00:00 A Filipino contemporary artist and art teacher is now being awarded in Beijing, China
00:05 for his outstanding and outstanding artworks
00:09 that he uses as displays in various places.
00:12 Who he is, let's find out in the story of Mark Fetalco.
00:16 In the world of the arts, the Filipinos are not left behind.
00:23 Here in China, I met Jensen Moreno,
00:27 a contemporary artist and art teacher since his youth.
00:30 Since his first international solo exhibition in Vietnam in 2011,
00:35 he has been pursuing his career abroad.
00:39 But he admitted that it wasn't easy before he achieved his dream of success.
00:44 Becoming a known artist internationally,
00:48 yeah, that is very challenging.
00:52 Especially that time that I didn't have my own identity.
00:57 We were all trying to be the best.
00:59 So you need to paint either hyper-realism or like surrealism or copy somebody else's work.
01:08 Otherwise, you will not get the spotlight.
01:11 But how will you be able to express yourself completely if you will just be copying others' works?
01:19 In the palette knife technique, Jensen found his own style in painting.
01:24 He has been living in China for more than 10 years now,
01:28 where he met many people who had a big influence on his life.
01:33 Some of them even became the subject of his portraits.
01:37 Like the former Philippine Ambassador to Beijing, Erlinda Basilio,
01:41 famous Chinese artist Wang Jianan,
01:43 and his lover, a football coach, cyclist, and a PE teacher in Beijing.
01:49 He is a lover of the city and the city. Some of the inspirations of the Filipino artist are Jensen Moreno.
01:56 He also used his artworks that are now displayed in different places here in China.
02:02 The works of Jensen Moreno are now in the Beijing Book Hospital.
02:06 This is the Philippine Farm Girl painting that has the pride of the Philippines.
02:11 According to Jensen, he will express his feelings and experiences through painting.
02:18 Hathid is happy to bring his works to other people.
02:21 This is very interesting to combine the painting art exhibition with the hospital.
02:32 So the patients who come here, not just for the treatment for their health,
02:39 but they can see the beautiful painting, they refresh their eyes.
02:44 This is very interesting.
02:46 It is also a big thing for Jensen to promote Filipino culture through his paintings.
02:53 I actually donated a painting of Jose Rizal for the Rizal Hall at the embassy.
03:00 So most of the time, they use the painting.
03:02 From time to time, I saw pictures from events or it's used as a background for the ambassador's speech or things like that.
03:12 So I feel proud of it. At the same time, I'm happy to do it because it's for my country.
03:18 Jensen's message to Filipinos who are longing to become a painter,
03:23 don't give up, especially when you have dreams like theirs.
03:27 Don't lose hope, continue and try to be as positive as you can,
03:33 no matter how much negativities are around you. It helps a lot.
03:38 From Beijing, China, Mark Fetalco for the nation.
