John Robert Ani is a 22-year old artist from General Santos City, Philippines. Born on September 15, 1995, Robert is the eldest child of Nenita and Roberto Ani. Coming from a very small family, Robert grew up along with his parents, his sister Abegail and Lola Luisa, his 83-year old grandmother. We've known Robert since he was a freshman in a school where we've graduated as the pioneering batch. Despite being two-year level ahead, we've always known Robert as a smart kid. His name never missed the List of Honor Students plastered on their classroom wall. In the face of this academically competent young man, the future looked bleak rather than bright. Robert has totally lost his sense of hearing since he was 10 years old. Despite his disability, Robert thrived in school. Teachers support him by giving instructional materials and he also learned lip-reading so he can understand simple coversations.
When Robert graduated from highschool, for him, it was a sigh of relief. He confessed to
his mom that he was
bullied often, students calling him names. As his friends were busy for their college
applications, he fell into depression.
He tried getting into the prestigious Fine Arts Program of the University of The Philippines
but he was short of luck.
It was then when his parents decided for him not to pursue higher education. It's not so much
of Robert's disability
that they fear he may not cope up college, it's the reality that people with disability are always
subject to bullying.
Robert Ani, A Self Portrait
Robert stayed at home and started to devote his time making art. His mom once recalled when Robert asked him to critic his work and she felt the need to tell him that it was not enough. Upon hearing this, he burned all his works to the ground. With this, he persevered more and started to read huge amount of books to help him with his craft. Being self-taught, Robert has to discover on his own the depths of his chosen genre of painting, Hyperrealism. Hyperrealism paintings mimic lifelike images. This genre makes it hard for viewers to distinguish a painting from a photograph.
When asked why he chose Hyperrealism, he simply said that it is a really challenging genre, something that not most people are capable of. He also added that one of his greatest dreams is to create paintings that depict the rich history of General Santos City.
General Paulino Santos, 2017
The young artist also shared that his highly-detailed works would take 9 months to complete. He starts painting at 8am and finishes at 2am. Robert, however, takes care of his health. He would prefer to eat vegetables and fish and he would take breaks in between.
This is the painting that Robert is currently working on:
Aside from painting, he also takes interest in sculpting.
He is still finding his place in this art genre but has already created several prototypes.
Despite not having gone to college, Robert is very well-read. Books about art are all over his studio.
We are still over the moon with this great encounter. We are so overwhelmed with Robert's
story that after the interview, we had to ask ourselves, "What is my excuse?". Robert
didn't possess his greatness overnight. He had spent countless of sleepless nights and a
hundred of failed attempts to master his craft. Robert is a living manifestation that you can
conquer anything you set your mind and heart to. Behind his success, Robert is an introvert.
"I hate small talks", he would say.
We also asked how he feels about his parents who are immensely supportive of his art and of
him. "Happy" was the word which came out of his mouth. During our stay, his mom
couldn't stop talking about Robert and it warms our heart because we are already proud to
have known him, how much more to someone who gave him life.
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After so many years of refusal and stubborness to receive medical treatment to restore his
hearing, last November 2017, his parents were on cloud nine as he finally agreed to be
treated. He undergone a 3-hour operation at Davao City. He would also attend speech therapy
to improve his language development. His parents are still in the process of convincing him to
attend college once he gets his sense of hearing back.
We are really very ecstatic for what God has in store for his future. May Robert's story remind
us that wherever we are right now is exactly where we ought to be. Whatever we have right
now is exactly what we need to achieve our goals. We need to accept that success doesn't
happen overnight, that our failures would never define who we are, that we must stop making
excuses so we can make room for the opportunities and possibilities waiting for us.
Thrifty Trippers
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