Mark Bautista auctions off artworks as part of COVID-19 relief efforts

Singer Mark Bautista has been spending the quarantine period being productive and reconnecting with his old hobby which is painting.

But his passion for art did not just reignite out of boredom. His love for it was rekindled in the name of a purposeful cause: he auctioned off his paintings and donated the proceeds to COVID-19 relief operations which aim to aid the needy during these tough times.

In an exclusive interview with Unang Hirit host Lyn Ching, Mark shared how he came up with his “Art for A Cause.”

“Nag-study ako ng architecture pero hindi ko natapos. So ito nga habang… ito 'yung best time actually na gisingin ko ulit 'yung hilig ko sa art.

“Parang ang hirap humanap ng inspiration. So ngayon, nagkaroon ulit ako. Mayroon akong mga dalawa, tatlo akong nagawa habang naka-lockdown,” he said.

“Naisip ko na 'yun na lang 'yung gagawin kong pagtulong. 'Yun 'yung art for a cause na ginawa ko.

“Parang in-auction ko 'yung paintings.

“May mga bumili na rin so happy ako. Alam kong mahirap 'yung panahon ngayon na maglabas ng pera kaya I'm so thankful na may mga nagsuporta rin,” he added.

Mark Bautista obliges at mom's request for a dance in midst of his father's wake

In one of his recent posts, Mark bared that his absence in some charity online concerts was because his laptop crashed.

“For some reason when the lockdown started nag-crash ang laptop ko and nadoon lahat minus1 ko, hindi ko mapaayos and 'di ako makabili.

“When invites came in to do livestream shows, na-stress ako and kailangan ko mag-pass and I felt bad,” Mark explained.

But what made quarantine more special for Mark is the chance to reflect on his newest single “Halik sa Hangin.”

“May isinulat akong song. Ang title is 'Halik sa Hangin' and out na siya sa Spotify sa June 5,” Mark said.

But what is “Halik sa Hangin” all about?

Watch Mark Bautista's “Halik sa Hangin” performance on Unang Hirit to find out: