Filipinismo - A Bernard Vista Exhibit (March 2013)

***Warning: Image heavy entry***

Beneath a rather posh-looking hang out of posh-looking people in the posh-looking side of the metro, awaits a quaint room of glass inviting you to view its little time windows of vivid colours. 

In Bernard Vista's Filipinismo, each piece resonates vibrant memories of the exceptional Filipino spirit - an anthology of evidence about our long-standing proud traditions and humble way of life depicted in vivid imagery with subjects half-hinting a smile of content and looks of sanguinity - like a secret that only Vista's characters will only understand. The abundance of colour, signature bent head and enormous limbs attract even more attention to Vista's rather interesting cubism style filled with optimism. His particular style in this exhibit is quite gradually leaning more towards some realism approach but still maintaining that cubism charm which he is extensively known for. 

This particular exhibit with Galerie Joaquin marks Vista's first major exhibition for the year 2013 after almost 8 years since his last solo exhibition with the said gallery. Also, Filipinismo is a follow-up for Galerie Joaquin’s Special Preview showcase last February 25-28 resulting to a positive response from Vista’s collectors.

The exhibit ran from March 1-10, 2013 at Galerie Joaquin Podium Lower Ground Floor, B12-13 at the Podium Mall. 

 

Serenity's Garden

Serenity's Garden
"I don't care, I'm still free. You can't take the sky from me."
- Firefly theme song by Joss Whedon

Hello everyone~! What I have for you today is a nice little art post. And it is dedicated to the great Audrey Kawasaki. I've been inspired by her art for almost a year now and I came to love her gaggle of girls that all seem to be staring beyond understanding. The sensuality and honesty of her works urges me to grab a pencil asap and create my own.

Whitefall

However, my style seems to be unknown yet. I recall saying to myself that one day I will be meeting my own style and we'll be best friends. I tried experimenting a lot to discover my style, but nothing seems to stick. So I thought, be patient. I need to be inspired and to practice. And practice I did, inspired by Audrey Kawasaki's wonderful world, I try to make my own little Oz.

Ariel

Despite diverting from her style, I seem to adopt it, yet it comes out differently. It's a bit odd. Here I am thinking, 'Okay, I'll try to do some Audrey-like pieces for some practice. But no, this ain't like it yet it reminds me of her style somehow.' I can't say that I'm comparing myself to Audrey (that would be blasphemy), but the reason why it transpires somewhat like hers is that, I came to love her work because I know what my taste in art is. I know which way to go.

Shadow

Also, this is a refreshing method for me. Gone are the line arts and stiff strict lines with harsh colors (or no colors at all). I sometimes wonder how my sketches look so cool, yet when I ink it in, it is awful. So I kept the sketch, clean it a bit, color it in. and lo and behold, it did improve a lot. The water color treatment adds a pit of poetry and movement which results to a very dreamlike image that I like very much. I am indeed happy with this outcome, I think I'll be meeting my own style soon enough.

Models' Candid Cam

"To days to come... All my love to long ago." - The 2 Doctors (Time Crash - Doctor Who)

I like making memories, but I love capturing them more. Though sometimes, it's not the exact things you want to see upon seeing a photograph of yourself. If there's any forte I'm good at in photography, I am best in taking candid wacky photos. The natural quirk of people is interesting to the viewer, it gets you inside the subject's head and see them in a different light. That's why I want a certain amount of my photography to be awkward because you never know what you'll see behind those brightly lit faces.

Here I have compiled some of my favorite candid model moments. You saw them with their best foot forward, now see them dance along the awkward music. 

Light, Shadows and Reflections

Here's a little project of mine. The use and play of lights, shadows and reflections dancing together to make a rather interesting picture. I've always love playing with these extremities which somehow made its way to be part of my photography style.

Codename: Dublas

Codename: Dublas "To die will be an awfully big adventure - Peter Pan (J.M. Barrie)"
Done in Paint Tool SAI (2013).

Keep Moving Project

The Sea Remembers (2013).

"Grey February skies, misty white sands, black rocks, and the sea seemed black too, like a monochrome photograph, with only the girl in the yellow dress adding any colour to the world...

...I watched her go: a splash of gold in a black and white world. Carrying her grandmother's pendant in her hand."

February Tale (A Calendar of Tales)

by Neil Gaiman

Neil tweeted 12 questions, and thousands answered. The result is 12 amazing stories from Blackberry's Keep Moving Project entitled A Calendar of Tales, a collaboration with Neil Gaiman and deviantArt. Now, Neil did his part in writing the stories, it's time we visualize them. This is a call to arms for the disciples of art to enhance and develop their creativity by conjuring up images from Neils' 12 works of fiction. All you need to know is on their site here. 

It is an obvious marketing strategy of Blackberry collaborating with this generations' heroes of popular culture. But consumerism aside, I still think it's a pretty cool project. You may or may not get involved, scratch off the uploading part, yet you still can make pretty good artwork from those wonderfully written stories.

February stands out to me the most after reading the 12 stories, likewise October (still have to make one for it). I started with a digital photo dating back in 2009, edited it both Photoshop and Paint Tool SAI. I aim for a more gloomy atmosphere because the story is quite delving into that mood. In a nutshell, someone died long ago on the beach under the Grey February sky. I also made it blurry because it adds mystery to it. Like a stealth intruder watching the scene.

I must say, this is the first time I played with Photography and Drawing which resulted quite as I like it to be. It's not as pretty as the others, and it doesn't make you look twice. I just want to try out something new in terms of creative process. And Neil has gone out of his way to make that bold move to the thousands of his followers. Anyway, I'm quite proud of what I did. I tried something new, I made a mistake, I learned. I stepped out of my comfort zone. It's pretty cool once you see the output all mesh together and uploaded with the likes of its kind on the website.

Now if only Mr. Dream would be so kind to choose my photo. lol. *high hopes*

We too are Stardust

...We too are stardust. (Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder (1991)

Done in Paint Tool SAI (2013)