a portrait of a friend

Friends (and fans ) meet Jo, a fellow endangered specie. I used to call her gypsy (she doesn’t like that though).. because she’s always up and around, going where the smell and the roar of the ocean was, climbing rocky mountains and sleeping under the stars. For me, she had always been a free spirit; a young girl with wings on her feet and a seemingly insatiable hunger to explore. We were in college when i did this portrait of hers which i intended to give as a farewell present when she went to Cyprus to work. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to see her off so the drawing stayed with me.. 17 years has passed since and i’ve forgotten all about this drawing already. 

Now I am seeing it — seeing her — in a whole new light. I see a woman full of courage, not just a girl who dared. I see a woman who persevered and worked hard, not just a girl who dreamed. I see a woman wisened and toughened by hardships,and not just a girl with a very  pretty face.

father and son

This is a beach scene i saw during my short stay at Paradiso Beach Resort, Pulupandan, Philippines.

i don’t know why, but painting this scene comforted me..  somehow it was for me a quiet assurance that in the midst of all the chaos & complexities of life, some things remain unchanged.. untouched.. uncomplicated..

Like the sun hugging the horizon.

Like the love of a father for his child.

prayers in a bottle

in the wake of the recent loss and tragedies brought about by typhoons Ondoy and Peping, i was inspired to draw this.  12″x12″ pencil drawing on watercolor paper 

in the spotlight

I found this drawing gathering dust in my baul after cleaning up (a time-consuming job considering the amount of basura i hoard in my small bodega..er.. bedroom) and i thought i’d play around with it using the spotlight effect in Ulead Photo Express, hacked edition. After experimenting with white, yellow, and red spotlights, I’ve come up with a few interesting results. i can’t make up my  mind which one i like most, so i posted all 3. Tell me what you think…

 By the way, here is the original drawing… methinks the nose is worse than penny’s drawing. i so hate drawing noses! 

luna: the phases of a woman

luna series

luna nueva

luna creciente

media luna

luna llena

I painted this series in celebration of the women’s month last March 2006. It is a 4 part painting framed as one, and it was used for a backdrop for a pro-women tv program, “The She Factor” on Sunshine Channel.

I regret not havin paid more detail into these paintings because the paintings had already been widely published.  There are so many areas that i have overlooked and needed to improve.. Now that i’ve come to look at it more closely, the paintings look anime-ish.

Well. it isn’t with me anymore, the network has it, and all i can do is hopw that those who look at it will forgive me for being the amateur that i am.