Born on January 8, 1972, home-grown talent and stylized pointillist painter Dolpee Alcantara grew up in Angono, finishing elementary at the Angono Elementary School and high school at the Angono Municipal High School.
College brought him to Quezon City, at the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP), where he took up B. S. Architecture. But on his third year in college, Alcantara heeded the call of becoming a painter, returning to Angono to hone his skills under the tutelage of the town’s masters.
He took a workshop at the University of the Philippines (UP) under Larry Alcala for cartoon and another workshop under Orville Tiamson, during high school.
Childhood
Alcantara said that when he was a boy, he and other boys his age used to play in Angono’s Plaza. “We would gallivant around Angono. We’d pick up empty cigarette packs and softdrink crowns. These were our toys. We did not have gadgets or cellphones then.
At the Angono Plaza, they saw the one-man exhibits of the town’s master painters. “We were inspired by the artists who were doing shows at the municipyo and the plaza. They inspired us to dream that one day we can also have a one-man exhibit,” he said.
It was around that time that Alcantara discovered that he could draw. At the age of 10, in 1982, he would copy with accuracy and detail comic book illustrations.
Growing up, he said that he was most inspired by Angono’s elder painters Nemi Miranda and Weweng Unidad.
In 1993, Alcantara took an art workshop at the Nemiranda Art House. He said Miranda taught him how to paint figures. Unidad, for his part, told Alcantara to develop his own style.
Pointilism
Alcantara said that he came to his present style by studying the works of National Artist Hernando Ruiz “HR” Ocampo, as well as public design.
“Before my style was like that of HR Ocampo. It’s all abstract. Then I had an idea when I discovered public design. I merged the two styles and developed pointillism,” he explained.
Art dealer Kim Marcelo said that looking at Alcantara’s works made him coin the word “stylized pointillism.”
“The first time I saw his works, I thought they were done by a woman or a gay man. His style was so different from the works of Angono Ateliers, which I am very familiar with. He upgraded pointillism, stylized it,” Marcelo said.
Angono Ateliers Association is the oldest art group in Angono, Rizal.
Today, at 46, Alcantara stands as a self-taught artist with seven solo exhibits to his name.
Awards
He has won awards such as Artist of the Year of Napocor, grand winner of Resort’s World ultimate jeepney design competition, and 1st prize in Rizal Federation Artists’ painting competition.
Alcantara’s paintings capture in points of bright primary and pastel colors the idyllic Angono countryside, with its waterfalls, fish and birds.
It is a countryside peopled by fisherfolk, farmers, mothers, fathers, and their children—all pulsating with life; all brilliantly portrayed in colors that denote hope and optimism despite the fact that they are painted without faces.
“Hindi ko natapos kasi napunta ako sa pagpipinta eh, dun na nagsimula eh dire-diretso na. Nagworkshop ako sa UP dati ‘yung kay Larry Alcala sa cartoon saka ‘yung workshop kay Orville Tiamson noong high school,” he said.