Who Are You?

This is my last art journal entry for 2011... and is currently still the last entry. Yeah, yeah... I'm frustrated about it too. Ever since I started going to the gym I feel like I have no time for anything else (probably because I'm too tired after the workouts LOL). I've been putting off my art and other matters. But things are going to go back to normal soon (I hope) and after I rearrange some things, I can finally divide my focus with the myriad of things I left hanging.

This was the result of going through my box of mementos from my high school and college years. I came across some letters which were given to me during retreats and those papers that were passed around the class where you had to write down something to describe the person whose name appears on top of the paper. Well, in my case it was full of "smart", "quiet", "kind", etc. Though I don't discount that I may have given off that vibe then, I was  a conduct awardee after all, I realized that it was a bit superficial. Was it my classmates' fault for not digging deeper or was it my fault that I didn't open up myself to them more?

Or maybe this was all just a result of not knowing who I was at that time either. How could they know when I didn't even know myself? 

To tell the truth, after all these years I still haven't quite figured it out yet.

But I would like to think that I'm getting there.

Doodles

Some people have a difficult time drawing. I'm one of those people, believe it or not. Maybe because I'm a Virgo, but I always want my drawings to be perfect. Stupid of me. I can't be Michelangelo or Da Vinci overnight (if ever).

It's only lately that I realized that it's okay for your sketches and drawings not to be realistically-drawn. Even if it's two dots for eyes and a curved line for lips, it's still okay.

So here are some of my recent sketches which I've scanned (yeah, I'm still having fun with my scanner!) and colored using Photoshop. Color really improves everything! Haha...

The before pic of the first pic. I actually copied it off from one of my Japanese magazines. Sorry to the original artist. I just used it for learning experience. :)

Other before and after sketches:

 

LOL! The hands look like she's wearing gloves!

Doodle away!

Manga Realities

I don't know many people who like to go to museums nowadays. It may be that our country hasn't got an impressive collection like in other countries, but young people today would rather go to malls or watch movies instead of paying to look at paintings and stuff.

I live a few blocks aways from Ayala Museum in Makati, yet I've only been there twice. The first time was with my friend, just to get it off the list of the things we always put off doing because it's always there. The second time was the day before my birthday to catch the Manga Realities exhibit.

I'm an avid fan of anime and manga. As soon as I saw Nodame on the poster, I immediately made up my mind to go.

I loved looking at Tomoko Ninomiya’s Nodame Cantabile exhibit because I simply love the series. This was the one that made me listen to classical music and watch those orchestra performances. Nodame is one of my favorite characters in manga/anime and her love story with music and Chiaki-senpai is just so wonderful.

Other series displayed in the exhibit were Harold Sakuishi’s BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad (which I'm currently watching and enjoying right now), Solanin (Asano Inio), Sugar Sugar Rune (Anno Moyoco), Children of the Sea (Igarashi Daisuke), Five Minutes from the Station (Kuramochi Fusako), Sennen-Gaho (Kyo Machiko), No. 5 (Matsumoto Taiyo), and The World God Only Knows (Wakaki Tamiki).

I discovered something from the exhibit and that was Kyo Machiko's Sennen-Gaho. 

 I looooove it! The work is very visual so you don't need to read Japanese to understand it. It's just a small comic that usually has a surprise in the end. 

 

Sorry for the sucky quality of the pictures. I was only using my (also) sucky phone. I didn't bring a camera because I wasn't sure if taking photos was allowed. But the author has already released a book of her previous works and it is now one of my wishes to have that book. For more of her works, check out her blog.

My second discovery was Solanin. I haven't read this one yet, but I'm planning to just basing on the words that were printed on the exhibit.

One of the best parts of the exhibit was the manga section. I almost cried when I saw their collection. Monster! Nodame Cantabile! Sennen Gaho! Ouran! All in English! So unfair! You can't read all those in just one museum visit!

Manga Realities sadly ends today, October 2. But the good thing is that all the manga is forever there in cyberspace, bookstores, and screens. There's a whole world out there that people might be missing because they think that manga is just comics for kids. I dare you to say that after reading Urasawa Naoki's works. It will blow. your. mind.

And now, a pic spam...

 Hehe... feeling like I'm part of the manga.

Somebody just had a decorating idea! (That somebody is me, btw)

I didn't steal this. Even though I want it. Badly.

And finally, my alone/selca shots using the secondary camera mode. Blurry!

***

Organized by the Ayala Museum and the Japan Foundation in cooperation with the Contemporary Art Center, Art Tower Mito in Japan, the traveling exhibition Manga Realities: Exploring the Art of Japanese Comics Today will be on view at the Ayala Museum from 16 August to 2 October at the Ground Floor Gallery and at the Glass Lane and Luna and Amorsolo Rooms at the Third Floor.

Ayala Museum
The Japan Foundation, Manila

The first page

Er... I know that I haven't blogged lately. Just two posts in a month?! Lazy, lazy, lazy.

And as if I wasn't lazy enough, I decided to make an art journal. It's not that hard to do, but it's not exactly easy. 

I'm jealous of people who mix all these things to make something beautiful and kitschy. I've always wanted to try this style because I'm one of those people who somehow manages to collect so much junk - I mean, stuff - and have nothing to put them in on my 47 sqm condo. And though it hurts me to tear up my beautiful Japanese fashion magazines (sniff!), I'm satisfied that I'm going to make use of them instead of them collecting dust on the floor.

Gotta have materials first, right? I've already got an X-acto knife, doilies, assorted decorative tapes, paper... I had to buy a cutting mat which changed my life! Haha... I don't know how I ever cut something without it. 

Also, after weeks of searching and deliberating, I settled on a Muji notebook to serve as my journal. I like it that it's plain and unassuming. Ah, imagine if ever I have volumes of this stuff on the shelf! So pretty! They also lay very flat so it's perfect for scanning.

So, here's my first page. I'm not really satisfied with it, but that's okay because it means that there's room for improvement. I might start to venture into paints again and wouldn't that be fun? (and messy!)

The First Page

Materials: doily bought at Landmark supermarket, plaid wrapping paper, cutout from Japanese magazine, piece of cloth from an ukay 3 for 100 find, decorative tape bought at 168

There are a lot of people doing this, I think, but I was inspired by the blog Awkward & Beautiful. Check it out, you might be tempted to try it too.

I'll try to update more often both with my art journal and blog. October is off to a great start? Yay!

Art in the Park 2011

WeeWillDoodle... doodling in the park

I've heard about this before, but it's my first time going. Based from what I've seen today, this won't be my last.

My friend and I went to the Jaime Velasquez Park in Salcedo Village, Makati to join hundreds of people in browsing through the wonderful artworks displayed in The Art in the Park - a once in a year event hosted by the Museum Foundation of the Philippines. It aims to provide a relaxed atmosphere for people to explore Filipino artwork and meet the artists. It's a really good idea, actually. I don't know about you, but I sometimes find it so intimidating to go into those galleries with their spartan, minimalistic setting. I always think that those art pieces displayed there are too expensive for me. Well, in Art in the Park, all artworks have a ceiling price of Php 20,000 so you can feel free to find something within your budget.

Picturesque?

I especially enjoyed the watercolor paintings displayed by the different art galleries there. Unfortunately, they were still out of my budget. TT__TT There was one particular artwork that made my heart bleed because I wasn't able to get it. It was an artwork by artist named Alfred Galura. Ms. Elain Herbosa of L'Arc en Ciel gallery told us that he already has a following and that the artworks displayed were really bargains. It was supposed to sell for 4ok, but they were selling it at 20k because of the art fair's ceiling price. I must say, it really was a bargain. I envy the woman who was able to buy the painting.

Another thing that caught my fancy were the quirky art displays. There was this particular chair that was painted with dragonflies and I really could see it in my bedroom. I asked and it was selling for Php 5,000. Unfortunately, it was also snapped up by another buyer. (Seeing a pattern here?)

I wonder if the people who bought this would be able to sit on them...

There were also wonderful potteries that I wanted but I couldn't figure out where to put them in my teenie weenie condo unit so I had to let them go. I think I'm regretting it now, though.

I thought that I was going to go home with nothing but on our third tour around, my friend and I came upon this sketch by an FEU student.

So nice, isn't it? Only Php 1,400!

A lady there had it in her hand, but she graciously let us have it. I think she was almost selling it to us! She told us that when you buy an artwork from students or people in general, you have to ask whether he or she has joined and won any contests. That's how you know that the artist may be the next Juan Luna and his artwork is going to be an investment. The one who drew this particular sketch had already joined and won several contests, I think. But I don't really care that much about those things. I just really, really like it. At the end of the day, that's what matters, isn't it?

But taking a cue from the wise lady, we went around talking to the artists and asking them what was their inspiration, how long they took to make that painting, where is that scenery from... It was really fun and the artists, too, I think had the most fun of all. I'm thinking it's such a nice feeling seeing people you don't know compliment your work. Art is to be appreciated, after all.

I also ended up buying some note cards that were inspired by Juan Luna's Espana y Filipinas. I bought it because it's just so pretty and they fit in my girly, flowery mood board.

Sorry for the sucky pic from my phone cam. They're really pretty, though.

All the creativity going on in that place made me just want to pick up a paintbrush already. I wonder if, someday, I will be able to sell something there too. Haha... Well, it doesn't hurt to dream.

***

Some websites you may want to visit:
Art in the Park Facebook page
weewilldoodle.multiply.com
miacasal.weebly.com
larcencielgallery.blogspot.com
www.artinformal.com
www.museumfoundationph.org