Heart Evangelista sought the help of her followers to look for a painter in the province of Iloilo whose works went viral online.
A certain Sal Molinos shared the works of Larry Casinao or Lolo Larry who makes and sells charcoal paintings along a sidewalk in Jaro, Iloilo to earn a living for his family.
Molinos’ posts on Facebook and Twitter soon made rounds across social media and were even featured in several news outlets.
Evangelista, who happened to be an art enthusiast and a painter herself, noticed these works and appealed on Twitter. She retweeted Molinos’ post of Lolo Larry on June 25 and asked her fans to help her find him.
One of her tweets read: “He deserves the world.”
Discovery of Lolo Larry
Molinos wrote that he and his friend were on their way home when they passed by the paintings of Lolo Larry.
“It’s sad to see a local artist not having a proper venue to showcase his art and talent. Lolo, as seen in the picture, is still painting his masterpiece on the sidewalk,” he said.
He then took photos of him while another friend of his, Reynaldo Libuna Jr., took a video of the artworks. Libuna was introduced as Lolo Larry’s apprentice.
In another post, Molinos said that Libuna and Lolo Larry were being told off by a task force that they’re causing inconvenience to passers-by.
Days later, Evangelista tweeted that she and Lolo Larry must have met as a response to a user asking about it.
“Thank you, but ok na,” she said.
Molinos also made an update on his original post that Lolo Larry now has a venue to showcase his paintings properly.
He also thanked those who helped the old man with his craft and source of income.
“He offers artworks like charcoal and caricature paintings at reasonable prices,” Molinos said.
He later appealed for more support for the painter who is taking care and financing a sick wife.
“I hope we could really help him by supporting his art because I had a small talk with him and he said that his wife is undergoing dialysis twice a week. If you know someone who is willing to extend help and buy his masterpieces, don’t hesitate to message him in his FB account,” Molinos said.
Molinos included the link of Lolo Larry’s Facebook account on his post.