Studied at the Ateneo de Manila, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1904. Later he took up drawing sessions at the Liceo de Manila and Teodoro Buenaventura's school of drawing. Served as an art teacher in the Bureau of Education for 24 years. He was the favorite artist of public school teachers and his landscape was found in nearly all classrooms. His romantic paintings captured the traditions of the country using Western techniques of realism. He often depicted seascapes, rice fields and villagers at work.