The Art of Nelia and Frank Tonido

The Art of Nelia and Frank Tonido

PAG President Nelia Tonido gives her opening remarks.

By Michelle Chermaine Ramos

The Philippine Consulate in Toronto hosted an opening reception for an art exhibition by renowned Philippine Artists Group power couple Nelia and Frank Tonido on Friday November 7th 2014. Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia and Consul General Junever Mahilum West opened the exhibition with a ribbon cutting ceremony with Vice Consul Bolivar Bao as master of ceremonies that night and long-time PAG friend and supporter Livvy Camacho recited the invocation. Other special guests at the event were former ambassador Clemencio F. Montesa, Amelia Montesa and Ricky Castellvi.

Frank Tonido (PHOTO: HG)

Nelia Tonido is the first female president of the Philippine Artists Group of Canada and was recognized as one of the top female achievers in the Filipino Canadian community at the Consulate’s Women’s Month celebration in March this year.

She is known for her masterful use of watercolor in her bright awe-inspiring paintings of landscapes, fruit and flowers bursting with color. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila, Philippines and has worked as an interior designer during her corporate days. Her creativity also extends outside the area of painting as an award-winning cake designer and former member of the Canadian Society of Sugar Artistry.

Frank Tonido is an award-winning artist recognized as a master of realism through his meticulous renderings in watercolor, acrylic, oil, graphite and color pencil. In 2004, he won third place in an international competition conducted by the prestigious Portrait Society of Canada of which he is a member. His work “The Rocking Chair, A Nostalgia,” was exhibited in the Portrait Society’s group show in the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. Known for his mastery of the art of portraiture, the Portrait Society of Canada commissioned him to teach a workshop at The Arts and Letters Club and he was also featured in the Portrait Society’s documentary film, “Capturing the Human Spirit.” He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Sto. Tomas and has worked in various advertising companies as a commercial artist and illustrator before he became a full-time artist and long-time member of the Philippine Artists Group of Canada.

The PAG is an elite organization of professional award-winning artists established in 1986 by a group of Filipino immigrant master painters and art professors with the vision of promoting Filipino arts and culture in Canada. The artists whose works are widely collected in the Filipino community as well as internationally, serve as a bridge of cultural diplomacy through visual arts with the support of the Philippine embassy and consulate general. The artworks are available for sale and the show will run for three months.

From left: Nelia Tonido, Ambassador Petronila P. Garcia, Consul General Junever Mahilum-West and Frank Tonido at the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Consulate. (PHOTO: HG)

Amb. Petronila P. Garcia