This Filipino painter struggled to break into the Sask. arts scene. Now's he's Mackenzie's artist-in-residence

Janani Whitfield · CBC News

· Posted: May 06, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

Patrick Fernandez was assured helium could motorboat himself into a caller creation vocation successful Canada erstwhile helium archetypal came present successful 2017. The world turned retired to beryllium a small much analyzable for the Filipino artist, but present he's 1 measurement person to achieving his dreams, having been named the newest artist-in-residence astatine the Mackenzie Art Gallery successful Regina.

"For me, it's similar the doorway opened and a model opened astatine the aforesaid time," helium said, arsenic helium celebrated the opening reception for his accumulation astatine the gallery surrounded by friends and supporters.

Fernandez had been drafting editorial cartoons and supporting himself arsenic a workplace creator successful the Philippines before making the determination to Regina 8 years ago. He planned to proceed his creation successful a caller country.

"At archetypal I thought it would beryllium an casual road," helium said, adding he'd researched galleries, museums and imaginable venues to showcase his art.

"But past you travel present to different country, it's a antithetic game."

He recovered that large artists whom helium thought could beryllium palmy successful the Philippines enactment themselves with different full-time enactment successful Canada.

"Honestly, my archetypal 2 years, I was like, 'I request to prevention up a spot and possibly spell backmost and proceed my art,'" helium said. "But past I had a kid, and past things changed. I stayed."

He decided to proceed connected with full-time work, pursuing his creation connected the side.

"I persevered," helium said. "It came to a constituent that I don't attraction if I would beryllium known present oregon or beryllium recognized here, I conscionable privation to paint."

Fortunately, his enactment has go much and much recognized. A curator astatine the Mackenzie Art Gallery messaged him to spot his enactment and sojourn his studio. That sojourn evolved into Fernandez being selected arsenic the artist-in-residence for a year.

"Being capable to showcase this enactment inspired by my civilization is simply a large accidental for me."

His opening grounds brings radical underwater, with Fernandez saying helium hopes to instrumentality radical connected a travel done waves. Each of 12 hand-cut wood panels — 1 for each period of the twelvemonth — is meant to evoke a proverb from the Philippines that speaks to people, whatever signifier of beingness they're in.

"It reminds you of the lessons, the beingness lessons that you request to person to get you equipped connected the travel that you'll beryllium taking."

Looking person astatine the show reveals a small concealed — 1 distinctive achromatic food swims against the current, portion the different food travel successful the other direction.

It's a awesome that could easy use to Fernandez himself, who persisted successful the look of obstacles.

"I'm inactive not connected the signifier wherever I wanted to be," helium said. "I'm inactive swimming. … I person a destination that I privation to spell to and I'll conscionable thrust the waves."