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Positively Filipino | Everyday Heroes
Brushstrokes of Brilliance
Ed Araquel
The Everyday Heroes series is a curation of interviews and articles written for Positively Filipino, a premier digital native magazine celebrating the stories of Filipinos in the diaspora of nearly 13 million expatriates.
M eet Manong Ed, a Vancouver Island, Canada-based 5'2" artistic dynamo who has shown 50+ years of brilliance across two continents. His diverse paintings, from portraits to landscapes, proudly depict his Filipino heritage. His original calligraphy opened doors to countless career opportunities, captivating admirers worldwide.
Ed was born in Aguilar, Pangasinan in May 1933 to Epifania Quimson and Abdon Araquel. Ed has three brothers and a sister.
How did he discover his passion for painting? “Even as a small boy, I loved making art,” he says, “I picked up clay and carved faces on them. My grandfather, Pedro Lazo, was a famous sculpture across the country at the time, so I watched him work and was fascinated by the process of art making itself.”
