ACROSS my breakfast table one early January morning was James Onglepho, brimming over with news of his 28th one-man exhibit, March 28-April 8, in Asia Art Gallery at the SM Mall of Asia.

James was my mentor at the erstwhile Zamboanga Chinese High School as far back as those balmy days of the ?60s in Zamboanga City. Learning that he was going to turn the art spotlight on Zamboanga City, I mused, ?Why not make it a truly Zamboanga event??

I offered to invite Zamboanga City Mayor Celso L. Lobregat, as well as known personages with Zamboanga roots, such as Anita Kaw, Wee Dee Ping, Araceli Wee, Alberto V. Requinto and Melina C. Requinto, to be guests of honor for the ribbon-cutting.

James perked up even more and positively beamed when I further suggested ?Recuerdos de Zamboanga? (Memories of Zamboanga) as an appropriate title. Reminiscing and becoming a little emotional from nostalgia, he said the name for the exhibit was apt.

?I have been in the Philippines for 70 years, 40 of those in Manila and 30 in Zamboanga, which I consider my second hometown,? he revealed. ?I have strong emotional ties to Zamboanga and the city was where I began to develop my particular style, a journey that spanned the decades from 1950 to 1980,? he added.

Filipino painter

For his ?Recuerdos? exhibit, James has chosen a few oil paintings and pen-and-ink drawings of Zamboanga as he knew the city. And he knew many nooks and crannies of Zamboanga City well ? since he had done on-the-spot painting in Pasonanca (where he spent a lot of time), San Roque, Sta. Catalina, Ayala, Rio Hondo and Salaan.

He was adventurous, too, going to a lot of islands and towns off Zamboanga City ? Alicia, Talusan, Margosatubig, Ipil, Kabasalan, even Job, Sulu, and as far as Cotabato and Davao.

For that matter, it would pay to mention that he has just been as prolific and active in Luzon as well, going to such areas as Naic, Cavite, Tagaytay, Bagulo, Puerto Azul, Montalban and Antipolo in search of inspiration for his painting.

?I consider myself a Filipino painter influenced by Chinese culture,? James says.

I know he wrote Chinese essays, short stories and art critiques during the ?60s, which were published in a then newspaper of Taiwan, R.O.C.

In 1989, James visited for the first time Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain) in China. A mountain with nice form and composition and perceived as a monumental giant from every angle, it influenced James? style from then on, which is why a good number of his paintings were landscapes.

Romance with lotus

But there is something about James Onglepho?s paintings that grabs you right away. Look at his collection and you will see one dominant object ? the lotus. I couldn?t help but ask him about it. And I found out more about the Filipino-Chinese relationship that characterized his paintings.

?It all began when I was still in Zamboanga, near a pond in Pasonanca way back in 1965,? Onglepho recalled.

He said he had seen and always admired lotus flowers for their unique color and form, prompting him to try and capture these on canvas and paper. He said his romance with the lotus always took place during the Philippine summer since it blooms from February to March here.

?The lotus is also a special subject of Chinese paintings, but I use Western materials and techniques to paint, which is why my lotus paintings are not Chinese paintings,? Onglepho explained.

This is not to say he didn?t paint the lotus in the Chinese setting. He did, going to Hang Zhou, China, and Taiwan to paint the flowers in those settings during July to August, the Chinese summer and the lotus season.

Unique way

?I felt happiness and fulfillment in the lotus flower,? James revealed. ?It grows in an untidy environment but it remains very clean, pristine and never seems to get dirty.?

The lotus is known to symbolize mankind since mankind can survive and flourish even in unpleasant surroundings.

?It has a unique way of changing form and color from the bud form to the new blossom until it attains its full glory,? James said. ?Every time I paint the lotus, I celebrate its beauty and elegance.?

Onglepho has always been a full-time painter. In 1994, he established Asia Art Gallery, which served as his main outlet and the organizer of his annual exhibits.

As a professional painter who has worked to refine, heighten and maintain a high quality and standard for his paintings, Onglepho remains thankful for his talent, which he says is God-given.

?Recuerdos de Zamboanga? will open March 28, 6 p.m., at Asia Art Gallery, Unit 2113, Entertainment Mall, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City. Call 632-9013062.