Diwata

So I was trying to make blogging a weekly thing. Unfortunately, I don't think I could ever commit to updating this space regularly. As promised, here's one of my recent pen and ink drawings that a friend asked me to do.

"Diwata"

30 x 15"

pen and ink, 2014

This is not the biggest pen and ink drawing I've done but it sure is the most intricate. I tried counting the lines but I stopped when I reached 1,023. There's no point when I knew I had to deal with over a trillion lines, countless hours and several cups of coffee just to bring my friend's two-year wait to a halt. Thanks to her for being equally patient that I was able to pull this off.

I wish I could put more close-ups of the details but there's just too many. Anyway, below are some early line art I posted over at instagram. You can follow me HERE if you wanna get updated with the things I do aside from pen and ink.

Yes, there is a smaller drawing!:)

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Ma Bella Luna

I can't believe that I actually waited for a full moon just to post this! Mushy ayt?haha How else should I unveil an artwork dedicated to the moon then?:P Anyway, I hope that Luna shows her appreciation with a crescent smile. But the real pressure came from making Mimi have a Dreamworks moment. Well you see, my friend here sheds a tear everytime she sees the Dreamworks OBB. This is where a little boy's sitting on a moon, moonlighting as a fisherboy who occasionally got attacked by the hilarious penguins of Madagascar. Just watch any Dreamworks movie and you'll see him in the beginning.:P And don't forget to imagine a little lady crying beside you before the movie has even started.hahaha

I've already talked to Mimi and there have been positive signs of recovery for her cousin. Yehey! To my dear friends and visitors, thank you for your prayers and good wishes. You ought to know that you have strengthened and helped Mimi cope with sadness. In fact she opened her blog again and if you have the time, you can pay her a visit. She's a very funny and talented lady, and don't miss her adorable PIP's and the entertaining addiectnotes/anecdotes of her father Dugong.:) So without further ado... the details.

I'm sorry for the blurry images. I just used my camera and I don't have my own scanner. I will update this with better spot details. And by the way, it may not sound as clever as Clement's but here goes my inspiration for this drawing: "Aim for the moon's reflection and you will never miss!haha" He would surely "Stone" me for this.nyehehe Yes, I can also be corny!:P

D7

"D7"
11 ¾ “ x 16 ½“
SOLD

This is a commissioned artwork for my beautiful friend Liberts, which will complement Royal Fork in her living room. Liberts happens to be my very first art client who already bought 2 pieces in this series. Not to mention Ot-to and Uri from Pono Ko Balleng and Afrodite. Well I still have to dissuade her from buying the latter since she will be nursing her bed-ridden father and will be unemployed for a couple of months.



Can anyone can guess why my pawns are women? Hint: it has something to do with the breezy D7!

Royal Fork

As part of revealing the entire chess series here in my blog, I will be updating some entries with images and spot details. And as some of you may have already noticed, I am also linking this to Illustration Friday and deviantArt. For IF's topic this week: Celebrate, I will be talking about a special move in chess, the Fork.

"Royal Fork"
11 ¾ “ x 16 ½“
SOLD

Against my dad, a stalemate is the the closest I could get to winning. And like a discovered check or royal fork on his King and Queen with my Knight, another reason for my premature celebratory dance is the simple Fork with my trustworthy pawns. So before I totally bore you with incomprehensible chess jargon, the Fork is simply a move that attacks two or more of the opponent's pieces that often results to material gain. My dad usually suffers from this very humiliating situation on a Queen's Gambit opening. Dad gets Pwned!Hahaha

But he always took his move back saying it was all a ploy and that he wanted to see if I'd been paying attention. Björnik gets owned!:(



The following is the original blog entry written May 2, 2008:

It must had been the luckiest day in my life. Last saturday, one of the 6 finished artworks was sold to a very good friend who used to be my boss and who I have great respect for. It was just a simple show and tell and I didn't expect her to be interested. Told her about my plans of holding an exhibit and that I just need enough money for the preparation. I also learned from our brief conversation that she's also an artist and a feminist. And then she also commissioned me to do another artwork that will complement this in her living room.

I couldn't thank you more girl gf, DD & Ms. Bing! Ingat kayo jan sa Bahrain:* I just hope that some of my beautiful friends in Japan could read this.:P

A Cut Above the Rest

I was not expecting any guest for my birthday except for the 5 persons I invited out to lunch. And an additional mouth meant no meals for me for the next 3 days. But I couldn't stand it thinking about a newcomer eating alone on her first day in work. So I looked inside my wallet, drew out my rosary and prayed for a miracle. It was the best birthday celebration ever. I know from the looks on their satisfied faces, the blissful smiles with meat stuck in between their teeth and by the way their bellies sagged and their feet hugged the way back to the office. The walk was highlighted by a friendly banter that ended up with my friends restraining me from hitting the newcomer!

That was the scene 3years ago and that's my imagination talking in the last sentence.

Gem couldn't stop laughing upon hearing this confession and she recounted that the lunch was not that good either. I knew I should have punched her that time!haha But it's very different now. As time went by I grew fond of her. She blossomed right before my eyes even before I could convince my self to call her my Girl GF. With the emphasis on the word girl for people mistake her for a she-man coz she would seriously maim those that talk to her breast, standing up for all the women and she-men of the world. This is my girl GF, a cut above the rest.

"A Cut Above the Rest"
11 ¾ “ x 16 ½“

My very good friends Gem and DD commissioned me to do this artwork as my stand on women empowerment. I respect women but I honestly think that it was just my Girl GF's excuse for vanity.;) Check out the details, enjoy everyone.

Castles in the Air

After a year in captivity, my fledglings are now ready to soar high and find a decent roost. I'm happy for them. At least I know their owner will take good care of them, like how he took care of me. Besides, I wouldn't call him the birdman if he eats rooks for dinner.

I'm talking about two of my artworks that has been sold to my former boss. I spent at least a week, translate to 100 hours of eye strain, tendinitis and backaches, drawing each piece. And another month just staring at them and loving my self dearly for creating these masterpieces.haha Walang pakialaman!:P Well, they were all I had when everything seemed so bleak and uncertain. They kept me and Elai(my PC) company in the emptiness of my room. They flew with me wherever the wind took us. They were my rooks and I was their king. And it was difficult for me to set them free.


Well, I didn't intend to write something as mushy as this. It would have been more appropriate if I just wrote about how I came up with the concepts. But just like all the pieces in my chess series, they can't keep still. I hope you caught one of them winking at you!;)

O-O

P.S. Sorry about the hands but my friend thought it's cool if I make it my trademark.hahaha!

Birth Pangs

I'm 2 weeks delayed in one project and 3 days in another. I never expected it to be this stressful nor considered having the two of them coincide for a single day. The pressure of being needed in two places at one time and traveling to and fro the opposite poles of the metro is very overwhelming. In fact, I've exhausted all the invectives to myself for pursuing these when from the onset telltales of incompetence were clearly laid out in front of me.

The truth is I'm numb. Numb from the constant badgering of my lady friends, numb from clueless workers who still managed to smile after carrying out instructions the other way and numb from the numbness of a disheartened ally. I've used the N word quite effectively, might as well change the first one with a D. So anyone reading this right now, don't mind me. I just want all these to be over with. Tomorrow!

I wanna get back to painting and have 5 of my artworks "hanged". I miss my pens and my paint tubes; and oh I almost missed retrieving my last artwork from Faber Castel. It turned out that my unfinished artwork, Red Threading 2: Parade of the Trojan Whores, was chosen as part of the Sining Awards exhibit. 

Red Threading 2: Parade of the Trojan Whores (unfinished)

24" x 36"

watercolor

Pono Ko Balleng? (When Are You Coming Home?)

After witnessing Kadayawan and having seen real Bagobos for the first time, I couldn't help but be proud of being one. The intricacy and colors of the patterns in our costume and jewelries are very eye-catching, even the dialect's a treat to the ears. A lanky Bagobo, probably in his 70's, emerged from their hut and reminded me of my grandfather. Seeing him made me want to run away.

I could only fancy how brave my Appu Ole, a full-blooded Bagobo, was during his days. My late grandmother claimed that he had driven witches out of their neighborhood with his bolo. My mom said that he drove my grandmother out of their house using a shotgun. So every time we visit our ancestral home, I enter through the lanai where his portrait wearing a bagobo costume awaits in the living room. His stare alone can make someone's hair stand on end. I admire him for exuding that aura even without having his ears pierced. By the way, he was also an excellent photographer.

Though we are becoming less nowadays due to intermarriage and migration, I'm still hopeful that our culture will be preserved. I hope my uncle and my father who are the last bagobo-speaking members of the family live long enough to teach me the tongue-twisting dialect.

These drawings are my way of tracing my roots. Sent these along with three other artworks to Japan as my entry to the 16th Noma Concours. I couldn't have done that without my dear friends. Thank you and enjoy!

Shah-la-Matt

It is surprising to know that there are real people out there who are actually interested in my series. Well aside from the sales I made from friends after incessant badgering and promises of literally building their homes with my bare hands. A friend of mine, the very talented MALL, also helped by featuring my works in her blog. Check her out and be prepared to get mesmerized. Don't tell me I didn't warn you. And before I forget, Mall if you're reading this, Maraming salamat!

I could whole heartedly say that life has been good to me the past week. Construction went smoothly and there had not been any reported cases of missing limbs. A very happy doctor gave my retention fee for a chapel and a mausoleum that I designed last year, which I had totally forgotten about. Yesterday, I found myself standing beneath a rain cloud and it's like standing beneath your little sister's little pink umbrella and getting half of your body wet. Except that you were loving the experience. I should have pushed my luck and tried to find that pot of gold at the end of rainbow.



Anywayz, the long wait is over! After almost 8 months of drawing that seemed to me more like eternity of eye strain and tendinitis, my Pen & Ink series is now complete. I have just finished the last piece, which is the slayer King, a commissioned work for another architecture client, I just hope he likes it for his bachelor pad. Otherwise it will end up as a wedding present along with the dragon Queen. I know it sounds strange and a bit like the dungeons and dragons theme. But if you want get lost in my crazy world, you can subscribe to this blog via RSS. There is a lot in store for you. I just have to fix some stuff before I could post the rest of the series here in my blog. And I can't wait to talk about the Battery of Rooks.

Please check out my latest artwork "A Cut Above the Rest". Thank you for viewing!:)

For Sale

I am now pre-selling my artworks to anyone interested in pen & ink drawings. I've already sold 4 of the 12 A3-sized (297mm x 420mm) pieces. Prices and high resolution copies are only available upon serious inquiries. FCFS

SOLD OUT

Red Threading

The public viewing of MADE semifinalists was held last June 6 and 7 at the Fortune building at Legaspi Village, Makati. There were more than 20 wondeful watercolor entries that made it to the cut. I couldn't even hope of making it to the finals with all those entries meticulously done with a master's touch. It was also a surprise to find my former boss's two re-entries to the architectural design category. I just hope he wins this time. I was so overwhelmed and inspired that I rushed back home and tried to finish my art series.

My participation to the contest was only made possible by 3 important ladies. First, my mom for sending all the required documents upon a very short notice. Then my beautiful ate who decided to call in late for work just so we could have this entry framed and to my friend-enemy-friend for giving me the perfect metaphor 15min before I submitted this to Metrobank. I would also like to thank my friends (you know who you are) for their unending support and to all those who came a long way just to see my entry.

To those who didn't catch this on exhibit, enjoy!

Ivatan House Project-1

Here are 6 of the 15 sketches I did for the UP College of Architecture & the Batanes local government. It is a UNESCO project that aims to include the Batanes group of islands in the World Heritage Sites list. This is actually my first attempt on pen and ink.

After almost four years of graphic design and wandering, I received the Calatagan Project from the Enrique Zobel Foundation. Art commissions especially pen & ink are hard to come by these days.:(

Calatagan Project

I was commissioned to do a pen and ink rendering of a church and a lighthouse in Calatagan, Batangas. Of all the building types, I don't understand why these two were the only ones available for promoting the town. I'm a lover of detail and it is difficult to include every architectural element on an A3 size paper and still retain the edifices' character and integrity.

Here is a sample of the design, which will be printed on the town's souvenir shirt. There are 10 approved designs that will extended to souvenir items like bags, mugs, etc. I just hope they are going to push through with the printing this year. More of my pen & ink drawings here.