Famous Filipino Painters: Elito V. "amangpintor" Circa (January 1970) is a Filipino folk painter.
Circa was born in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija in the Philippines and began painting at the age of ten. His hometown was submerged when he was growing up to give way to the construction of a dam. After this the family was relocated to higher ground, where every summer he could see the belfry of the 18th century church resurface from the dam's low water level.
Though lacking in formal art training, Elito continued to paint as a student. His subjects, mostly depicting legends and memories of his old hometown and province, include his signature series on Minggan, the mythical giant who portentously tried to stop the river in Pantabangan from flowing and another series on the evacuation of the townspeople during the construction of the dam. (His ritual in painting is using his own hair as one of his medium on the canvas with his blood signature at the right side of the paintings.) His work has been exhibited locally in his town and throughout the province in schools, universities and malls.
He has received local recognition both in the provincial and regional level. As Tourism Adviser of his hometown, he has spearheaded the collection of artifacts from the old town. He has also promoted the town’s history together with its agricultural products and conducted workshops on integrating arts into the development of rural communities.