I’ll be participating in a group show organized by Canvas Gallery this September entitled “If Trees Could Talk”. The show opens on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014 (4pm) at the Asian Center Museum, University of the Philippines, Diliman. The exhibit runs until Sept. 19, 2014.
Here’s my work. 🙂
“Tuktok”, 32 x 40 in. Oil on Canvas
I recently had a two-man show with Sergio Bumatay III at the Canvas Gallery, my first. I had previously joined group exhibitions with my organization, Ang INK but preparing several paintings in one go is a first for me. In the end, I finished five 4 x 3 ft. paintings.
It was an interesting experience. I don’t think “fun” is quite the word I’d use. More like “frantic stumbling along”, which I know isn’t a word.
Deciding what to do, making studies, preparing surfaces and actually “negotiating” with the paint to create images that I was happy with was difficult. Nevertheless, it was extremely satisfying seeing the paintings finished and framed. Having these pictures arrayed in a gallery gave me a feeling that they existed apart from me, that other people could hold them and they weren’t just in my head. I only wish I could have been faster and actually finished more.
I learned a lot from the experience and it’s something I want to keep on doing in the coming years. I often think to myself why I paint. I’ve worked in advertising for years and I work at a time when doing stuff digitally is a must for any workflow, but something about painting excites me and inspires me.
I like looking at paintings. I like looking at other peoples paintings and it makes me want to paint more. I think I paint not because it’s “cutting-edge” or because it has “limitless possibilities”. Quite the contrary I think; I paint because it is limited and even “archaic”.
Making marks on a surface is as old as the history of man. But I like the idea that with direct physical contact with a material, people can create different shades of meaning and emotion. And that, I think, is extremely satisfying.
‘Christmas is huge here in the Philippines. I hear Christmas songs in the malls as early as September and the festive season lasts until the first week of January. By this time a lot of groups and offices are celebrating their Christmas parties. Today is Ang INK‘s turn.
And what Christmas party would be complete without exchanging gifts. This year, Zeus suggested we give out a found object (that together with an earlier agreed book gift).
So I made an artwork from an old book I got from Book Sale.
And Pergy took it home! Coincidentally, Pergy was also the first one to comment on the artwork when I posted it on facebook.
Hey Oso! 