2014 APCO Freedom Day Luncheon and Ball

What’s Driving Miss Daisy? Art Fit For Heroes
By Michelle Baltazar
Artist Daisy Ann Gonzalez Cumming is driven by her passion for arts and culture. She combines
that with Philippine history in her latest painting of the revolutionary hero Apolinario Mabini.
There is a lot to love about Miss Daisy. Or Daisy
Gonzalez Cumming- if you don’t know her.
Or Daisy Gonzalez Cumming, the painter,
philanthropist, mother, friend, mentor, benefactor,
wife, community leaders, adviser, dancer, cheerleader,
grandmother, teacher, fundraiser, fashionista, event
organized and artist- if you haven’t met her.
In short, when it comes to this dynamo of a persona,
calling her an overachiever would be an understatement.
It is unusual that she cannot be described as a singermost
Filipinos are- but she is yet to strut this talent on
stage.
But then again, one of her daughters played the lead
role in hit Broadway musical Miss Saigon so the genes
are definitely there. Perhaps the reason she hasn’t been
on stage is because she’s been hitting all the right notes
on one singular passion: art.
Auntie or Tita Daisy, as many call her, exudes
joie de vivre or joy of life. Her sense of play and her
boundless energy means she doesn’t venture too
far from he paintbrush and easel. After creating a
painting of Philippine hero Jose Rizal a few years ago
(which now lives in a receiving room at the Philippine
Consulate of NSW’s office), she painted another hero,
Andres Bonifacio, last year. And before the ink dried
on that project, she ventured on her third: a painting
of Philippine hero Apolinario Mabini ahead of Mabini’s
150th birthday anniversary celebration in July.
The local community and press gathered for a
preview of this painting at the Consulate office in
Sydney last night (April 30). In a few months, she will
hand-deliver the painting to the National Commission
for Culture and Arts (NCCA), the country’s primary
agency and highest institution governing culture and
arts. Last years, she was feted by the NCCA for her
Bonifacio painting .
The Consul General Anne Jalando-on Louis praised
her trifecta of artwork celebrating Filipino heroes
(Rizal, Bonifacio and Mabini). She said there are not
many people in the community who are both big on
vision and big on action. “Daisy is one of them,” she
said.
Indeed, early this year, she taught a group of Filipina
women, all in their 50s or 60s, how to paint. For the
first time, these women-many of whom never picked
up a paintbrush nor sat in front of the canvas to create
something from scratch- are now proud owners of their
own art, under her tutelage and week of teaching.
She rarely does things by halves, but when she
does, they are still magnificent. The Mabini painting,
just like the Bonifacio one, is made up of two halves,
each measuring 6 feet in height and 4 feet in width.
Combined, the 6” X 8” acrylic painting on canvas is
a beautiful piece that highlights the life story of ‘the
brains of the revolutionary’ (In 1899, Mabini drafted
the first Philippine Republic Constitution and became
the country’s first foreign affair minister. He was just
34 years old and was Emilio Aguinaldo’s adviser at the
time).
And just when you think this was going to be
time for her to relax and unwind, she makes another
announcement : Next year, she plans to paint an art
series to honour the heroes of ANZAC and unveil them
in time for the ANZAC celebrations.