"Madonna and Fish," one of the sections on what is tagged to be the "World's Longest Painting."

Filipino television scenarist Rollie de Leon and his contemporaries are determined to surpass the current record for the world's longest painting with a monumental masterpiece that will last for miles.

"We want to make sure we get the longest painting award from the Guinness World Records this year so I decided to lock it to seven kilometers," de Leon said.

In 2005, 3,000 students from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates made the first longest painting when they finished an oil painting 2.9 kilometers long. This was reportedly beaten by Portugal in 2006, with a 4 kilometer painting. Currently listed on the Guinness World Records website is the "world's longest painting by numbers" title won by engineering students from India, who created a 0.59 kilometer painting depicting the history of the earth.

De Leon's creation is tagged to surpass them all.

This week, the as yet 6.4 kilometer canvass dubbed as "Fishes of the Ocean" still lacked frames to complete a seven-kilometer creation. So the On-the-Spot Artists Association (OTSAA), which de Leon chairs, thought of adding 50 meters more of collaborative art during the Earth Day celebrations on Tuesday morning at the New Haven Covered Court in Fairview, Quezon City.

Six individual painters came and supplied the remaining blank spaces with their artistic strokes from acrylic materials provided by OTSAA.

Most of the additional images were still-life paintings of starfish, whales, "butanding" (whale sharks) and other species. Of the five borders (two artists fused two canvasses in one), one displayed a symbolic elongated fish painted with the colors of the Philippine flag. Others were realistic renditions of aqua life.

Make your mark

The OTSAA started work on the painting as early as 2006 with at least 6,000 painters, mostly young and unknown. These lovers of brush and easel were varied in orientation and social background. “We didn’t have enough funds but they were very passionate about the idea,” confessed Rollie.

One of the participants, who was a pupil from Piñahan Elementary School in Quezon City, created a segment which is a beautiful and inspiring delineation of a woman with a fish-catch on her lap. The portion was titled “Madonna and Fish” which OTSAA chose as the overall theme in posters, cards, and banners during the group’s Earth Day celebrations.

These young painters reportedly thought of this somewhat as a "labor of love."

“They don’t even think of self-importance or acknowledgement even after the Guinness Book of World Records would proclaim ‘Fishes of the Ocean’ the world’s longest painting,” said entertainment journalist Dennis Adobas, who has been supporting de Leon’s project for years.

According to Adobas, Rollie’s love for the art served as the driving force to carry them through despite hardships. “Sponsors are hard to come by so Rollie makes sure he spends for the purchase of the materials. I remember, there was a time when he ran out of cooking gas, instead of allotting the money for his household needs, he would divert the budget to buying painting materials. He would just cook [with] charcoal,” recalled Adobas.

With all his harships and financial constraints, Adobas keeps charging on. His dream nearly vanished, though, when the initial rolled-up copy of “Fishes of the Ocean”, which had been stored in a studio prop warehouse adjacent to his residence, was almost eaten up by fire late last year.

“I thought the world wouldn’t witness anymore the piece of art they’re talking about,” de Leon recalled.

Gladly, “Fishes of the Ocean” got a boost from the public when the Bureau of Fisheries and Natural Resources chanced upon the concept which de Leon had posted on his website. The government agency immediately took notice and eventually joined the painting marathon, resulting in meters of colorful marine biodiversity drawn on the canvass.

Guinness takes note

The magnificent creation, a work of many hands, will finally come to fruition. On June 7, 2009, the representatives from the Guinness World Records (GWR) will officially announce the Philippine collaboration as the longest ever painting in the world.

“I have already talked with the GWR officers. They are coming over in time also for the Environment Day on June 5. We are setting up the canvass in order for the world to see the product of our blood, sweat and tears,” de Leon said excitedly.

Odette Alcantara, one of the country’s foremost patronesses of the arts, is easily backing up Rollie’s initiative.

The seven kilometer canvass, said de Leon, will be displayed at the sprawling football field at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.

Meanwhile, in September 2010, “Fishes of the Ocean” will be sent to Egypt to participate with other 5,000 murals from around the world during the celebration of the International Decade for the Culture of Peace.

For all the painting's merits, however, de Leon said it’s not the length that is important today so much as its message of global environmental protection.