Rodel Gonzalez, the artist who turns Star Wars into fine art

You might know Rodel Gonzalez as the co-founder of Side A...or you might not be familiar with his name at all. Gonzalez has chosen a quiet life, first as a minister and then as a teacher. But the passion to create never left him and it really shouldn't be surprising that he has dabbled into other forms of art. By "dabble", we mean that his painting is currently the cover of Rockstar magazine. 

His art does most of the talking for him in the scene and George Lucas himself has bought four of Gonzalez's paintings.

Gonzalez holds the distinction of being one of some 30 artists authorized to create interpretative art for Disney and Star Wars—and out of that small number, he's the only Filipino. 

On December 16, Star Wars fans in Manila will get the chance to see some of his works at the Bonifacio High Street Cinemas. His exhibit coincides with the Philippine premiere of the newest installement in the franchise, The Force Awakens. We asked him a few questions, starting with: Whose side are you on?

Rebel Alliance or Galactic Empire?

This is a hard question. Of course one has to side to the good versus the bad and we all cheer for the good to win versus evil, but I find the dark side of the Force more interesting to paint and even the Star Wars fans gravitate more on the characters on the dark side like Darth Vader and Boba Fett. In my experience, Darth Vader is the most collected artwork of mine next to Yoda. 

What color would your lightsaber be?

I’ve always like the magenta color, so my lightsaber will be on the neon purple side. Who has that one? No one. LOL.

How do you feel about Jar Jar Binks?

I think nobody cares about him to tell you frankly...maybe a chosen few. Most of the people I talk to that are Star Wars aficionados, if you want a spoiler topic...talk about Jar Jar Binks. Many diehard Star Wars fans don’t care about the prequel in general.

Which movie is your favorite? Least favorite?

I like the first three (which is really IV, V, and VI) versus the prequel, which I feel was well made because of CGI and all, but didn’t really made a mark in my book.

Who are your top three characters?
My top three characters would be Yoda, Darth Vader, and Boba Fett.

—AT, GMA News

Rodel Gonzalez's Star Wars exhibit will be held from December 16 to 20 at the Bonifacio High Street Cinemas, 30th Street, Bonifacio Global City.