A Cory Aquino painting and some Faberge eggs
Cory Aquino has been on the news a lot lately after having been diagnosed with colon cancer. Days before the announcement was made, I was photographing a painting that Cory did in 2003 which hangs on the wall of Sam Butcher’s mansion in Aklan.
Sam Butcher is the creator of Precious Moments and his mansion is located inside the Sampaguita Gardens Resort in New Washington. Sampaguita Gardens is a theme resort and the theme is Christmas all year round. There are several buildings including the mansion, the chapel, the Christmas Cottage (where Precious Moments items are for sale), the hotel and the Oriental Restaurant.
That should give you some idea about the place. I took a lot of photos in the 24 hours that we spent at Sampaguita Gardens and resizing has been tedious work. So, for this entry, let me limit the photos to those of Sam Butcher’s mansion. The rest will follow within the next few days. I already have the latest version of Wordpress installed and it features a built-in photo gallery. When the photos are ready, I’ll upload them to the gallery and navigating through the tons of photos should be easier.
Now, about the mansion…
Below, the walk leading to the mansion, the photo taken at around 3.00 p.m. while waiting for our lunch.
Below, a photo of the same walk taken towards sunset.
Inside the mansion is a collection of trinkets, antiques and all sorts of items that a traveler and collector would amass over the years. It’s not the kind of place to bring unruly kids to because one wrong move and the damage would be immense. It was very hot inside; according to the guide, airconditioning warps the wood so everyone had to bear the heat.
There were Faberge eggs inside a glass curio cabinet. There are more than two eggs (there were eight if my count is accurate) but the other photos are blurry, so…
I’m not so sure if this telephone is functional but the beautiful mother-of-pearl inlay made it worth photographing.
From the looks of this Balinese dancer statue, it must be very old.
These mini Christmas trees on the dining table, I took a lot of time photographing. I shot from different angles and the one above, with the grand piano in the background, is my favorite. The chandelier is made with Swarovski crystals.
Above, Christmas tree with a decidedly Chinese theme.
I’m the kind of person who wants to be able to move around the house freely without fear of breaking anything, especially anything valuable, so I can’t say I’d like to have a similar house someday. I’m a minimalist freak but that doesn’t prevent me from appreciating the beautiful things that Sam Butcher has collected over the years. They are beautiful and it’s great that he allows the public to view them.
A third of what’s been written about me is true, a third is half-true and the rest consists of drug-induced hallucinations. I suppose I’d better let me, rather than them, tell you 
21 responses to "A Cory Aquino painting and some Faberge eggs"
Now I see them, the Faberge eggs in their glory. I wonder how much they cost now.
Wasn’t it a Faberge egg that was stolen in Ocean’s 12?
Wow! Ala Vincent Van Gogh ang painting ni Cory Aquino. With such talent she should stay away from politics and focus her energies at expressing herself through her paintings.
I didn’t even know she could paint. I did know she can cook a mean roast Peking duck though. When a friend mentioned a painting of Cory in Sam Butcher’s house, I thought he was referring to a portrait of Cory.
Wow, a real Faberge egg!! Look only..no touching talaga ano
I remember Kris Aquino mentioned in one of her programs that her mom Cory is a talented painter but she did not show any sample. of her work. The painting looks beautiful.
I read in an article that Cory took up painting lessons only after her term as president apparently to keep her busy. Then she started loving it and it became a full time hobby. She would give her paintings as tokens to friends. But I think she also sold some.
Kongkong, according to my friend who had been there before, there used to be more Faberge eggs and they weren’t locked inside those glass cabinets. But things kept disappearing from inside the mansion.
Lolay, it is, isn’t it? Love the colors and the calmness.
Connie,
With regards to resizing, don’t you use an automated resizing tool to resize + watermark your photos, like VSO?
On our way back from Boracay at the Kalibo airport, I couldn’t help but buy a Precious Moments doll with dark skin and Aklan ati-atihan garb. CJ got a tan on her and it was an apt remembrance of the tirp.
Rhodora, your comment was flagged as spam hehehe buti nag-check ako.
Jon, no, am using Photoshop. Control freak eh heheheh
She could paint pala, wow!
tita connie sana po isama nyo ung picture ng painting ni Cory Aquino don sa kabila.
kahit ilang refresh po gawin ko dito ala ako maview, inadjust ko na din po setting pero wala talaga ako makita.
gusto ko din po sana makita mga picture nina Sam and Alex.
connie, ninakaw ko yung pictures mo ng paintings ni tita cory at si toni e naghuhurumentado na dun sa blog ko at hindi daw makita ang mga pictures
hahaha! inemail ko na sa kanya
ano ba, nakakatakot nang maging mayaman hahaha, kailangan ba talaga swarovski din ang chandelier?
and that chinese themed tree, miniature table tree din ba’yun?
On auto-resizing, gamit nalang kayo ng action script sa photoshop to record the actions para di na paulit-ulit, pati yung sa watermark.
and connie, buti nalang may next - previous posts link ka na, di ko na kailangan bumalik lagi sa homepage
Toni, ha? Bakit ikaw lang yata hindi maka-view?
Kotsengkuba, re chinese themed tree. Naku, hindi table top yun, 7 feet high yun.
Re next-previous page: I installed that in preparation for the photo galleries to be created. WP 2.5 hehehe
Re my pics. Langhiya ka ha. Singilin kita. wahahahaha
Is he Pinoy ?
Sorry antagal ko na wala sa Pinas di ko sya kilala, although I’ve seen precious moments characters - yung cute baby scribbles/drawing?
I wish I will have the chance to visit this place someday:)
had to google for Sam Butcher and New Washington. Akala ko kung saan yun. Sa Aklan pala. hehehe… must be worth a visit yata ang place ni Sam Butcher. It so happened that I’m a fan of those tear-eyed figurines.
Jennie, click the Sam Butcher link in the entry. He is American.
Ellen, I’m going to post a lot of Precious Moments figurines photos hehehe
my cousin held his wedding there. it was beautiful.
Leave a comment