UTO'S GOOD FRIDAY BATH

MORNING BATH

gouache and ink on paper

9" x 13"

2012

My grandfather's a farmer back in my mother's hometown. He'd wake up every single dawn at the same time, walk towards his land, tend to his farm and coconut trees, and a little before mid-day, he'd be back to eat his lunch of ripe tomatoes, dried fish and steaming hot rice sprinkled lightly with some salt. He'd hang around for a few minutes to play around with his grandchildren before he heads back outside to do the rest of his day time chores. This was how my cousins would tell me about his daily routine. Being one of his city-bred grandchildren, I only knew of him from stories my relatives would tell me each time any of them would come for a visit in Manila. I never really had the chance to hang around him except for those few summers my brothers and I were whisked off to the province.

It was during one of those summers that I did get to know a little of my grandfather, and it involved his aversion to bathing. You see, my grandfather only takes a bath once a year - during Good Friday.

"Seriously?" I asked my cousin Ruby when she told me about our Lolo Uto, while I was wiping a glob of spit from my cheek that she let loose when I discovered where she was hiding as we played hide-and-seek.

"Yeah," she muttered, as she climbed down from one of the thick bamboo beams of the bedroom's ceiling. "You want proof? Tomorrow's Good Friday, you'll see. He'll also be wearing his white shirt and shoes."

Come to think of it, the whole time I've been in my grandparents' house that summer, not once have I seen him take a bath. Neither could I imagine him wearing… shoes. I was pretty sure Ruby was passing one on me and I couldn't believe what I just heard.

Our grandfather… wearing shoes… impossible. That would be something short of a miracle. He's got farmer's feet. He has very thick callouses that even a half-inch long thumb tack that got stuck on his sole never even made him wince in pain. He didn't even notice stepping on it until Joy, a younger cousin, pointed it out to him. He merely plucked the tack from his thick, cracked sole, examined it for a few seconds and said, "Good thing it didn't get crooked. You can still use this," and handed it to a wide-eyed me.

The next day, when I walked out yawning from the bedroom, I saw my grandfather was wearing a stiff, ironed white shirt, and a pair of khaki pants. He was standing in front of the hallway mirror combing back the sparse white hair on his freckled, shiny head with some strong-smelling green pomade. He was humming lowly when I greeted him, "Good morning 'Lo." He turned his head around and the faint hint of a grin was on his stoic wrinkled face. I stood there by the doorway of the bedroom and just looked at him - awed. My grandfather, like Ruby said, has indeed taken a bath. It was unmistakable when I caught a whiff of the smell of soap lingering in the air mixing itself with the minty scent of his pomade. 

He gingerly placed the comb on the small dresser in front of the hallway mirror, patted me on the head and slowly, with an uneven gait, began to walk towards the living room. I thought there was something odd with his pained gait until I saw what he had on. He was wearing a pair of shiny black shoes… real shoes! Those farmer's feet were squeezed inside a pair of shoes which seemed to be a size bigger than his feet. He wobbled slightly and walked measuredly, perhaps trying to steady himself as he maneuvered himself through the living room and outside of the door.

It was a vision of my grandfather that would stay would stay with me for years to come - an odd vision of him in his Good Friday best and the smell of soap wafting from his body.

"And it is the only time of the year when he'd actually go inside the church too," whispered Ruby in my ear when she crept behind me by the bedroom door.

I nodded.

THE EVOLUTION OF A PAINTING

 Below is a step-by-step description on how I developed "The Pearl".

STEP 1. Put some ideas on to paper. Make sketches. (Sometimes, I end up making the

rejected sketch also into another painting.)

STEP 1.a. Second sketch done. Selected for painting. I like her breasts.

STEP 2. Transfer the drawing on to a 20"x24" stretched canvas. Sometimes there are small adjustments made to the image when laid on the canvas. In this case, cover the breasts a bit to put a bit of "mystery" to her chest. But the real reason is of a more "prudish" nature. The mermaid's a bit too shy. :-) Oh, and I am still thinking whether the whole scene would be under the light of the moon or in daylight. Or perhaps a gloomy sky before a storm. Let's see what would evolve.

STEP 3. Paint the base colors. Although I have a general idea of the main final colors I'd use, I just let the colors "evolve" as I go along. However, I like to begin by applying a darker base paint to cover the main image grounds - like the sea and sky. Why? I exclusively use acrylic and as I apply the lighter colors later, I can chose to let the darker base paint "peek" through - or not. It'd depend on how this evolves.

STEP 4: Here's an example on how colors "evolve" as I go along with a painting. Facing my window, it was rather gloomy outside and it somehow found its reflection on the colors I chose for the sky - not the blue hues we generally associate a clear sky with. i like the way that it is "fluffy" and blown wave-like towards the horizon. I also began doing the water. I use Turqouise Pthalo Blue to color the waves. I'm still a bit iffy with it, but I'll see as to how it would later relate to the mermaid's color.

STEP 5: The leaves and the blue tree. How often does one see a blue tree anyway? Not that often and as rare as one would see a mermaid. I applied "Sap Green Hue" for the base color for the leaves. I would later build on each individual leaf body with "Pthalo Green (yellow shade) and Naples Yellow Deep with a dab of Titanium White and Primary Yellow to give it that roundish look. For the blue tree trunk I use Blue Hoggar (I wonder who came up with that name, it sounds so "macho" with an "umphf" and the color has that "electric" feel to it) tempered with Pthalo Blue and accented with Titanium White and a dash of Naples Yellow Deep here and there.

STEP 6: The waves, the tail and the leaves are done. I like the idea that the tail echoes the color of the leaves. I used Titanium White for the tail tip giving it a dynamic green gradient and showing the curling. Using Pthalo Blue richly on the edges of the waves and highlighting each with Naples Yellow gives it a rich surreal feel.

STEP 7: Even with the torrential rains pouring outside and opening up my place to friends for refuge, I still managed to continue with this painting. The mermaid now has her mane of orange hair.

STEP 8: If there is one thing peculiar or distinct with all my figures - it is the way I paint the eyes. With each figure I draw or paint, I want to achieve that 'soulful' set of eyes that can convey the story of the whole image. The gesture of the hand, the placement of the feet or the sway of a hip can tell the event of that particular moment, but it is the eye that narrates the story and the emotions, and gives it that soul I always look for in an image.

She now has eyes.

STEP 9: The pearl has been painted. I chose to simply paint it with titanium white instead of the new-fangled pearlized acrylic I was tempted to use. Methinks it works better to keep it straight and simple. This is also the part when ones excitement builds up and with a few more strokes the painting is done. 

She, the mermaid, has emerged. The fisherman is with his catch. The only thing lacking...is the cache of fish.

The Pearl

acrylic on canvas
20" x 24"
2012

STEP 10: "The Pearl" is now done. 

Finished the fish in the net, placed my signature, and just letting it stand for a couple of days before I put on the paint varnish. Let it fully dry for a couple more days and then she is ready to be rolled and shipped. 

...AND THEY GOT BOXED

See those painted masks two posts down?

Here's how two of them looked like after they got framed. It reminds me of those framed Chinese porcelain masks they sell as souvenirs in Beijing stores.

Kinda cute too.

AM BACK!!!

I haven't written even a single word in this blog for like a gadzillion years!

I have this overwhelming sense of being like Prince Charming (yeah, fancy me being one) walking through thick brambles and thorny plants as high as the great wall of China and discovering behind it a long forgotten castle. I open its creeking gates with the rusty hinges and lo and behold, a magnificent edifice untocuhed by human hands for hundreds of years. THAT is exactly how I feel when I managed to open again this blog and WRITE something.

And what great news I will be writing here. Yup, great news indeed. In a matter of days, I.... moi... will be published as a children's book author AND illustrator. The illustrator part isn't new really. It's the "authoring" part that's tickling me pink.

As a teaser to myself, and to whoever it is that manages to stumble into this corner of cyberspace, here are two images from "ze book". It will be out... soon.

THE COVER

Note: The editors and me are still in the process of refining the pages, so some things might still change. I am so, oh, excited. :-)


And yes, it is mainly in Tagalog and I also wrote the English translation. (I am eating a Kitkat now while I wait for the editors' notes. Thump-a-thump-thump...)

THE MASKS I HAVE

For the past couple of days, I have been enjoying doing these masks for an occasion that I promised I'd keep mum about.

However, I still wanna put these here, so I will remember what I did. They're all painted, papier-mache masks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Tomorrow's my birthday. I am supposed to like it and be in a celebrating mood but, like in the past few years, am not. However, people still remember - strangely. I guess, I do matter. Here's one story that happened last night, and I thank you Manang Alice. ;-)

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Last night, mulling on the possibility of celebrating my birthday penniless, I chanced upon Manang Alice acoss my gate – the balut vendor who has been my peripatetic, source of local gossip through the years. I approached her, said my nightly greeting and was about to sit beside her on the sidewalk when she greeted me chirpily, “Hapi Bertdey!” and handed me what looked like a balut hastily wrapped in colored Christmassy plastic wrap.

I was surprised by her gesture and, hesitatingly at first, accepted her small gift with a hearty ‘thank you.’ I took the small bottle of vinegar, dabbed a bit of the sour liquid with some rock salts on the opened duck egg with a sliver of a chick showing (good thing it was dark and I won’t be able to fully see the massacred embryonic flesh inside), when I had to ask her, “Manang, eh paano ninyo nalaman? At saka sa susunod na araw pa bertdey ko eh.” (Manang, how did you know. My birthday isn't until the next day.)

While giving change to a coughing, emaciated tricycle driver who bought a stick of Champion, she muttered, “Naku, mabuti na yung maaga. Uwi ako ng Cavite sa Sabado. At saka pa-tenk yu na rin yan dun sa binigay mo sa akin na painting mo sa akin nung bertdey ko.” (Better greet you early. I'll be in Cavite on Saturday. It's also my way of saying thank you for the painting you gave me before.)*

“Salamat Manang ha? Pero paano pa rin ninyo naalala?,” (Thank you Manang ha. But still, how did you know?) I asked, and thankful still even if she missed her mark by a day.

“Sa lahat ng taon na nakilala kita eh isang beses lang kitang nakita na umuwi sa apartment mo nang lasing at bertdey mo yun. Kasi bumili ka sa akin ng kendi tapos sabi mo, ‘Hapi bertdey to me Manang’. Kung naaalala mo, nandito nuon yung pamangkin kong bakla at sinabi mo na seksi siya. Eh bertdey din niya nun at sinabi sa iyo. Tapos, sabi mo, ‘Hapi Bertdey Seksi’, tapos hinalikan mo siya. Kaya simula noon, naaalala ko na bertdey mo.” (All these years I've known you, I only saw you get drunk only once while going home to your apartment. You bought candy from me and said, 'Happy birthday to me Manang'. And if you remember, my gay nephew was with me and you told called him sexy. It was also his birthday that time, he told you and you said, 'Happy Birthday sexy' and you kissed him. Since then I remember your birthday.)

Shocked, I asked her, “Ginawa ko yun?” (I did that?)

Manang, “Oo.” (Yes.)

I was silent for a few minutes while I finished my balut. Then I turned to her and smiled, “Salamat Manang. Hapi bertdey din ulit dun sa pamangkin ninyo.” (Thank you Manang. Tell your nephew happy birthday too.) I stood up and was about to cross the street, when she called me, “Oo nga pala. Hanggang ngayon eh tinatanong pa rin ng pamangkin ko cellphone number mo.” (By the way, until now he's still asking me for your number.)

I just smiled at her and walked on to where my gate is.

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*It wasn’t really a painting as she mentioned but a small framed drawing I did of her from memory, with her basket of balut and the box of yosi (cigarettes) she peddles on the sidewalk at night.

Some definitions for non-Filipinos:
- balut - boiled duck's eggs with a day-old chick inside.
- Champion - brand of cheap cigarettes.

SAYING 'I DO' IN THE RAIN

Last Saturday, Marga invited me to a mass wedding of couples but I never made it. Afraid to be caught in a downpour, I opted to stay dry and warm in my apartment. But NOT the couples who braved the rains, wind and mucked-up traffic to say their "I do's".

As a promise to her (for being unable to go) I am posting pictures of the wedding here. This mass wedding was organized by KMBI - Kabalikat Para sa Maunlad na Buhay Inc.

Just click here for their website.

_________________

Manila, Philippines, June 25, 2011

The brides in their white gowns. They are all the perfect picture of the blushing bride.

Rains and floods did not even stop them! 563 couples in 66 branches nationwide exchanged vows and tied the knot despite of Falcon’s raging winds and rain as KMBI spearheaded its annual mass wedding.

I love this couple. No flood can stop them from heading up to the altar.

“Malaki ang tulong nito. Una, spiritually blessed ka ng God, blessed ka ng minister, blessed ka ng society...so malaki ang benefit nito,” (This really helps. First, you are blessed by God, you are blessed by the minister, you are blessed by the society...so it’s really beneficial,”) says Mr. Joel Clavecilla, branch manager of Tandang Sora, Quezon City.

...as they join others in saying their 'I do's' to each other.

It was an emotional, fun- and Spiritual-filled event as these couples made a covenant before men and God in the sanctity of marriage. Couples from Valenzuela branch even had to ride on a truck and pedicab, with the brides’ wedding gowns safely kept in a plastic bag, just to make it to the venue.

The dashing groom and the blushing bride. Pure bliss and hope for the future.

For some, it was a dream come true as some couples had concerns as to what kind of wedding and church they would attend because of difference in religious beliefs.

After the wedding ceremonies, the couples feasted on the food during the reception.

Ronalyn Marino, a program member from Tandang Sora and a Catholic, who got married to Radia Solaiman Disomimba, a Muslim, said that she’s grateful because KMBI has prepared an ecumenical wedding for couples like them aside from the financial support it gave for the wedding. “Maraming problem – sa religion, sa family...ngayon, binigay sa amin ng KMBI ang pagsasama na tiyak para sa kanya...Para maging legal ang pamilya namin, maging legal yung pagsasama namin.” (There were problems – in religion and family...now KMBI gave us the kind of wedding that suits him...to legalize our family and our relationship.”) Ronalyn and Radia already have a child.

No wedding would be complete without the multi-tiered cake. In this case, what they had were cupcakes.

The ecumenical mass wedding was joined by couples of different spiritual background and orientation who have been living together and most already have children. This is one of the organization’s major activities that are being taken care of by the Transformation Department. It aims to reach one of the components of its SEES (Spiritual, Economic, Environmental, Social) program, which is to draw people near to God and have a deeper relationship with Him.

There was dancing...

...and there was singing.

There was love in the air.

And with the floods still at their feet outside, each couple then rode off into the mid-afternoon rains with a smile on their faces proudly announcing to the world, "Yes, we are husband and wife."

As an afterthought: I am glad there were no 'wacky' photos or poses that many wedding photographers are wont to do amongst many of those so-called 'modern weddings' of today. A traditional, simple and heartfelt wedding - like these pictures show - can still bring a tear of joy in one's eyes even to this confirmed bachelor for life.

To the couples who got wed, may you lead a life of bliss and joy as husbands and wives. :-)

HOY JOSE! AY LAB YU!!!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activities and work, preparing for the third year our group CANVAS' Outdoor Banner Show called 'RELEVANT RIZAL?'. This year will be in commemoration of Jose Rizal's 150th birthday. Yeah, the grand old man who came to be the national symbol of our patrimony.

A lot of artists participated in our show.

It was a success.

And we got a lot of coverage in news reports, broadsheets, blogs etc... that it would be crazy to post them all here.

But I am posting here a video of the exhibit in Vargas Museum.

If you're reading this, do find time and visit the outdoor show around the Academic Oval of the UP Diliman campus. You can't miss it, they're all hanging from poles along the sidewalk - the banners I mean.

Rizal! We lab yu!!

BABY YOU'RE A FIREWORK

There are two women - as far as contemporary pop music is concerned - that I admire a lot. And that's Macy Grey and Katy Perry. And there are two things that I do every time my brain hits a blank wall - dance and cook.

I couldn't move this computer to show me cooking so I'll just dance to the tunes of these two women.

(I think I look like a bald bull going amuck on the second video. Okay, I'd better get back to work.)

THE GIFT

VENDADERAS

48"x 48"

acrylic on canvas

2010

"I usually avoid relatives who come for a visit from abroad and come bearing gifts," I admitted rather drily to my high school mate as we shared a table during recess.

"They always give these K-Mart or Walmart-bought things and declare that they're the latest in fashion. Like last time, my mom asked me to wear this pair of cheap canvas shoes that were made in Korea brought by a distant cousin from Canada. It even had a price tag on and it's a dollar worth. I felt like a refugee being given a relief item." He nodded in agreement while munching on a burger.

That distant memory brought me a slight pang of guilt. For a teenager who was more concerned with what’s the latest in fashion, reads Teen Beat, catches the latest episodes of American shows on TV and swings to the songs of the B-52 or Billy Idol, getting these ‘balikbayan gifts’ from my US-based relatives were also a tedious affair of having to show grateful smiles and that robotic, forced ‘thank you’ I never meant.

“Don’t they actually get to read what’s on the latest trends and what is cool? They’re already in America for Pete’s sakes,” I would say that to myself beneath my sighs as I open these dime-store cheap gifts.

I have, like many households in our old neighborhood in Balic-Balic, have tons of relatives in abroad, mainly in the North American continent. Most of them have set foot in the U.S. and Canada by way of marrying an American/Canadian citizen, or waiting for years for that sponsored migration from other relatives. Many a time they’d be coming straight from the provinces then into the land of milk and honey, never setting foot in the big city. The bright lights of, say, New York, Toronto or Los Angeles would be dazzling for many of them who are more accustomed to the whizzing of the mosquitoes in the dark and the light coming from the single naked lightbulb. Most of these relatives are themselves escapees from the poverty that was prevalent back then in their lives - the kind of life my own parents have shielded us from.

It was only years later when I realized that for every dollar’s worth of gift they’d send us back here in Manila, it was, for them, equivalent to thousands of pesos they never could have had here if they stayed.

But among these relatives of mine who’d send us gifts, one stood out. She’s my Tita Bong (or Aunt Nelly) who worked for years, not in North America, but in the Middle East. The youngest sister of my mother, she was also wet nurse to my younger brother and I when we were babies.

I always look forward every time she’d fly in for vacation and would eagerly open the gifts she had for us in her bulging luggage. I was 13, when she gave me a pair of Bali shoes. I had no idea that they were adult shoes but I could tell it was expensive. The leather felt really nice and the heels were sturdy. The best part of it was, while everyone was wearing the standard Marikina-made shoes, mine was BALI - the same brand of shoes I once saw in an ad in a glossy men’s fashion magazine. Or that time when she gave me a pair of really cool Levi’s when I was 16. They fit me so well and it was the latest cut from the jeans maker that I became a hit in school. I remember sneaking out of our house one school weekend wearing those jeans so I could go to Mars disco in Makati to be with the cool kids. It felt good to be a cool kid in those jeans.

The year I turned 18 was also the last year when she came in from abroad. She had decided to come back for good and eventually settle in our home province in Iloilo.

“Oh, there,” she said as she pointed to a pair of sleek, light-grey-bluish canvas shoes with leather heels, “That’s a pair of shoes my boss’s youngest son wore when he went to a disco in Paris. He only used it once and I found it the next day in the trash bin. He said somebody else wore the same pair.” My eyes went round in excitement when I saw how cool the shoes looked and was already imagining in my mind that it’d go well with a pair of black jeans I was thinking of wearing on my next disco escapade.

“Wait, Tita. Somebody else owned these shoes?” I asked her while caressing the shoes.

“Of course! What do you think? I’ll buy those ridiculously expensive things? I clean the rooms of my boss’ sons and if they put something in the trash bin, I would get those and bring them back here,” she said. I was dumbstruck. All these times, I was getting things other people already wore and threw away?! And to think, I belittle the cheap, but newly bought ones I get from my other relatives from the States.

I suppose she saw how my hands were slowly putting down the shoes when she added, “But I save the best ones for you though. I know you hate getting cheap stuff and you also have better taste than your other cousins. And besides, do you think you will ever have a relative who can afford to give you those things as gifts, even if they’re secondhand? Aber…?”

She has a point. And I always wore those things she gave me as if they’re the most expensive things in the world. Because in all honesty, to my young mind, they really were.

NEW VIDEO FROM CANVAS

Check our campaign at CANVAS to gather 4,000 USD by the end of the April from at least 50 donors. We aim to raise this amount to publish collections of our award-winning stories and give to 3,000 children in the Philippines.

It's a worthwhile CANVAS Project with GLOBAL GIVING that you can check out, give and spread the word about.

Here's a short video on the project:

AN OFFERING

OFFERING (study)

ink on 125g/m2 grained paper

11.75" x 16.5"

April 2011

THE OFFERING

acrylic on canvas

15" x 15"

April 2011

A small work I did a few days ago for KRISTO - the annual Lenten exhibit.

(I actually prefer the study on paper I drew. I decided to remove the bird and put thorns on the heart.)

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'Kristo,' both a Lenten and art ritual, returns this year
by Junio De Los Reyes

Since 2005, artist Salvador “Buddy” Ching and Delan Robillos of The Artery Manila have been presenting the “Kristo Manila” Lenten exhibitions which offered viewers a venue, via the visual arts, for reflection and meditation in observance of the Holy Week. The well-received shows were held annually until 2009 when it became necessary to review the shows’ objectives. Though the public welcomed the addition to other Holy Week traditions, it seemed that the endeavor was seen by some as just a commercial opportunity. Thus, the two exhibit pioneers opted to give the exhibit a rest last year.

This year, Ching and Robillos are bringing back “Kristo Manila.” To stress on refocusing, it shall simply be titled “The Offering.”

“This is to remind everyone that the creation of the artworks and appreciating these are part of the Lenten offering and reflection,” Robillos said.

Participating artists are Leonard Aguinaldo, Hermes Alegre, Conneth Amido, Felix Amoncio, Mark Arcamo, Anton Balao, London-based artist Yveese Belen, Gerrico Blanco, Franklin Caña, Ross Capili, Roen Capule, Salvador Ching, Salvador Convocar, Farley Del Rosario, Anna De Leon, Robert Deniega, Ferdinand Doctolero, Shalimar Gonzaga, Jaime Gubaton, Cathy Lasam, Dante Lerma, Norlito Meimban, Agang Maganda, Francisco Nacion, Roel Obemio, Singapore-based artist Wilfredo Offemaria, Jr., Danny Pangan, Jill Arwen Posadas, Omi Reyes, Jef Samonte, Aner Sebastian, Ojing Señara, Janelle Tang, Rex Tatlonghari, Palma Tayona, Jomike Tejido, Migs Villanueva, Orly Ypon, and Pinggot Zulueta.

''This is our way of using our talent to pay tribute to the true Master,'' said Ching, who put together the first Kristo (Malolos) show in Bulacan in 2001.

Simultaneously, Kristo (Malolos) shall open on April 13, 2011 and will run for a month at the Museo ng Bulacan located at the Malolos capitol while Kristo Manila is slated from April 11 to 30, 2011 at the Looking for Juan (L4J) Art Space in Serendra, Bonifacio Global City. L4J Art Space (formerly 1/of Gallery) is owned and operated by Center for Art, New Ventures, and Sustainable Development (CANVAS), a non-profit organization that promotes Philippine art through exhibitions and the publication of children's books. Changing the gallery’s name from 1/of to L4J is in keeping with CANVAS’s thrust of furthering causes such as defining the Filipino identity and free expression.

“L4J is meant not only to be a venue for exploration of and dialogue on what it means to be Filipino, but also what it takes to be a proud one,” CANVAS executive director Gigo Alampay explained.

Part of cultural pride is the strength of belief in tradition, not the least of which are spiritual practices. This makes L4J Art Space an even more fitting venue for Kristo Manila 2011.

The exhibit’s offering shall go to CANVAS’s ongoing initiative to work with The Global Giving Foundation to bring its children's books to public schools and children's hospitals throughout the Philippines. For more information on how you can help, please visit CANVAS' GLOBAL GIVING PROJECT.

***An edited version of this article was published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on pages E1 and E2 of the Lifestyle Section on Monday, April 4, 2011.