The Philippine Times joins the Magpayo family and the Filipino community in mourning the passing of Ka Joel Magpayo on 4 November 2020. He was laid to rest on 24 November at Altona Memorial Park in Altona North, Victoria.
Ka Joel is survived by wife Lynda; daughters Mylene, Marie and Jemima; sons Joel Jr and Origen; grandchildren Alexander, Andrea, Samuel, Jaime, Lyndon, Jomane, Michael, and Adrian; and grandchildren Leyla, Natasha and Alicia; and great grandchildren Jaylan, Tyler and Valentina.
Ka Joel was The Philippine Times‘ resident artist. He drew his last caricature for our 30th anniversary issue that is due to be published this month.
He was one of the authors of Katha at Guhit which The Philippine Times published in 2016 together with Asther Bascuña Creo, Lydia John and Dina Mananquil-Delfino.
Ka Joel spent his time creating art pieces winning local and international awards and spending time with his great love, his wife Lynda Magpayo.
Rest in peace, Ka Joel.
About Joel P. Magpayo
Born on 17 May 1941, Ka Joel Magpayo was born in the Philippines and migrated to Australia with wife Lynda and five children in 1979. He finished his studies at the University of the Philippines’ College of Fine Arts and was a Cartoonist Exchange in Ohio, USA.
Magpayo bagan his career as a freelance artists at age 16. He did comic and magazine illustrations, vizualising for advertising companies and later shifted to full-time painting at age 24, when he got married.
He did over 16 solo exhibitions in Australia and the Philippines and actively exhibited at the Rotary art shows around Australia. He had won over 160 Arts awards and commendations. His works hang in private collections both here and abroad. He ran demos and workshops around Victoria.
Magpayo was a fellow of the Australian Guild of Realists Artists, co-founder of the Filipino Artists of Melbourne (FAME), and also a member of the Victorian Artists Society.
As The Philippine Times’ resident Editorial Cartoonist, Magpayo in 2013 won the best in the Editorial Cartoon category of the 2nd Multicultural Media Awards (MMA) for his Divide and Conquer cartoon, a satirical take on Filipino unity.
Tribute
In his Facebook post, veteran writer Cil Evangelista wrote: “It was shocking to know that one of my talented illustrators of Vista Komiks, Popular Klasiks, and Literary Song-Movie Komiks of Benipayo Publications – Joel Magpayo or Joe Mayo has passed away. A good friend, gentleman, and very professional. He is responsible for illustrating one of my novels Jose Bandido which was made into film by Ambassador Productions, he is also responsible for illustrating Van Ludor or Lou Salvador Sr.’ Mestisang Bangus that was played by Mina Aragon directed by Leroy Salvador. He also illustrated the novel Mga Birheng Walang Langit by Jose Miranda Cruz and Mario Mijares Lopez which was made into film by Everlasting Production. He also did Huling Salakay and many more. These past few months I saw him posting a lot of his works, for some reason, he wants to leave a memento. Goodbye, Joel Magpayo. We will never forget you as a great artist and as a wonderful friend. We know that you’ll be happy in the hands of our creator.
Longtime friend and fellow Filo artist Do Noble commented that “Ka Joel is a co-founder of FAME group, we lost a big brother, best mate, a good friend & a very talented Artist. May you Rest in peace.”
READ PREVIOUS STORIES ON KA JOEL:
- Joel Magpayo exhibits 50 at 50
- Four authors share their stories
- The Philippine Times wins award for editorial cartoon
Magpayo’s art
Some of Ka Joel’s works of art are available on the following online sites:
