As a chess player and mental health professional, Mary Elwin de Jesus – Manliclic finds painting as a unique way of capturing and expressing on canvas the metaphors of human nature: mind, emotions, and behavior therein. This innate passion for the humanities could be traced from an illustrious lineage: great grandfather Jose Corazon de Jesus, a.k.a. Huseng Batute, was a renowned Filipino poet and writer; and grandfather uncle Carlo J. Caparas was a prolific comics writer, illustrator, movie director, and producer. She became a finalist in her first national painting competition, leading her to pursue an art career.
Elwin, who signs her paintings Elwin Lyon adopting her father’s middle name, had been an active member and officer of Pasig Art Club from 2008 to 2020. She is a pioneering member of the Portrait Artists Society of the Philippines, Inc. (PASPI) Manila Chapter est. 2019 with its Founding Chairperson and Filipino realism master painter Romulo “Mulong” Galicano. Art sessions with Mulong and workshops with portraitist Romel de la Torre further honed her skills in handling different mediums. This and her frequent hangouts and headings with other renowned professional artists are key factors in the crystallization of her artistic outlook.
Elwin has been an art instructor in various drawing and painting workshops and has consistently exhibited in galleries and museums since 2009.
Exhibits
