Devout Painting

ISMAEL Figueroa ESBER Visual Artist - Philippines, Esber fascination in drawing from a very early age – and pursued his Academic studies at the Metro Manila College during the 1970s. His artistic career began in 1980 as a Visual Artist and Illustrator at various publishing companies in the Manila area. During the early 90s, he undertook courses in Graphic Design at Distributed Processing Systems Incorporated (DPSI / Apple Philippines). His lifelong passion for art, combined with skills in the new digital technologies, equipped him to enter the world of advertising. And, in 1995, he joined the leading international ad agency, J. Walter Thompson, at their offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. One of his earliest projects won the ‘Best Visual’ category at the 1995 Sword Press Awards, setting the tone for a highly awarded career. Most notably, in 2011, his ‘Bedouin’ illustration was a Dubai Lynx Award winner. And in 2015, his large canvas entitled ‘The Soulful Trust’ was recognized by the largest art exhibition ever held in the Middle East. On a more personal note, Esber was blessed with four children during his marriage to his late wife, Carmelita. He currently lives in Saudi Arabia with his second wife, Loraine.