Bring Your Vision to Life

I was deeply humbled by the overwhelming number of artists who took the time to visit and congratulate me for winning 2nd place in the recently concluded Wacom's Bring Your Vision to Life contest. The truth is I never expected making it to the top 3 with all the wonderful, and creative submissions for the contest. And I wouldn't lie either about not wanting the Intuos 4. I have been coloring with my reliable mouse ever since because I can't afford to buy a tablet. So winning this contest has been the best thing that ever happened to me in deviantArt.

I know that this would have been impossible without the dedicated dA staff who made the fair and tough decision of placing me in the semifinals, the Wacom panel of judges who I believe made a very fair selection of winners and to my friends and fellow artists who showed their support until the very end... for that, I am eternally grateful to you.

I would also like to congratulate my fellow winners and all the 9500+ artists who participated in the contest for giving their best shots. Not winning doesn't mean you're bad and winning doesn't necessarily equate to greatness. This is just one of the many contests that happen in dA so let's all continue doing art.

PS: This victory is dedicated to my beloved Bella Sinclair who unfortunately can't celebrate with me due to the passing of her husband. If by any chance you drop by, I would like you to know that we've won. I didn't have the chance to tell you earlier but here it is. I hope this makes you smile. My thoughts are with you dear.

Pono Ko Bal-leng?

After posting the "heart-rending" Crocodile tears, I received a note from an artist whose works I truly admire. He said that I reminded him of the days when he was just starting out and that he could hardly bear to watch another artist struggle because he knows how's it like. He offered help in case I ran into another financial setback and gave me valuable advice.

I never knew him personally so I searched articles about him and found out that the artist whose works I admire has already made a name in the international scene. His clients include Hewlett Packard and R&B superstar Usher just to name a few. The first thing that came to mind was "could there be a humbler and more generous man out there who goes out of his way to offer assistance to someone he doesn't even know?" And I look at his artworks right now with a renewed and greater respect for the artist who knows how's it like. To you bro, thank you. It's great to have people like you around

I promise not to whine in this blog anymore. After all, who am I to complain when others are losing their homes and their loved ones. I can still consider my self a lucky bastard who's surrounded by great people. So now I'm taking this chance to thank you my friends and visitors for your continued support.

If I may, I would also like to thank Liberts, Girl Gf, DD, Mimi, MJ, Tseri, Galatea and to everyone who linked, suggested and featured my works in their blogs and websites for having faith in me. Not only had you given me a chance to do what I do by commissioning me but you've also given me a breather and done an excellent job promoting my work however small you claim that effort was. Just so you know, it's already spreading like wildfire that I might stop accepting commissions for a month or two to make way for an artwork that I'm most dying to paint. This you must watch out for!;)

I didn't intend to make this very long so thank you if you've reached this point. To my friends who are curious about my second attempt at oil painting... enjoy my self portrait!wahahaha

"Pono Ko Bal-leng?"
36" x 48"
Oil on Canvas

Just kidding. This goes out to all the people who've left and are too busy to look back. Pono Ko Bal-leng? When are you coming home? Have a great weekend everyone!

PS: Special thanks to Nicole for going out her way to shoot and give me photo references of the kudyapi(two-stringed lute). She doesn't even know me.

Crocodile Tears

I was relieved when I didn't receive any SMS confirmation from the foundation. Not that I had expected to make it to the semifinals but I started to feel insecure about my artwork. The more I looked at it, the more I hated myself for risking a great subject that I could have executed well in watercolor. And showing it to the public is like going out in my boxers and exposing my "sexy" legs. I moved on and promised my self to pick lighter subjects and do better with acrylic next time.

Then I received an SMS yesterday reminding me of submitting my artwork today. It turns out they missed to notify me that Crocodile Tears made it to the semifinals. They could have given me enough time to prepare and find money to frame my work. I only had 250Php(6$) left in my bank account and that would cover my meals til my next commission. But consider me a lucky bastard because I was with MJ(she was wearing pink by the way)yesterday who paid the full amount in advance for a commission that I'm currently doing for her.

"Crocodile Tears"

24" x 36"

Acrylic on Paper

This is Crocodile Tears, my first attempt at acrylic. I learned a lot from this and was deeply humbled by the experience and for making it again to this year's MADE. If you're a Filipino, you can easily relate to this artwork. If you also live in Metro Manila, you can view the actual artwork with the impressive cheap frame on June 5-6, 2009 at the 6th flr of Dona Tytana Building, Manila Doctors College, Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, Metropolitan Park, Pasay City. On your way there, just avoid running into those U-turn "sluts".;)

Yahoo! Purplescape Project

Last February, I had the fortune of receiving an invitation to collaborate with Yahoo!. At first I couldn't believe my eyes when I read the subject and thought it was just one of those bogus mails that I've been receiving. But after probing a little, they were indeed the Yahoo! PurpleScape production team.

Yahoo! PurpleScape by the way, is an exciting collaborative art project designed to recognize and promote innovative young talents as well as popular and established artists in the local and international scene. I feel very privileged to be one of the chosen artists among thousands of great talents.

They asked us to draw our vision of a place where there are no rules, no gravity, no money, no worries, no authority.... In short a place of fun and excitement, a place where no one has been before.

This is my own vision of a purple world. And below are some spot details.



Last night at the Ayala Museum, the Yahoo! Project Purple was unveiled. It consists of many initiative including the Purplescape. Below are six art pieces from Pinoy artists that will be included in the limited edition artbook that showcases the perspectives of 20 graphic artists from Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

At the bottom right corner is my artwork printed on a MacBook Air that will be given to 4-5 LUCKY winners of the purple craze. I could only dream of having a laptop, how much more with my artwork printed on it.*drools*

Thank you to the wonderful people of the PurpleScape team and KULT Singapore for this great opportunity.:)

The Dichotomy of Man

When I finished Crocodile tears, I considered taking a break. But I remembered that I have to make a pen & ink artwork for my dear tita Ces before she goes to New York. Recovering from an ordeal that has mentally and physically consumed me, I reintroduced myself with my pens.

It hurt like hell. My hand was not yet ready for pen work and I had to stop for days in between just to let the pain subside. But I had to get over the pain or else I won’t be ready for tita Ces’s Artemis. After a week I have managed to finish this personal project with still functional fingers.

This is my entry to Wacom and deviantArt’s “Bring your vision to life: The Battle of Good vs. Evil”. After putting this off several times to make way for important projects, I have finally found the perfect venue for this study. It took me one year to make this happen and I hope you guys like it. To those who have deviantArt accounts, you can express your support by adding the Dichotomy of Man to your favorites. Thank you very much!

Up next: the 100th blog post!:)

Best Friends Since Birth

I am so blessed to have Liboria McCormick in my life.

This is a pen & ink sketch of my mother, my sister and our life in the country I did 5years back. For those who have not seen anything like it before, this is how a Filipino bath looks like. It comprises of a manual water pump where a split bamboo shaft is connected to its spout and supported by a Y-shaped branch to convey water to a worn out tire used as a basin. Around it is a pile of rocks to keep the soil and wooden planks so children can jump up and down as they take a very cold bath.

This is also the reason why I draw figures with eyes shut today. A friend once commented that I should refrain drawing people staring back at the viewer coz it may cause discomfort. Of course, he wouldn't understand Liboria's stare. I'm sure all you wonderful and loving mothers out there already do.

Belated happy mother's day!

Alekhine's Defence

“Alekhine’s Defence”
11 ¾” x 16 ½”
RESERVED

This is the last piece from my Shah Mat series. Though I would have wanted it to end with The King’s Gambit, this slippery knight had eluded me twice and is now hopping in all it’s excitement to spoil the presentation. Thanks to Yoli for reminding me and this week’s IF prompt, Alekhine is back.

You need not run after this knight. Just give him a minute and he’ll pass by you again, fluctuating while he licks his lollipop. You don’t see his lollipop? Well, I’ll let you wallow on the image then coz I don’t want to bore you with the hidden meaning anyway. I want to sound cool so yes, my illustrations are my way of venting out my frustrations with the economic downturn this 3rd world country has taken a decade ago.

I also wanted to summon the knights of the round table and make a series out of the bunch, Red Threading: Parade of the Trojan Whores. But I’m saving it for a grander occasion, say an art exhibit if I do get lucky with my art and if… I’m still alive after a year.hahaha By the way, I have taken a bolder step today when I submitted my latest painting to this year’s MADE competition. I was surprised that they still remembered Red Threading when they commented on the additional color in my palette. I hope I make it to the semifinals again so my message gets to a broader audience. If I do, I’ll post the pictures sooner. So please include me in your prayers and early Christmas wish lists.;)

You can see the other knight here. I hope to update them with better spot details soon.