Turn of the Century

Ordinarily I'd put better pictures of the pictures ^^; But there's kind of a lot this time around ^^;

So Mr. Mark, the owner of the gallery where I had my last show very kindly included these pieces from, my last show ^^; in this exhibit that featured work from the past hundred or so years ~ I'm not sure if I heard x remembered correctly somebody making a speech said 145? There were so many people, and there was like a ceremony and stuff ~ there was even a fashion show (fashion design is an art, after all), and I got my picture taken next to this model who stood next to my painting (that was a little awkward for me; you know how I feel about picture-taking ^^; )

It was an awesome experience and I'm really glad I went for a little; I can't really believe I was in the same show as Amorsolo and Hidalgo and Saprid and Tampinco! And I'm glad my sister and one brother and my mum n dad went, too ^_^ (Thank you, Bassints for taking these photos for me ^_^**)

Thank you, Mr. Mark, Mr. Christian, and everybody at Galeria de las Islas. Thank You, God. And thank you to all those people out there who are taking care of my country's art, saving it for future generations. Maybe someday like long after I'm dead people will still be able to see my stuff (not that I'm assuming they'll be looking) (well I'm sure all artists think x dream of that ^^; )

For the here n now I'm just happy to be able to make stuff and, if anybody will have it, let me put my stuff out there. I'll be putting up the pieces from Pistá up on my folio soon; maybe during my vacation!! To which I'm looking forward with great gusto... And maybe I'll have one or two other things up on there, as well... We'll see ^_^;

Playing With My Food

So this year I was so very grateful they let me join Ang InK's 25th anniversary show, Tinker Tales, which opens this Monday. I wish I could've helped out more with the preparations! I was just there yesterday, trying to ^_^; It's gonna be awesome and all the works are fabulous!! It's truly an honour for me to just be there. 

So this time around the theme is stories written by children ~ I got this story about a Bitoy and a Bongkok, who had a nasty run-in with a cactus in the city of Mongkok, which was run by a Mayor Prutas, and is apparently frequented by a Senator Egg. Seeing as there was food involved I decided to make everyone and everything in the illustrations food, possibly because I was running real low on energy at the time (yes, in spite of my bad working habit) and food was all I could think about ^_^; So the food in the pictures is mainly food I like to eat best (sorry, I am not at all what one would call a healthy eater). I understand the stories were assigned to all of us at random, and this story was written by Kio Magno, of the Raya School. 

It amazes me when I think about how very long ago it was when I joined Ang InK. That's one thing I owe my grandmother for. I've been told how she's been felt floating around my uncle of late so I hope she floats on by to see the show, and knows how grateful I am to her for getting me to join in spite of my insecurities and lack of talent or whatever and how I wish she actually was here to see it. Well like Dumas once wrote, they say the dead know everything.

Thank You God, and Dear Mama Mary (I'm so sorry) and to my Guardian Angel and aaall my friend saints for eking these last three pictures out of me before I *collapsed* entirely ~ one last burst of strength after somehow completing everything for Pistá. I think it might be a long while before I can make anything properly again, although, I have quite a few things cooking in my noodle at present ~ just need to find the wherewithal (i.e. the energy) to bring them out of my head and into the world, because like Shaffer once wrote, it's no good to anybody in your head ^_^;

Pistá

So here, finally, after ten years, is PISTÁ. In a word (or well a few) it's a bunch of re-imagined Philippine festivals, all done up in acrylic and oil pastel. ("My hairdresser says that everything this year is going to be acrylic and oil pastel." ^_^) Or well we'll let the exhibit notes I prepared for the gallery do the talking ^_^;

***

The seeds of this show were first sown some ten years ago. I wanted to make a series of paintings showing monsters enjoying themselves at Philippine festivals, using a technique I enjoy very much, myself. 

My use of oil pastels on acrylic is meant to be a free-spirited, playful technique evoking the drawings of children, because I wanted to be able to see these festivals through a child's eyes—to be able to just enjoy all the colour and movement (and fancy costumes, that made people look more (or less) than human). 

Now that I'm finally able to get Pistá on the road, I find myself thinking whether the me of about ten years ago would've even imagined the stuff I've been able to discover (let alone make) in preparation for this show. I knew my people liked to party, and that we were into things like processions and stuff, but really, it showed how little I actually knew of this most salient part of my country's culture, and how vague those early ideas, or mental images I had actually were.

I did go to a Pahiyas once, when I was 15. I never, EVER forgot it. And my grandfather took me to a Salubong over in Angono once when I was in my early 20s, I think. And I did a Santacruzan once when I was about 12. (I'll bet I was the only kid there with stuffed animals stuck to the arch thing they were carrying over my head.)

Having said that, I'd like to say I am very glad indeed I got to do this show, now, in my ripe old age, because now I think I am better able to appreciate things. And I think the thing I appreciate most, or what I loved most, to discover about my people, is that no matter how BAD things get in this country, we always manage to celebrate—and find things or reasons to celebrate. I love that about us. And also I think we need it.

I admit I didn't expect to find that we had so many happy goings on, all year round, in this country (shows how much I know, AGAIN, about my own country)—I think even if I painted for ten years I couldn't possibly paint them all (it might be fun to try, though). And I love how so many of these festivals have fascinating back stories to them, and how new festivals are being invented all the time. Because like I said, as a people we always manage to keep our chins up and find it in ourselves, as well as find something or some reason to celebrate. 

On a personal level, there were a bunch of other things I discovered while preparing for this show, many of which were not exactly celebratory in nature. But in spite of this, I think, it's sort of like that thing where you become what you paint? So I'm going to celebrate anyway, and just focus on the things worth celebrating, and the things I have to be thankful for. A lot of the festivals I came across in my researches for this show were meant to be for thanksgiving. That says something, I think—about my people and about me, as being one of them, after all. 

Because to me, each of these paintings is like a little party on paper. I meant for them to be like snapshots taken in a fantasy world, a fantasy Philippines where monsters hang out, even with humans, sometimes, and everybody gets along, celebrates, and parties. 

So I'm hoping that anyone who comes to see the paintings, will come to party, as it were, with me.

- June17th 2016

***

As always, I may have been working alone (like in my room), but, I'm never really alone (many were the times I wish I was, though LOL). Which means I have several People and people to thank, so, if you'll allow me ~

THANK YOU, Dear God · Mama Mary · Guardian Angel · Saint Luke · Blessed Fra Angelico · Saint Francis de Sales · Saint Charles Borromeo · Dear Saint Catherine of Bologna · Saint Ephrem · Saint Joseph · Saint Maria Goretti · Saint Dominic Savio · Saint Thomas Aquinas · Saint Lawrence · Saint Benedict · Saint Michael the Archangel · Saint John Chrysostom · Saint Aloysius · Saint Alphonsus · Saint Mary Magdalene · Saint Augustine · Saint Matthias · Saint Catherine of Sienna · Saint Cecilia · Saint John · Saint Jude · Saint Rita · Saint Philomena · Saint Claire · Saint Pancratius · Saint Matthew and the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Thank you so much to Fr Saa · Mom · Dad · Bassints · Hopa · Mozart (and Bizet, Rossini, Puccini and Gilbert and Sullivan ^o^) 

Thank you to Mr Shellshear for giving me this show and to Mr Regis, Miss Czarina and Miss Rachel for all their help. Thank you to Mr Jon for not being my first boss to know what I did after office hours, but for being the first in my looong career to truly support it. 

And thank you to the friends who saw me through most of almost eight and a half months of looong, interminable, caffeine x taurine-fueled nights ~ especially to my future-veterinarian friend, who once told me art was useless to society and was disgusting as a career, but whose kind and unwavering support without really knowing what I was doing saw me through many a stressful week ~ and to my other friend who always says she likes my work, even though she thought my party horns were slices of pizza ^O^***

I think perhaps I really am going on sabbatical next year, which deep down is a really scary decision for me to make but I think my human component is making this decision for me, at last. ("The spirt is willing but the flesh is weak.") 

So this might be my last show for a while; I hope it won't be my last-last (or super last (or however many Filipino "lasts" you want). Because there are stiiiiiilll so maaaaaaany things I want to paint. But maybe I'd like to paint them with natural energy instead of the kind that comes in a bottle or a can ^_^; So I guess I kind of need this hiatus to figure things out. 

So in a way, this is my Going-Away Pistá ^_^; I hope it won't be too long before the "Welcome Back" one ^o^; If you'd like to see some previews of what the parties look like, just head on over to jill-arwen-posadas.weebly.com.

Sheepie's Nest

So I got extremely lucky this year and they put my flying sheepie on the invite ^_^; I'm real grateful for that and real grateful I got to do the flying sheepie at all ^^; Things have just been, difficult, lately, so, but God is so very, very good to me (most undeserving as I am) and I was able to get this sheepie out of my head and onto a piece of paper!!

So I used the technique I'm using for my show this year, oil pastel on acrylic ~ thought I'd try doing something *serious* with a media combo I've heretofore used for *just playing around*. So I think perhaps I shall explore this side of that technique more often in the future...

...although that may be -not- the near future because I'm seriously considering going on hiatus x taking a sabbatical from exhibiting next year ~ it should've been this year but, one thing led to another and here I am ^^; I admit I do vacillate on this from time to time because, well every single time I get to exhibit anywhere is a miracle (for which I'll be eternally grateful) and I'm not sure I'll be able to get back on the horse once I jump off. But anyway ~

So that's all nine of us in the nest (even though two of us have technically left it) (and I daresay the mum n dad birds wish the rest of us would too) ^_^;

Thank You, God, thank you Dear Mama Mary, Dear Guardian Angel and all my "friend Saints" (the list just keeps growing alongside all the favours and blessings and graces that just keep coming) ~ especially Dear Saint Luke, Blessed Fra Angelico, Saint Maria Goretti, Saint Michael the Archangel and Dear Saint Joseph, as well as Dear Saint Jude, Saint Philomena, Saint Rita, Saint Clare, Saint Pancratius, Saint Matthew and the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Thank you forever to my mom, my sister for taking excellent, excellent, excellent photos, Father Saa and to Sir Delan for inviting me -and- for putting my sheepie on the invite. You see, people have been so very good to me as well. Thank you! And thank you to the rest of my family for coming all the way to the opening, too (and to my brother and his lovely wife for the lovely dinner afterwards).

As always, you'll find my sheepie in my online folio at http://jill-arwen-posadas.weebly.com/, and my hopes to be able to keep creating (and to keep getting better at it) somewhere way up there, floundering occasionally but so far never completely extinguished ^_^;