am getting to know my childhood artist and I get to re-live gaining some art tips by Mr. Vic Secuya. “I took up philosophy and had a career being a professor in college. Before that, I was actually planning to enter the seminary since it was the “fashionable” thing to do during our time—to be a priest. I can say that I was pretty lucky that I had a very lenient father, that I was permitted to explore my wants and was free to travel to and from Manila. It was during my days there that I got to meet and tag along a few of our famous Filipino and/or national artists. All I can say is, if you are really an artist by heart, you will always be directed and redirected to that path one way or another—like your insides are literally reaching out to create,” he shares. As an avid fan of abstract art, I enjoy the sheer vibrancy and spontaneity of Vic’s works. He mentioned that in every canvas in an art series he makes, there is learning and re-learning that happens—painting being a continuous experimental form of capturing beauty. “I used to be pressured in sticking to or finding my own artistic style, but not anymore, since I was inspired by a quotation I read by a fellow artist—he explained that as an artist you should not box yourself up, because as a human being, you grow and your creations should grow with you. Truthfully, as artists, we first and foremost create for ourselves and our market is just secondary,” Sir Vic states.
Looking around his studio and property, I literally see the transformations of his artworks as he journeys from one decade to another—from the feathery finishes of oil paintings of plants and still life that were popular during the 90s, to the textured palette knife manipulations and contemporary abstract works with clean-cut treatments that are embraced today. “I think what I want my legacy to be as an artist is to have been able to support and create what once was an artistically desolate city to one of the top art hubs of our nation. And to be able to hear and realize that I have made a creative influence in your life and others like you, well that alone gives me some sort of pride”, the artist proclaims. A well-distinguished painter, sculptor, and writer of self-published poetry books and manuscripts, Mr. Victor Secuya has developed a serene environment ideal for spiritual healing and relaxation called the “Hebron Art and Healing Sanctuary”, with locations in Ma-a and Matina. A bed and breakfast perfect for groups and individuals seeking creative and soul inspirations.
