Someone's Watching

   Paper: Moleskine sketchpad

   Medium: Graphite pencil

Hidden Grief

A woman's pain is well hidden inside. It is masked by her purposeful stride, the confident shoulders, and engaging smiles. Her thoughts are seemingly witty, but in every pregnant pause is an excruciating wail she tries to bottle up, to see through the end of each day.

A Child's Gaze

Paper: Moleskine sketchpad

Medium: Graphite pencil

Down the Memory Lane

Aside from dosing off while getting inked, my tattoo reminded me of something else: hiding out in my apartment, went out only to buy food. I know a lot of people get bored (or go crazy) when confined inside the room for a day (how much more if it's a week) but the experience had given me a good amount of time to practice my sketches ... and I made a lot!

In fact, I am sharing some of the sketches I made. These are famous celebrities. Warning to the fans! In the event that you feel these sketches haven't truly represented your idols, I claim to be in the early stage of my art career. You can't fault a newbie. That would be a complete injustice. :)

Drawn from the Pensieve*

One day, I finally took the chance to draw a human figure from memory. No models - animated or not - in front. It took careful imagination and thoughtful analysis to come up with one in correct proportions. Of course, thanks to my friend, Jotay, who kindly advised me if my human appears disproportionate.

It would be a real treat if you can also drop your comments about the sketch above. Ciao!
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*pensieve - a seemingly combination of the words 'pensive' and 'sieve';  refers to an object used to sort out and reflect memories drawn from the mind, first appeared in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Getting Out of Hand(s)

Things are stressful lately (or as always). For one, the second semester is ending. Exams are to be handed out. Later on, grades will be computed and requirements are to be accomplished for clearance signing.

In addition to that, I need to finish my thesis in time for my  defense in March so I can finally be over and done with this one hurdle in my academic life – my Master’s degree. Perhaps, by then, I can focus on the rest of my life.

Amidst all these deadlines and must-do’s, one can be overwhelmed to the point of breaking down. Fortunately, I got friends who are there to reassure me and ease my high-strung mind. Another ace on my sleeve is my doodling on paper. Lately, I have been sketching hands.

These sketches remind me of what I have learned about letting go; a lesson I keep on repeating like a mantra and hopefully it will be ingrained on me as I lead a less stringent life. (I used a semi-colon, Jack.)

The lesson appears simple but often overlooked especially when one just wants structure; that I can control my life and I am not at the mercy of fate. If chaos reigns, I only have to sort the things I can change from those that I cannot,and let  to go of those things I have no control with and hold on to those that truly matter.

Grid It!

Although most of my works since the rebirth of my art is portrait, it does not mean I am good at it. Much to my model’s disappointments, they don’t look like the same on my sketch pad.

Take a look at my early portrait in graphite of my good friend, Ising. Anyone can quickly point out that there is something amiss in my proportion and if no one has seen the photo from which I modeled this portrait, her earring is the telltale sign that this is indeed, Ising.

Proportion is the common bane of starting artists. The head is too big, relative to the neck. The forehead is just too wide. One eye is bigger than the other. But there is a solution to that.

Grid.

If one is copying a portrait from a photo, lightly draw a grid on it. If you made an 8x8 grid, make sure you draw the same grid size on your canvas or sketch pad. This is not difficult if you have Photoshop. You can actually place a grid on the photo using this software.

Once the grid is in placed, you can start drawing methodically. You won’t go wrong with the proportion since you know how many squares are the head of your subject based on your grid.

The downside here is that making the lines for your grid would be tiresome. Well, you can start placing your grid while watching your evening primetime “100 Hundred Days to Heaven” or “Nasaan Ka, Elisa?”. Once these programs are over, you can start making the portrait you have been planning for days.

Once I learned how to use grid effectively, here is another portrait, this time in charcoal, of my friend, Bai Ising. 

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The photos from which I copied these portraits were made by Pareng Jotay.

A Preview to Nude Art

To be able to draw a nude portrait has been on my bucket list when I re-started art. It would come as a surprise if you know me 15 years ago. Raised in a conservative family and awarded as one who emulates the virtue of Notre Dame, I hope I won’t be adjudged unfairly for this shift in interest.

This is not my first attempt to nude art, neither was the painting entitled “A Woman Unchained”. There has been several attempts in the past and I can say, modesty aside, that I have improved in my figure drawing.

But why nude?

Figure drawing has always been a challenge to me. One of the many ways my big brother devised to tease me when I was a kid was to draw me in an exaggerated size, making me look fatter than I really was. Though I wanted to get even, I can’t draw a human figure as good as my brother.

Not anymore. Shame on you, Kuya. :)

I read from a book that to be able to draw a person, sketching them in nude is an excellent starting point. It makes sense for when a person is naked, the lines and muscle tones are very much visible and distinguishable. No clothing will distract the artist’s view.

And if I may be poetic about it, the human body is a beautiful masterpiece. If  an artist will be able to draw it on canvas, it would be tantamount to paying homage to our Creator.

Sketch it..Live!

As Pareng Jotay had mentioned, taking photos of a toddler is no easy feat. For one, setting up the lights will wrack one’s analytical brain, only to realize that the little subject is no longer within the shot area. I may have not assisted him shooting his nephew but I can surely testify how much effort he puts in to get the right combinations of exposure, shutter speed, and power. (Free advertisement ni, P’re.)

I am not here to talk about photography, though, I plan to buy my own camera next year. It could be a Christmas gift though, if my brother is reading this.

I am here to talk about making a portrait of a live model.

Pareng Jotay was my first victim er … model. Very few people knew how many portraits Jotay had to endure until I was able to at least show his George Clooney-look on paper. This is my first portrait of Jotay, live! He was working on his netbook while I sketched him using a graphite pencil.

Lesson #1, never sketch while the model is doing something. Unless, of course, you asked him to minimize the head movement.

In my frolic with arts during summer, Carmel was gracious enough to sit for our class. I was personally grateful to her for she sat especially for me as a make-up activity  for my absence (No, I didn’t get sick or married, no one died in my family, and I was not sent by USC to represent the school to Big Brother’s house!)





Eventhough Carmel has to sit still for an hour, we allowed her to take breaks in between to stretch her sleeping muscles and mainly to relax.

Lesson #2, be considerate to your model. True, making her a portrait is not an everyday occurrence but one has to remember, your model is doing you a favor for sitting still when she can do other important personal stuff.





My third model is Stian, my classmate in art class. This time, we applied lesson #1. We let him surf the net. Our only request is for him to hold his head in one position. Afterall, we will sketch only his head.



Lesson #3, show your model your work, no matter how far the real one looks, for his comments.

Some might go berserk because the portrait looks like a monkey. Some will just smile and go in their quiet ways. Some will give you helpful comments.

While some, like Stian, would say “That looks like an actor from a movie! “.

The Strobist Next Door

Growing up in a testosterone-laden household impressed upon me  man’s propensity to self-conceit. Meeting Pareng Jotay (as I fondly call him) refreshed and ultimately changed my views on men. In his self-effacing manner, he showed me that not all men are born chauvinistic and that chivalry is not yet dead.

Hanging out with Jotay for years (not that long actually but seems like decades already) doesn’t make me an expert on who he is. But there are facets in his personality that made him a special gift to his family and friends.

At the forefront of this is his selfless devotion to his wife, Susan, and unwavering support to his parents. Although, he had already hung his own pair of gloves (metaphorically speaking), he jumps to his friends’ defense when needed.

A chemist who knows his chemistry well, it is in art on which he excels (that almost rhymes!). A poet and a photographer, he has his own brand of art uncommon to these days. His poetry bespeaks the style of the olden times, where poetry is a fruit of labor and not just a product of nonsensical lines (another rhyme!).

I understand perfectly well Jotay’s aversion towards fashion photography and events. For one, his photos show a lot of depth on the subject’s soul most fashion photos lack. The bustle associated with events such as weddings creates an  imbalance on an artist’s equilibrium, especially if one’s style relies on soulful images.

Speaking in the perspective of a fellow artist, his works had greatly improved through the years. As a friend, I am very proud that he has found a niche in this world. Just like anyone, the battles he had to wage may left him scarred.

But it is his battle-scarred self that made him a loving husband, a dutiful son, and a best friend.

And I couldn’t ask for more. Thank you, P’re.

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Making a portrait is one of my goals when I embark into this journey. The artworks above traced my earliest attempts to my recent work on portrait makings. In particular, the recent portrait was made while Jotay was sitting for me.

A Paradigm Shift

If there is one thing I missed about high school, it would be the array of black boards serving as my canvas where I could display my art. I would be assigned to update blackboards for any announcements, birthday greetings, and events along with designing them. Since technology at that time was not as advanced as now (we still used the disk-operating system that time), colored chalks were  my medium.

Though such activities ate a lot of my time and would cause me to come home beyond my curfew (and earned Lolita’s ire), it was my fondest memory of high school.

It was in college when I decided to shift my focus to chemistry. It was not a matter of losing interest. It was a case of you-made-the-choice-face-the-consequences kind of thing. I realized the boards in the university weren’t at  my disposal obviously. Since I was on a tight budget, I cannot afford a sketchpad or any art materials. Plus, one cannot really excel or even pass chemistry with conflict of priorities. It is always chemistry or art. I chose the former.

I hid and sealed my art in a box.

Now, I decided to revisit my old interest.

I have blackboards I can use. But I decided to start with a paper and a graphite pencil. I understood I would be rusty from years of ‘inertness’. Indeed, my initial works were like of a child. However, I persist (with a Cheerio at my side) and on one night, alone in my room, I came up with a good drawing of a screw driver (Not a typical core-shaker, I know).


Damn, I’m screwed. I still have it.

After all.