A Camel in Ilocos

When I was a kid, I recall that my early surprises in my zoo visits were seeing a long necked giraffe, a tiger, a lion, a hippo, an alligator in Manila Zoo--these were never before seen animals for me, animals that were only seen in books and National Geographic tv features. They were all, should I dare term it, Overseas Animals (OA)! Then also, two years ago, I remember my very first sighting of a brown bear and a llama (a llama! imagine that!) in Tagaytay.

On my recent trip to Ilocos with my friends (April 15-19, 2009), I was surprised to see, this time, a camel! :) This was in Ilocos Sur, in Baluarte Zoo, the once private resthouse of Gov. Chavit Singson now turned into a zoo open to the public.

So, here's my photo with a camel. Yes, the one eating the grass. Haha.:)

Ivan Roxas

This last Lent, I took to reading the book Understanding Art and I came across a hundred and one artists (French, Italian, English and American) from the 14th to the present century. I was amazed, among others, by Paul Delaroche's The Execution of Lady Jane Gray, and specially by the virtuosity of John Singleton Copley for doing portraits that appeared so real. I wondered suddenly if there was any Filipino artist, dead or living, who even had a bit of Copley or Delaroche in him. Then I remembered my officemate and artist Ryan Arengo telling me about seeing an Ivan Roxas painting up close, one that made the hairs on his arms stand. And today, googling Ivan Roxas, I came across this self-portrait: Died Broken Hearted. The silk around the man's waist so fools the eye, I am reminded of the curtain painted by Adrian Van Der Spelt (Flower Still Life With Curtain,1658) that looked so real one could thumb it. And the red cloth on the woman in this Roxas' painting recalls a familiar painting. Running through the other works of Delaroche, I saw the painting: Joan of Arc in Prison, 1824.

Here, I've posted Roxas' painting and that of Delaroche's.

Ivan Roxas,Died Broken Hearted


Paul Delaroche,Joan of Arc in Prison, 1824.


Ivan Roxas was born in Tanay, Rizal, Philippines, on June 26, 1978 and graduated at the University of Sto. Tomas, (a fellow Thomasian), College of Fine Arts, Major in Painting in 2000.