Thanks for taking the time to read a bit about my creative journey. I'm thankful for all the people who helped me along the way and continue to support my efforts.
MISSION
My mission is to have an extraordinary life. My family, friends, personal goals, experiences, and having a fulfilling career are my priorities. I try my best to give value to those around me by giving a hundred percent into my personal and professional relationships. I've always been a perfectionist when it comes to my art and photography, but at the same time, I know how important it is to deliver quality work on time. For fun, I enjoy a good happy hour with good friends, having good a conversation ( usually something art or design related) while overlooking my city or the ocean. Cruising top down and listening to 90's hip hop or Indie Folk music on a cool summer evening is good living to me.
Background
My parents immigrated from the Philippines to America in 1972 to pursue their dream. My brother, sister and I were born in Yonkers NY and lived there my whole childhood. After middle school, my parents decided to leave NY to sunny California for a better life. After highschool, I earned a degree in Advertising Design from Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, a suburb of Los Angeles then transferred to CSU @ Fullerton and earned a BFA in Art/Illustration in 2002.
A Getty-esque Estate, Bel Air, CA
Here is a shot of me in 2015 and my trusty Mazda Miata in front of an amazing private residence made out of travertine stone reminiscent of the Los Angeles Getty Museum. This home is owned and designed by commercial producer David Tate
Back entrance to Nolasco Studios, Chinatown Los Angeles, 2015
"In my house I'm the boss, my wife is just the decision maker" Woody Allen
THE ART STRUGGLE WAS REAL
With high hopes, I tried to make a career out of my art, exhibiting what I call "contemporary portraiture" at local shows and art fairs in and around LA while working retail on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. My Art highlights include winning first place at the LA Lotus Festival in 2007, showing internationally at the US embassy in the Philippines, creating artwork for award winning musicians, MUSE and Lady Antebellum, and an artwork published in National Geographic School Publishing with over 1 million copies produced. Things were good but I wanted a higher standard of living and I knew that a consistent paycheck could help me with a better quality of life.
"Young Monks" 24x18"
This piece here is a watercolor that won first place at the Lotus Festival in LA in 2007. It was then purchased by CCH Pounder, an Emmy Award winning actor that same year. Click here to see a photograph of us in her trailer while she was on set of her hit TV show "The Shield"
Alan-Voo Home, 2007
Here I am at the Alan-Voo house designed by Neil M. Denari Architects. I was contacted again by Alan and Dwell Home Tours to recapture the house after it got a new paint job in 2015. click here to see what it looks like now. Alan-Voo house
Photographing homes for FILM LOCATIONS FOR OVER A DECADE.
So for extra cash I landed a gig through a friend of mine and started photographing mostly homes for Sunset Locations, a film locations agency in 2005. Excited just to have a creative job and to do something that I thought was somewhat "cool", I began shooting homes for potential special events, commercials, film production and high end photo shoots. I couldnt believe the homes I’ve shot! Multi-million dollar homes in Beverly Hills, Penthouses, incredible lofts and seeing how the 1% lived in LA was a trip. I've photographed well over a 10 thousand residences since 2005 and I never get bored of it. This unique gig has given me the opportunity to catch a sneak peak into thousands of private lives and into spectacular LA architecture and interiors on a daily basis that I truly love to shoot, but most of all, meeting new people on a daily basis is what I enjoy. It was a run and gun type of photo gig but during this time, I started mastering my craft while meeting and freelancing for LA's top Real Estate Agents, Home Builders and Developers, Interior Designers, Home Stagers, Restaurateurs, Retail Store Owners, Architects and many other clients who understand the value of good professional photography.