Right after the American liberation of the Philippines, the elder Dizon was quickly hired by the U.S. 5th Army Air Force Command at Clark Field as a cultural and historical consultant. Meanwhile, Dan , now 15, found employment as a " TENT BOY" on one of the " TENT CITIES" of the U.S. Army soldiers that suddenly sprouted in and around his hometown. He was paid One Pesos a day. Naturally, his drawings were now of the U.S. Military. In mid 1945 the schools opened up and Dan was a high school student at the town's Holy Angel Academy. Soon he was the school's artist. Later Prof. Dizon was summoned to Manila to reorganize the School of fine Arts at the U.P. However, the horrible deprivations he suffered during the World War II had taken its toll on his frail constitution and succumbed to a deadly lung disease. After a brief confinement at the Quezon Institute, prof. Dizon was taken home to Angeles, Pampanga to await the inevitable.
To support his dying father, Dan now 17, found emplyment as as sign painter at the PAINT SHOP of the largest American construction company ever to be locate on Philippine soil - the DRAKE-UTAH-GROVE Co. Which was tasked to construct and expand the largest U.S. military base outside the Continental U.S. Aside from signboards, the PAINT SHOP also produced other items from elaborate invitations, colorful posters, to giant billboards - all hand-painted! American supervisors quickly recognized that Dan, the youngest in the shop, was the only one who could paint the human figure correctly and artistically, especially the uniformed ones. Hence, in a few weeks, he was promoted from sign painter to artist-illustrator with a corresponding item of one peso an dthree centavos per hour! .. a fortune at the time considering then the prevailing exchange rate of two pesos to a U.S. dollar.. to the jubilee of his bedridden father.
In October 1947, Prof. Vicente Alvarez Dizon passed away and Dan was suddenly left alone to hold up the torch of Art in the Family. Some few months later the DRAKE-UTAH-GROVE Co. was just about through in the reconstruction of Clark Air base and mass lay-offs were in the offing. Dan did not wait for this eventuality and instead got himself emplyed as a clerk at the local Angeles Electric. Corp., doubling as the unofficial compnay artist. After office hours he operated a small art shop of his own at home where accepted orders for any type of artwork like illustrations for printing, portraitures, landscapes, still-lifes, school teachers'devices, signboards, etc. It wa also around this time that he took a correspondence course in Commercial design from the alma mater of his late Father - Art Instruction, Inc of Minneapolis, Minnesaota, U.S.A. and graduated 1n 1951. Incapable af acquiring a bachelorship degree in art due to financial difficulties, Dan resigned to stick out at the electric company. Consequently
Dan got married in 1956 to a local beauty queen - the former Enriqueta Dominguez y Luciano - a great granddaughter of a 19th century Spanish Army "Comandante" ( the couples were later blessed with seven children).
Just to satisfy the wishes of his mother, Dan half heartedly agreed to join in 1959 the nationwide art examination and competion for the MELQUIADES M. CASTRO Art Scholarship at the University of the Philippines. After a week of grueling and stiff competition with equally talented budding artists - 36 in all from all over the country, Dan garnered the lone top prize and was designated the M.M. CASTRO SCHOLAR for that year. During his stint at the U.P., he was consistent college and/or university scholar. He also qualified as part time artist-illustrator for the IN THE GRADE SCHOOL Magazine and LIWAYWAY Publications. For the school year 1961-62, he was awarded the Gold medal of the Art Assocoiation of the philippines as the "Best Fine Arts Student of the year." The "RAYADILLO" Uniform of the Model Company Unit of the U.P. R.O.T.C. Regiment was also designed by Dan during this time, in 1963, he graduated with a bachelor's Degree in fine Arts cun laude. A Month later he was hired as a staff-artist at the J.Walter Thompson Co. (Philippines). In 1964, the IN THE GRADE SCHOOL Magazine commissioned Dan to execute 10 historical paintings and then were published as a monthly supplements, entitled: "OUR HEROES IN ACTION." Depicting the exploits of Datu Lapu-lapu (1521) up to Gen . Gregorio del Pilar (1899). he conitnued to illustrate in the said magazine up to the 1980's
In 1965, Dan was hired by th DON PEPE HENSON ENTERPRISES (DPHE) in Angeles City to head its promotions Dept. The DPHE was a real estate developer then catering to the expnading community of American Families of the U.S. Air Force in the city and around Clark Air base. At the same time he opened up an honest-to-goodness Art Studio to cater to the burgeoning art needs of thousands of American servicemenand the Filipino base employees. It was during the peak of these artistic activities in his hometown that Dan was unexpectedly visited by the entire male faculty of the U.P. School of fine arts, led by Dean Dominador Castaneda, Sec. Candido Alcantara and Prof. Jose T, Joya. Their visit turned out to be an official invitation for Dan to join the Art Faculty of his alma Mater. Unfortunately, at the time, he was swamped in his artistic responsibilitiesat the DPHE and pending art commissions in his atelier from his American customers. This led him to politely decline the invitation with a heavy heart.
In 1973, Dan was declared as the "MOST OUTSTANDING FILIPINO ALUMNUS IN ART" by his alma mater - Art Instructions Schools, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. and was published worldwide in the school's international art publication: "THE ILLUSTRATOR." In the same year, a historical painting of Dan was appected for permanent display in the KAMIKAZE HALL of the Yazukuni Shrine Museum in Tokyo, japan. This fact made Dan the very first non-Japanese and first Filipino artist whose work of art was accepted and displayed in the said mueum since its establishment in 1869.
The FIRST SOLD EXHIBITION of Dan took place at the main Library Hall of clark Air Nase in Pampanga, philippines, from July 04 to 31, 1976. Displayed as a "U.S. BICENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIVE ART EXHIBIT" were his 20 watercolor paintings depicting the " EVOLUTION OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY UNIFORM FROM 1775 TO 1976."
In 1990 Dan painstakingly endeavored to create 30 historical watercolor paintings depicting precise combat uniforms, firearms and equiptment of the World War II Imperial japanese Armed Forces in the philippines ( Army, Navy, Air Force, Paratroopers, etc) as he actually saw them in Angeles, Pampanga, Clark Field and in manila during the war years. In the same year, had the opportunity to migrate to the U.S. Later he found employment as an artist-illustrator and library aide in a Pacific Southwest research station library of the Bereau of Forest Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture in Albany, California.
From 1994 to 1997, Dan and his wife resided in the Island Of Guam where he was hired as an Art instructor at Santa Barbara School, a Catholic middle school for Children in the town of Dededo. It was during this time that he won top art competition prizes: !. "HEROES ON GUAM 1941 - 1944" in commemoration of the 50th anniversary Liberation of the Island of Guam 2. " OLD BELLTOWER OF MERIZO" in a historic painting competition, and 3. "THE LAST SALVO."
back in the philippines, Dan had his first two-man show with his artist-sister Josie H. Dizon-Henson at the 13th Lounge, Holiday Inn Clark in Pampanga, from Sept. 28 to oct. 18, 1999. Displayed was his Philippine Revolution Centennial Art set: "EVOLUTION OF THE FILIPINO REVOLUTIONARY UNIFORMS, 1896-1906." - the very first of its kind in the history of Philippine Art. They are now on permanent display at the Heores Hall, " MUSEO ning ANGELES, " Sto Rosario St. ( the old "Municipio") Angeles City.
