Ad man shifts gears to create giant art along EDSA

BY JOSE PAOLO S. DELA CRUZ

It is often said that when God closes a door, He opens a window. Or, in this former advertising professional’s case, He gave him a billboard.

Former ad man creates this 230-sq.m. billboard/artwork as a passion project

No, you won’t be seeing Lloyd Tronco’s face along Edsa anytime soon. Instead, you will see his traffic-stopping “Alab ng Sining” artwork — a 62-ft. by 42 ft. abstract painting that required 10 gallons of acrylic paint to produce.

With a surface area of 230 sq. m., the giant outdoor artwork took several months of logistical planning, and was completed by Lloyd and four assistants in about a week’s time. Eight people, in the meantime, had to install the huge artwork on a billboard space at the intersection of EDSA and Ortigas Ave. It now stands proud near the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Building, Barangay Wack-Wack, Greenhills East, Mandaluyong City.

So why a billboard?

Lloyd, who used to run an out-of-home (OOH) media advertising company before he decided to call it quits last year, said that he wanted to start his formal art journey on a platform that he is already familiar with.

Lloyd Tronco with is work of art

“The idea though of doing something like this has been on the back of my mind for years because I have been in the outdoor advertising business for the longest time,” says the 53-year-old Lloyd. Aside from running his OOH media company, he also grew up as part of the Bacolod City-based, family-owned Tronco Advertising Co., Inc., which has been dabbling in billboards for the past 45 years.

As for the artwork itself, Lloyd says that it is a “personal, un-sponsored project,” brought about by years of wanting to go into art full-time. “In a way, you could say that I wanted to start with a statement. Aside from its size, a lot of people told me that the picture I created looked very optimistic, what with its rich colors, even if it was painted on a black background,” he says.

For Lloyd, the project also marks a momentous shift in his life. “I have been an artist by training, as I studied initially at the UP College of Architecture for one semester in 1985. Then, the untimely demise of my dad (who was once a professor at the University of Sto. Tomas in Fine Arts) compelled me to help my mom in the billboard business serving the Visayas and Mindanao. From Architecture, I shifted to Fine Arts at the La Consolacion College of Bacolod.”

The artwork was completed with the help of four assistants, and was planned for several months

Well, after decades of wanting and working and waiting, Lloyd finally seized the opportunity with “Alab ng Sining.” “In a way, you could say that even after all these years, even at 53, I am still ‘young at art!’” he quips.


To see Lloyd’s traffic-stopping work up close and personal, drive along EDSA-Ortigas anytime from now until March 14, 2021!