MANILA, Philippines - Four award-winning visual artists ?Camille de la Rosa, Dante Hipolito, Orly Ypon, and Bernardo Maac?will hold the joint exhibit ?Varied Palettes? Oct. 29-Nov. 1, at Art Center, Bldg. A, SM Megamall.

De la Rosa is a young painter whose ?Philippine Impressionism? is uniquely her own.

?Unlike those European impressionists whose colors are toned down because of the always-foggy atmosphere in their place, my palette is full of local colors with tropical blends because of the strong sunlight in our country,? De la Rosa explains.

At 26, De la Rosa has had 15 solo art exhibits to her name. She was influenced by her artist-father, the late Ibarra de la Rosa.

Ypon is the founder of The Realist Art Painters of the Philippines (TRAPP). ?Our aim is to revive realism or the traditional painting since most artists today are shifting to modern styles of art like abstract, cubism, and surrealism,? he says.

Ypon has bagged two first prizes in the Art Petron competition in the last five years. He says he wants to preserve Filipino culture and tradition in his paintings. ?My subjects are mostly farmers, Igorot, the Sinulog festival, and market places,? he explains.

?I?m always observant with nature, the atmosphere around us, and the moods and characters of people. Through that, I get so many ideas and incorporate them in my work,? Ypon says.

Maac says he seeks to reinvent cubism through his ?transparent paintings.?

?Until now, I still continue to improve my work. I can?t be called a pure cubist or transparent artist,? Maac says. ?The added rhythm in my lines creates an illusion of a continuous flow of movement in my paintings. That makes my work unique.?

Like Ypon, Maac also wants to preserve Filipino traditions, particularly young people?s respect for their elders.

?Since I?m not so good in expressing my feelings through words, art is the channel of my deep-seated emotions,? Maac says.

The most senior in the group is 49-year-old Dante Hipolito, a hyper-realist painter from Cavite City.

Despite his age, he has never lost his heart as a young boy, a characteristic that?s very apparent in most of his paintings, where he portrays children laughing and playing. He calls them ?happy paintings.?

?I know it is not the reality, but at least I can inspire children and adults alike through my creations,? says Hipolito.

Hipolito started reaping awards in national art competitions as early as nine years old. In 1996, he joined an international on-the-spot painting contest in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and won first prize.

He wants to devote more time in improving his art and training children who can?t afford to go to art school. ?I?ve trained out-of-school youths to paint. My two children and other students have become my assistants now,? says Hipolito

The common thing about the four artists is their shared passion for the arts that has kept them going despite the strong competition in the field. Still, they continue reinventing their works and carving their niches in the art world.