Beauty and art overcome negativity in the mind of BYU-Hawaii senior R.J. Gualberto, who was accepted into his dream graduate school, the New York Academy of Art. Trumping the pessimism from family members and societal expectations of his home country, the Philippines, Gualberto said he is pursuing his passion, and hopes to help other artists pursue their own.Despite dismaying comments made about the outlook of art as a career, Gualberto has the goal to paint for the LDS temples, or design them. “I never get discouraged if I am thinking about working for the church in the future to help the work of the Lord. Whatever the world says, I’ve heard all of them already, and I’m still here doing it. I know I’ve been helped. I’ve been getting all these wonderful opportunities, so I know I am supposed to do this.”After receiving his education in the United States, Gualberto said he wants to go back to the Philippines and start an art school. “That is my goal 20 years from now. I know a lot of aspiring artists there who don’t have the resources. They get discouraged. They have no access and no support. I’m already talking to my friends here who would be able to teach 20 years from now. I just want the youth in the Philippines to have someone to push them if they really want to pursue art.” He said most students are encouraged to go into nursing, engineering, hotel management, or more practical jobs, which is why he was discouraged by his parents to pursue art as a career, since there are no demands for artists back home.Growing up in a small town two hours from Manila, Gualberto, who is studying graphic design, said his first encounter with art was at the age of 8 when his uncle would draw portraits of people. “For some reason he told me to stay away from his sketch pad, but I would sneak into his room when he was gone and look at his sketches. I was amazed by it.”Around the same time as this experience, he said his family converted to the LDS Church. “I grew up with President Hinckley as the prophet of my youth. Being exposed to the art from the Ensign, I copied a sketch of him that inspired me at the age of 12. I didn’t know who drew it or where it came from.”In 2013, Gualberto apprenticed for the painter William Whitaker, a well-respected portrait artist commissioned by the church in Salt Lake City. Gualberto said one of Whitaker’s jobs is to update the paintings of the apostles every five years. “When I was cleaning Mr. Whitaker’s archive room, I saw a stack of the original Gordon B. Hinckley sketches that I drew when I was little. I can’t tell you how amazed and humble I felt at that moment to realize he was the artist. It just proved to me that everything happens for a reason. I came from a really small town, and art is not something that people are going to buy there. As I keep going doing what I love, it just brings me to places. I got a scholarship to come here for art and through the I-WORK program. After one year of studying here, I got that internship. Yesterday, I found out I was accepted to my dream school. I keep getting the confirmation that this is my calling. ”Gualberto said Whitaker also became more like a spiritual mentor to him. “He told me, ‘I want you to pray every time before you paint... You are really lucky because the church is going to need painters like you to paint for the temple.’”Rae Robinson, a junior from Texas studying painting, said, “R.J. is a super talented and driven individual. Ever since I came here, I looked up to him a lot. He sets his goals high and achieves them with excitement. He’s going to go super far in life and in the art world.”Although a graphic design major, Gualberto said he loves painting figures and portraits the most. His favorite style is classical realism. After graduation, he and his wife, Sara, are traveling to Paris for a four-week painting program to learn a particular portrait style. In the fall, he will start school in New York. “My most meaningful piece of artwork is my grandpa. I surprised myself that I could actually paint my grandpa just like that.” Gualberto also shared one of his favorite paintings is of Jesus Christ. “From all my paintings, I really think I didn’t do this myself. I painted it in one night when I couldn’t sleep.”Gualberto said he is working on his thesis for his bachelor’s in Fine Arts. He is painting portraits from the different Polynesian Islands. His show opens April 7 at 6:30 p.m. in the McKay Auditorium foyer and runs until April 14. It will also be displayed in the PCC Marketplace from April 15 to 18.Gualberto has a diverse range of artworks ranging from typography, murals, and paintings that can be found at rjgualberto.com. Uploaded March 19, 2015
Writer: Mackenzie McLeod
