Fractal Foot
I ran (and mostly walked) this morning in UP around the academic oval where hundreds run and jog during Sunday mornings when the oval is closed off to vehicular traffic. I wanted to run the entire 2.2 km of the oval and then some. But when I began, I found that I didn’t have the will today. Not that my heart found it difficult but something other than biology strained to move my feet forward. Instead, after several sprints and bursts that ended all too soon, I found myself walking. And as what usually happens when I walk long stretches, my mind starts to drift and to reflect. Which probably isn’t the point of a morning exercise run, but there you go.
I’m back to “work” in less than a month. By work I mean the old 9 to 5 as an art director. It’s complicated and it mostly involves making up for being overpaid by a couple of weeks after I spent all my leaves during this almost 7-month stretch of alone time.
My sister tells me it’ll be difficult for me going back. I suppose so. Mostly the rigid schedule. I don’t know about the coming-up-with-ads part. I don’t think I’m that rusty.
But the desire to do my own stuff is still there. When I look at the work of Filipino and foreign artists who’ve devoted themselves full time to their craft, I know that I can’t not do it. It must be done.This was the same feeling of desperation I had when I was working as an Account Executive and servicing clients.
But I realize that during my pseudo-freelance period, I spent my time inefficiently. Oh sure, I’m doing my comic book, I finished a few paintings and I got to go to France to draw but I felt I could have done more.
I now realize that it sucks working at my house. Not in principle. But specifically this house, with people shouting all the time and hardly any food during lunch (I don’t know how to cook and if you saw the sorry state of our kitchen, you wouldn’t want to learn to cook there either).
So what do I do? Still figuring it out I suppose. My professors have asked me if I was interested in teaching in the College of Fine Arts. Sure. I have a lot of theories I want to test out and I truly want to share what I know. But honestly, I don’t know if I have what it takes.
But then as I write that last statement, I know that there probably is no other recourse but to try it out. Better to have tried than failed and all that. So as 2009 comes to a close and having spent most of the year out of the office, I wonder what the next year will bring. As always, there’s no other choice but to take it one step and one day at a time.
>>Rommel
People watching over dinner and coffee
Had dinner at Tazza with my sis while having the car washed. Coffee later on with mom. That’s my mom on the upper right side of the spread. Apparently I captured a passing pissed off aura. 
Looking through the interwebs at other artists. I have so much to learn. It depresses me.
Simultaneous
Just thinking out loud.
I’ve been making some drawings inspired by Julie Mehretu . Well, sort of. At least the layering of gestural elements. I saw her work in Vitamin P a couple of years ago and since then I’ve loved it. I even bought her book of drawings two years ago. I don’t know what it is that attracts me to her work. I’m a pop culture guy raised on a diet of genre lit, comics and figurative art. I don’t know why I’ve been trying to somehow work the influence into what I’ve been doing.
Layering
When I was studying under the Studio Arts program during my last two years in college, a lot of the works being done by the students incorporated hard edged graphic elements overlayed on modeled pictorial forms. I found the method of “layering” images appealing. Maybe because one could do it in a haphazard, uncomposed way that didn’t seem too staged.
Comics
Anyway, in my own readings on comics, I became attracted to the idea of comics being a map of time and of the possibility of breaking reading order. Reading comics is moving through images sequentially along a several images but if you think about it, every thing is already on the page and occurring at the same time. One can see that in David Mack’s work where a reading order is prescribed by the text but the collage of visual elements also creates discrete pockets of information that can be read in a non-linear way. These elements are not decorative and contribute to the over-all meaning of the story and the piece.
Mark Making
Then these past two days, I’ve been having fun with my Pentel Pocket Brush just making marks on the page and I was thinking that although the brush creates a line, applied with enough pressure and ink, it also creates a significant shape - an irregular swatch of ink. I’m an art director in my day job and I do graphic design and that got me thinking how designers layer elements of color, line and form in their work made through the computer. What if I did it with brush ink?
Narrative Works
Now I’m thinking of drawings and maybe paintings later on composed of layered gestural marks but not necessarily non-representational or abstract works but narrative pieces.
Like comics? But unregulated by the grid but using abstracted comics devices like puffs of smoke, speed lines, sweat drops, etc. Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey) developed a Lexicon of Comicana to catalogue these elements. All of these elements communicate meaning in a specific way. Combined with text and images, meaning can be combined and derived in potentially endless ways.
I guess it’s very pop-art and not very original but who knows what happens down the line.
I guess I’ve also been attracted to paintings that use drawing as a primary underpinning in the work and combined with text and symbols. Artists such as Raymond Pettibon even Basquiat come to mind. Among the locals, I’ve been strangely attracted to Ian Quirante’s work as well as Wire Tuazon.
Well, like I said. Just thinking out loud.
>>Rommel
Ninja Assassins, Crepes and People Watching
After a quick meeting at the French Embassy with the Cultural Attache (preceded by 2 hours of people watching at the nearby Starbucks), I headed over to Trinoma to catch Ninja Assassin with Abi and Erica. The film was bloody, gory and fun. I think the people behind it realized that flicks like this shouldn’t be saddled with too much back story and just allow enough plot to buttress generous amounts of martial arts fight scenes. Bloody fun! During the end credits, I also found out that the Ninja Master sensei was played by Sho Kosugi. My delight drew blank stares from my companions. Obviously they weren’t around during the 80’s when Kosugi was kicking ass as a ninja. Inspired casting choice. 
But before the all the ninja slicing and dicing, we had crepes at Cafe Breton, something Abi and I had been craving for since we had dessert there over a week ago.
Excalibur Crepe
Blueberry and Cream
Delicious capuccino.
Book of Ugly Week 2 & the Beautiful Pentel Pocket Brush
I’m having fun drawing in the Book of Ugly. Especially since I’ve changed the cartridge on my Pentel Pocket Brush. This thing is wonderful! It’s different from the pen brush being sold in the Philippines (although of the same brand). The brush tapers to a finer line and the ink lasts much, much longer. And I’m not the only one who swears by it. Fine reviews all around for this product here and here.
I am worried though when this brush runs out of ink or gets totally worn down. I bought my pens during my trip to France and I was only able to buy two because it gets pretty pricey. The cartridge alone is over 5 euros.
This kind of reminds of something Neil Gaiman wrote in Sandman: “tools are the subtlest of traps” (I hope I’m not misquoting).
I am seriously considering ordering this product online (here’s a site) when I wear mine down. I think the extra expense is worth it.
Anyway, here are a bunch of drawings made over the weekend.
>>Rommel
Misspent Cubes
Abi and I failed to finish our cube artworks. 
Add this to the a long list of unfinished endeavors. This is depressing.
Despite appearances, the artworks below are unfinished.
Unfinished cubes.
Tried etching the surface of the acrylic cube then staining it with acrylic paint. The paint seeped into the etched grooves and stayed there.
More etchings
Hail the one-eyed king.
Abi's Roboto. Made from wine wrapping paper and acrylic.
Book of Ugly
I’ve started a new journal book made from a craft notebook I bought at Papemelrotti. The plan is to fill the pages with grotesque portraits/images. Maybe I can flush all the grotesquerie out of my system.
>>Rommel
The Chesire Cube
I’m running a bit late on this one. Abi and I have been invited to an exhibit which uses transparent acrylic cubes as the painting ground. It’s open-themed with the only guideline that the artwork be “happy”. I’m not really the happy-artwork making kind of guy but I’m game for anything.
I trashed the initial concept Abi and I agreed on because I was having trouble manipulating the paint on such a non-absorbent ground. I didn’t like having the image in my head looking too painterly. So I thought of doing something relatively easy (because the deadline is tomorrow!) and at the same time makes use of the cube’s transparency.
Then I thought of the chesire cat from Alice in Wonderland. Here’s a picture of the cube. Nothing much yet, just some pieces of paper to mock-up where the opaque elements will go. Looks like a long day/night ahead.
>> Rommel
