My Purple World

The greatest surprise when I was in Singapore was waiting for me at the Kult's office. When I came to visit and get my copy of the Purple book, Lisa told me that Yahoo! chose my Brainchild to be the central artwork for their booth in the Regional Spikes Awards.

That was great news. But it also meant that I had to rush three more artworks that would comprise the 6m x 5.5m artwork. From a one-month artwork that is the Purplescape to the two-week artworks the Brainchild and the Big Idea, I was faced with an impossible task of coming up with a quadtych... in ONE WEEK!

God knows I worked hard to finish the pieces on time. I even shunned my friends and ignored my family for an entire week. It was a time reminiscent of my college days when I could still manage to be productive with two-hour sleeps. It felt great until the unthinkable happened. My computer crashed on the day of submission, just as I was about to save the final artwork and a few minutes from sending it to them.Well I had anticipated that already but it never dawned on me that it would actually happen, during my birthday. Of all the days in a year!hehe If God was trying to teach me a valuable lesson, then he certainly did an excellent job.

I did save a back-up copy of the artwork though... in my 3-year old thumb drive. That meant I had to wrap the only file left of my computer with bubble wrap and carry it with both palms to my former office. It was a flattened version of the artwork that would make editing cumbersome so I had to redo a part of it from scratch and stitch it back again. I was already one day late and we had no choice but to keep on praying that the very slow computers don't crash again. God was smiling at me then.

I had made it through that humbling ordeal and I promised myself that it won't happen again. By the way, I got some of my files back, thanks to my friend and national hero Josex. It's people like him that should be exalted and not some on-screen Zorro who only saves damsels in distress.;) Enjoy the details!

My Purple World at the Regional Spikes Awards at the Esplanade, Singapore. Photo courtesy of Jem Seow.

My Brainchild, My Big Idea

After the successful launch of the Purple Hunt and my artwork that got printed on a MacBook Air and the Purple Book, I thought that the PurpleScape was just a one-time deal for me. Little did I know that it was my ticket to a bigger project that Yahoo! had in store for us.

Two weeks before the Purple Hunt finale, I was asked to draw two new artworks that would build upon my PurpleScape submission. Knowing my limitations and the task at hand: to produce two high-quality artworks in two weeks, I still took the challenge. I got so excited that I started to draw my ideas in ink right away. Midway through the 1st artwork, I found out that a real Big Idea Chair exists. Good thing I wasn't finished with the central piece yet and avoided redrawing everything from scratch.

The Big Idea Chair by the way, is a life-sized throne and a coveted award that recognizes original thinking, creative solutions and big ideas. Those who receive it must have made compelling solutions and inspired others to pursue with the same standards. It's a rare opportunity for me and a privilege to be drawing for the prestigious award and sharing my ideas with other remarkable creatives from all over the world. So without further ado, my ideas:

In the beginning, it was just a concept. When the period of gestation was over, it gave birth to My Brainchild.

"The Brainchild"
59.4cm x 84cm
Pen & Ink, Digital Painting

Maybe one dude can change a light bulb. But when you soar the light, the more people will feel the light. Ideas should aim to inspire but it should also know how to.

"The Big Idea"
59.4cm x 84cm
Pen & Ink, Digital Painting

These artworks will be part of the Big Idea Chair book, which is to be presented to a selected audience of top notch advertising and design gurus of the world. I am very proud to be part of this. Let me share with you the delightful details. Enjoy!

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.:)