Instead of paint, this Pinoy artist uses his own blood to create his art

Elito "Amangpintor" Circa is a different kind of artist.

Instead of using the usual paint for his artwork, he uses his own blood.

Amangpintor developed his love for painting at five years old, and he experimented with different mediums of art.

But painting with his own blood gave him a personal and deeper connection with his artworks.

"Ang mahalaga... ine-express yung damdamin mo doon sa blood mo. At the same time, yung tipong masarap sa pakiramdam mo kasi parang personalized siya na hindi pwede dayain, [at] hindi pwedeng gayahin," Amangpintor said in a feature on iJuander.

Whenever he needs "more paint," he would ask his friend - a doctor - to extract blood from him and place it in small vials. He would then refrigerate the vials to preserve their state.

For him, painting with blood is very different from painting with store-bought paint.

"Ang layo ng pagkakaiba nila. Kasi sa pintura, anytime, pwede mo siya burahin. [Ang dugo] hindi. Pagka nailagay mo siya, mahirap nang burahin. So kailangan perfect ang pagkakalagay mo kaagad," he said.

Amangpintor could finish a 'blood painting' in five hours.

"Kinatakutan ng tao 'yung blood. Kasi ang isip nila, pag blood, ang meaning sa kanila, kamatayan eh. Pero gusto ko i-twist...yung paniniwala na iyon. Kaya nagddiresto ako dun sa paggamit niya kasi gusto ko na isipin ng tao ay hindi, death, kundi love and life," he said, explaining that he saw blood as a symbol of love and life, not death. —Angelica Y. Yang/JST, GMA News