Ronald Allan T. De Leon
Ronald is a one of those talented visual artists from La Trinidad, Benguet. Besides painting, he is also a muralist and proficient in stitching yarn and thread which he incorporates in his artworks. With his exceptional skills as an artist, he established “RATD”, his artisan business within the region. He believes that his art which is influenced by the cordillera culture and the versatility of his creativity is used to help express his interpretation of beauty. He’s been doing his art form for more than thirteen years.
Ronald was taught by his mother how to stitch while exploring the world of visual artistry in his hometown at an early age of seven. His mother’s friend from Abra taught him how to use a traditional loom which broadened his interest in its craft. For his materials and tools in stitching, he mostly uses needles, cutters, strings, hooks, scrap paper and various colors of yarn and thread which he purchases from the local market. As a painter and a muralist, he uses different colors of paint and various brushes which he bought from art stores.
Ronald’s Works
In his works, he uses cultural patterns. Some patterns he incorporates in his art are also utilized in traditional tattooing based on his research. Once he is done researching on a subject, he’ll analyze the patterns and the cultural significance of the details then compile its elements. From the data gathered, he conceptualizes its composition then implements it into his own art. It takes a week for him to accomplish a single painting. Together with his colleagues, it takes up to three months to accomplish a painted mural. On the other hand, a stitched project takes a week to finish and a yarn art takes a year.
Roland is known for painting with incorporation of yarn and the use of solid papers. His art is unique because of the culmination of soft sculptures mixed with painting and paper art. The only similarity he shares with other artists is the techniques used making their projects. He believes that creating art in general is important especially in the traditional practice because of its preservation. Traditional art is slowly diminishing due to the popularity of the digital era. Digital arts can make the creation of art easier but Roland believes that the traditional process provides a genuine and organic nature in execution of an artwork. It also provides the artist with specific skills of discipline and a substantial amount of patience in the methods of doing an art piece even if he dislikes investing excess time beyond what he intended for a single project.
Roland Taught other artists about his own take on arts. It helps for the preservation of the tradition and the continuation of the art style and skills. He is mostly fond of the diverse art style of their culture depending on the fluidity of the tribal patterns. Like most artists’ beliefs, he believes that art is beautiful because of the story based on the experience of the artist. He regards the good presentation of our stories through art because it is an expression which comes from an artists’ perspective. Besides his personal creative projects, Roland frequently volunteers as a participant artist in mural projects within Baguio City. He also conducts workshops for murals with his fellow artists of their organization. Whenever you venture into Baguio, you’ll see their creative murals depicting the culture of the cordillera.