Joy Fernando: From guns to brushes

By Wein P. Gadian

He was an intrepid Marine soldier fighting Muslim insurgents in the troubled 70s.

In his hands was a gun.

There's no more gun in his hands. Brushes have taken the place, and are now being used to breathe life.

He's no longer a soldier; he's now an artist.

He no longer draws his gun. He nows draw people.

This is Joy Fernando, one of Iloilo's leading portrait artists.

The shift in in his life has a touch of artistry. The uniqueness of his works has quality that was sharpened by experience.

Joy is fourth in the eight children of Emilio Fernando and Andrea Panganiban, who were both public school teachers.

When he was young, his mother would often request him to make her visual aids.

Since there were seven other mouths to feed and there was limited resources, he had to sacrifice his dream of taking up Fine Arts or Architecture.

He took up Marine Engineering insteads. After graduation, he signed up for the Marines.

Training in the Marine boot camp sharpened his leadership and his artistic ability in the letterings and visuals. He was often asked to do letterings.

“One can't say 'no' in the Marine Training,” Joy recalled.

As a soldier, this helped his family. But he found this too boring.

He resigned and worked as a security guard for the Philippine Star.

While working as a security guard, Joy also worked on the projects of students and did portraits.

Although his artistic talent was relegated to the sideline, it gained for him more customers and the loyalty of his regular clients.

The quality of his work has inspired a friend to offer a place where he could display his works and where his customers could reach him.

Little did he know that his boss at the Philippine Star have seen his works. He was then asked to join a company contest where the winner will be the in –house artist.

Although he was a security guard, this did not made him feel insecure. He gave it his best shot, and eventually emerged winner.

Then his artistic career started to blossom.

People from all walks of life started to recognize his works, as young and amateur artists were inspired by him.

This gained him more customers. A customer offered him a job in a gallery, where he would work alongside five other artits.

The dedication he gave to the gallery caused others to be envious of him.

He resigned, and then put up his own gallery.

His first stall was in SM Delgado in 1985.

Three years after, he opened a store in the Amigo Mall, which at the time was where the Iloilo's elite would shop.

He transferred to SM City in 2001 so that more people could see his works.

“I got my guts in the Marines,” he quipped.

“I always believe that I should be in a central place where people could see my works. For my 21 years as an artist, I did not fail to believe in my guts,” he adds.

Now at 47, he has trained students from all walks of life and still continues to share his talents to everyone.

He works distinct quality has made it a favorite for many art collectors. His patience, his heart and generosity in sharing even his secrets to his students makes him even more unique in the field.

“What matters is how you use what you have in order to share it to others. An artist is made, not born,” he says, adding that

Being an artist is not a claim rather a label given by others. Everyone could always be an artist as Joy thinks.

“If one has the desire and the heart, anyone can be an artist. Even if he is already 45 years old,” Joys believes.