MORALES, Dandyroy

Dandyroy Morales was born in Davao Oriental in 1962. He took up BS Engineering at the University of Mindanaoin 1989. He is the older brother of Adrian Morales. At the age of twelve, he was a tuba gatherer, and from his meager earnings, helped put his younger siblings through school. He also did basket and fish-trap weaving, activities which have appeared in his artwork. His grandmother supported his studies, but he was always a working student , selling bananas from the farm. He apprenticed under his uncle, William Yu in Manila, and was also encouraged by Max Adlao, Isabelo Quilles, Loreto Racuya, and Philip Badon. By 1995, he was painting full-time in realist and cubist styles. His works have flowers or fruits in vases that are depicted using cotton-candy or folk colors. .

A martial arts instructor since 1987, he is one of ten Filipino masters of Eskrido, which is a combination of arnis, karate, judo, amd aikido. Training under Ciriaco Canete from the age of 20, he is a member of the Phil Amateur Judo Association team to the world championships. He received a bronze medal at the National Judo Championship of 1986. Won 2nd place, open weight division, World Full Contact Championship, World Eskrima-Kali-Arnis Federation, 1989.