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Bohemian coffee artist wins award in New York art festival
GOLDEN HAPPINESS COFFEE BRINGS. Rens Tuzon’s coffee painting wins a runner-up award in The Coffee Project: New York City competition on Oct. 18, 2018. (Photo courtesy of The Coffee Project via PNA)
MANILA — Rens Tuzon, the country’s Bohemian coffee artist, recently won a runner up award in the 2018 Coffee Art Project: New York City, with his coffee painting titled “Golden Happiness Coffee Brings.”
“Honestly, I was shocked because I thought it’s New York City and New York Coffee Festival, which has a very high profile appreciation on art, and buong mundo nakatutok lalo na sa coffee industry, pero nakalusot yun gawang Pinoy natin sa panlasa nila,” Tuzon told Philippine News Agency (PNA) in an interview.
“Ang ma-exhibit lang ang gawa ko sa harap ng international crowd ay panalong-panalo na para sa akin dahil sa high profile exposure. Pero ang manalo ka pa, sobrang blessing na at salamat sa Diyos (the whole world is focused especially in the coffee industry but our Filipino art was able to pass their preference. It is already a big win for me to have my artwork displayed in front of an international crowd. But to win this award is indeed a bigger blessing and thank God) to God be the glory,” Tuzon added.
The Coffee Art Project Festival is an art competition that aims to provide a platform for artists while raising valuable funds for Project Waterfall in delivering clean water and sanitation projects in coffee-growing communities. It is held in different cities like Brussels, Paris, London, and New York (America) every year.
Tuzon said he was previously invited to join the prestigious event by a representative of The Coffee Art Project who saw his coffee paintings displayed at the Raconte Moi Le Café exhibition in Paris, France on March 31-April 2, 2017.
“Nag-send lang po sa akin ang representative nila ng direct message sa Instagram na subukan ko daw ang Coffee Festival last year saLondon 2017 pero hindi po ako nakasali dahil wala akong nakuhang sponsor. Pero this year, 2018, pinalad po ako makasali (Their representative just sent me a direct message on Instagram, asking me to try the Coffee Festival in London 2017 but I wasn’t able to join because I was unable to get a sponsor. But this year, I got lucky to join),” he added.
His masterpiece depicted the typical mornings of an elderly couple living in Paracale, Camarines Norte. They are smiling from ear to ear while drinking coffee.
“Nabalik lang sa alaala ko ang mga taga-Paracale, na umiinom ng kape sa umaga bago magtrabaho to perk up things and to start every morning. Pinoy na Pinoy na kultura ang bumabangon tayo sa umaga gumigising (I was reminded of the Paracale folks, who drink coffee in the morning before working to perk up things and to start every morning. It’s a true Filipino culture to wake up in the morning) with a hot coffee with our loved ones, bringing true happiness instead of money,” he said.
Tuzon used 100-percent dark instant coffee for the painting. He did not use any other medium like charcoal oil pastel to enhance his piece. “I just used coffee, but still, I need it to be brewed to make it a lot thicker and ready for a coffee art painting in various different tones,” he said. Tuzon told the PNA he was unable to attend the competition in New York because of lack of time and money.
“The invite was a short notice and I was unable to take care of the visa, passport, and other requirements. I am thankful for the Alliance In Motion Global, Incorporation, which helped me in sending my artwork to New York. Sa financing palang on traveling or transporting the painting sobrang dami nang binabayaran and legalities na dapat sundin (In the financing of traveling or transporting the painting there are many expenses and legalities which must be observed),” he said.
On Oct. 15, the festival organizers and judges chose 20 out of 40 coffee paintings submitted by artists from all over the world. From the chosen paintings, the judges selected a grand winner, two runners up, and a visitor’s award.
The artworks were judged according to creativity, impact, relevance to the topic, and spirit of humanity “All the selected artworks produced for the competition will be for sale. Fifty percent of the proceeds will directly support the Project Waterfall and 25 percent of the money goes to us. Also, the grand winner received cash prize of USD1,500 for the Grand Prize and USD500 for the two other shortlisted runners-up and USD250 for the visitor’s award,” Tuzon said.
He said Filipinos may be new in the art of coffee painting, but they are capable of excelling and competing in the field. “We did it first in Paris, now with a win in New York City Coffee Festival, siguro masasabi ko na may malaki na tayong chance sa coffee art dahil iba na iyong napapansin na tayo sa international scene (I can say that we already have a big chance in the coffee art, as we are gaining recognition in the international scene),” he said.
Saying his past challenges in painting and photography pushed him to reinvent himself and try coffee painting, Tuzon urged aspiring young painters to be focused and not lose hope. “I failed more than eight times and never got tired of it. Hindi lang naman basta kape at pagpipinta ang puhunan sa bawat tagumpay. Pinaka-importante iyong attitude in every situation, lalo na ang (It’s not just coffee and painting when it comes to success. The most important thing is attitude in every situation, especially) perseverance and patience, which are key factors for artists’ success,” he said.
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