tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85196410879653240512024-03-05T05:52:51.570-08:00More Turpentine PleaseThis is the Art Journal of Ian V. Martinez - When I find a need to explain the uncertainties that I feel, expand on my decisions and eventual justifications for any of the artworks I am working on, then this is where you'll find me.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-41333484744951589402015-01-02T02:55:00.001-08:002015-01-02T02:55:51.781-08:00Two Mouths to Speak With<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaUy4IgmVoTgWvM47AOx3rqRMK_qnuImMfljX1rQG0qFCZzc2HmNo91tFCaunlDj-rJ0DJvuKga3esb-Fd_1-8Dbm_K_xU-8n2yw0_hkmUqvN7p_UVeuMGS0jw-ke2VKgCtDxtr0XJ8ys/s2560/1420196111783.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaUy4IgmVoTgWvM47AOx3rqRMK_qnuImMfljX1rQG0qFCZzc2HmNo91tFCaunlDj-rJ0DJvuKga3esb-Fd_1-8Dbm_K_xU-8n2yw0_hkmUqvN7p_UVeuMGS0jw-ke2VKgCtDxtr0XJ8ys/s350/1420196111783.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
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Art is a means to communicate... Blah blah blah... It is a means by which certain skills can be manifested to achieve creative expression... Blah blah blah... and unfortunately for this piece, the same can be said about writing.<br/>
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As I write about this current work, I feel as if am relieving whatever creative tension that has built up in my mind. It feels as if I'm exhausting what energy I have to push the piece closer to completion in a day by writing a predicate to the subject, instead of laying a paint stroke to solidify a highlight.<br/>
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<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5Q0WtHCET8AWrzwprH8blD7zdXyncjX5QClinjcJtehqO5O4x58MIdW2wo_ZqoqFAm7VYvf6bBxiIXxKjAL0KmX6qPNZKt4I7w3cyAxrM9sxE1XtqqqJPGtiJkuwmPv4RWeCcDbSJKU/s2560/1420196124309.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5Q0WtHCET8AWrzwprH8blD7zdXyncjX5QClinjcJtehqO5O4x58MIdW2wo_ZqoqFAm7VYvf6bBxiIXxKjAL0KmX6qPNZKt4I7w3cyAxrM9sxE1XtqqqJPGtiJkuwmPv4RWeCcDbSJKU/s350/1420196124309.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
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The last paragraph was a few hours ago. I am now passing the time at a carwash, sipping coffee, and contemplating what wax to apply to the car, and why writing about a current artwork can be counterproductive.<br/>
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<a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BeURT0MnCYrtWQks2oSjZj8HSGcNsUZC6NFmEpOo5245xFoBNmpGNOoCZB6JtrKz5zoOaUpD9mhHDRv8W-Tnn2IhPwewrev5fhacFt9jEc35q-L117k4UHwoV71X__co1MG9ZlbDWMU/s2560/1420196130925.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border='0' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BeURT0MnCYrtWQks2oSjZj8HSGcNsUZC6NFmEpOo5245xFoBNmpGNOoCZB6JtrKz5zoOaUpD9mhHDRv8W-Tnn2IhPwewrev5fhacFt9jEc35q-L117k4UHwoV71X__co1MG9ZlbDWMU/s350/1420196130925.jpeg' style='display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;'/></a><br/>
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I haven't quite wrapped my head around that question. Perhaps I shouldn't put too much effort in figuring out what is the better way to approach this conundrum of speaking one thing with two mouths.</div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-58090404575124329902014-02-13T03:36:00.004-08:002014-02-13T04:41:07.247-08:00Drawings for Faw<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
I made these as gifts for Faw for her birthday. I made her guess what "it" was with these clues:<br />
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1) Starts with the letter "W" and has the letter "A" in it (Works of Art)<br />
2) Has 10 letters<br />
3) She'll love it<br />
4) Her mom would love it too<br />
5) It has the color red and white in it<br />
6) It's 100% recyclable<br />
7) Somewhere in it lies a right angle<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtFzMe3mFur__D1ED24kBmLxKJhASvmoQ9zC-A9VDnHBBdwjAlu2mijBfzqmTRZI5sAzS77ymR2mRUY0jt30tXSC3Fnq9wb-wKP1AZcMDqMVu7zYNKlKGiyM28wm_phG1LuKK5AhvpFQ/s2560/1392268692682.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtFzMe3mFur__D1ED24kBmLxKJhASvmoQ9zC-A9VDnHBBdwjAlu2mijBfzqmTRZI5sAzS77ymR2mRUY0jt30tXSC3Fnq9wb-wKP1AZcMDqMVu7zYNKlKGiyM28wm_phG1LuKK5AhvpFQ/s320/1392268692682.jpeg" style="display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 178px;" width="197" /></a><br />
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Well, she guessed it (only she didn't know then) but I did tell her I won't confirm or deny her guesses, but that didn't stop her from trying to convince me to give her another clue. She'd claim she already guessed it and challenge me to guess what I thought her guess what. Yeah right. This baiting and guessing went on for a month. Rightly so, because it took about that much time to make these and have it framed.<br />
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Once I've given her the drawings (all framed and neat), she asked why the large red dot on one of the pieces.<br />
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I told her I just had to put it there. Sometimes, when creating or making anything, it pays to take heed of your impulses.<br />
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Of course I have my reasons but this time, I'll keep it to myself.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_r7HrPFaix5ryBd3sVvzmi2BLXVlrxlAkwfjq2amZD61EX5TbLPbx1qY_7AhVb_faoNTGrPTJjtlO-0YTb1LNByKwWU-8bUDkPQjPa4o60aT6ms-Y7BNHg-xQGp_SAKfrVVKl9fjEvg/s2560/1392268702052.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_r7HrPFaix5ryBd3sVvzmi2BLXVlrxlAkwfjq2amZD61EX5TbLPbx1qY_7AhVb_faoNTGrPTJjtlO-0YTb1LNByKwWU-8bUDkPQjPa4o60aT6ms-Y7BNHg-xQGp_SAKfrVVKl9fjEvg/s2560/1392268702052.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_r7HrPFaix5ryBd3sVvzmi2BLXVlrxlAkwfjq2amZD61EX5TbLPbx1qY_7AhVb_faoNTGrPTJjtlO-0YTb1LNByKwWU-8bUDkPQjPa4o60aT6ms-Y7BNHg-xQGp_SAKfrVVKl9fjEvg/s288/1392268702052.jpeg" style="display: block; height: 270px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 288px;" /></a><br />
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The drawings were a fine demonstration on how the brain once taught to treat a mark or symbol as "something" then it will keep to that rule as long as the mark or symbol is applied consistently as well. I mean, come on, how can you accept squiggly lines as shading in the first place? That was my theory when I decided to doodle in the figure 8 all over the drawings and I was surprised how nicely it worked.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEXDHKahszyA8KpkjojUl49VStTclU6EJtKv8nm5b-p6WHDiQaoOOHECLi_WzPyjNOeCXRuwWBswBuaj1uCcEJg5qdTVgsoLR8Boq-8xz8_1b80izT8TaOhCqLgMa4GcvS6ndONxmo1Y/s2560/1392268675617.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEXDHKahszyA8KpkjojUl49VStTclU6EJtKv8nm5b-p6WHDiQaoOOHECLi_WzPyjNOeCXRuwWBswBuaj1uCcEJg5qdTVgsoLR8Boq-8xz8_1b80izT8TaOhCqLgMa4GcvS6ndONxmo1Y/s288/1392268675617.jpeg" style="display: block; height: 225px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 288px;" /></a><br />
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The whole exercise got me thinking about stylizing some elements in a painting and passing it off as modelling.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEEXDHKahszyA8KpkjojUl49VStTclU6EJtKv8nm5b-p6WHDiQaoOOHECLi_WzPyjNOeCXRuwWBswBuaj1uCcEJg5qdTVgsoLR8Boq-8xz8_1b80izT8TaOhCqLgMa4GcvS6ndONxmo1Y/s2560/1392268675617.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-35883823525746300742014-01-27T11:02:00.001-08:002014-01-27T11:15:25.990-08:00Stating the Obvious<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
It has been forever (almost) since I last made an entry in this blog. Every now and then, I visit this place on the internet, to reminisce about the past, and sometimes see what someone would refer to in a conversation about something they saw or read in my old blogs.<br />
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The brushes have hardened and turned brittle, the paints had gone stiff inside their tubes, and the turps have evaporated from their loosely sealed bottles. <br />
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Fine, the past is the past. We all grow out of certain useless endevours and things as we grow old.<br />
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But just recently, I had to come up with gifts for my partner. Christmas was easy - I got her jewelry. Her birthday, which was was just a couple of days after Christmas was slightly more problematic when it comes to chosing a gift for the occasion. I had to give something that wont seem anti-climactic in relation to the Christmas gift I gave. Well, I could have given her a ticket to "Wicked" but I've heard the songs during a Cebu Pacific flight and to tell you the truth, I'm not a fan.<br />
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So I decided to come up with something handmade. I've thought of making a bead bracelet but that seems... well... gay. If anything, I'm suppose to highlight my masculinity. Macho is the word of the day.<br />
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So I came up with a few drawings. Well, it might not be as macho as macho would go, but it's a better alternative to all the other handmade items I could think of.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9PjGAtVzLWNgQ7TBl8tQN2pjSMos7MUYV1I0FKUftCRu428grvwLjg6kg_6k3ICTrgWR-qzQ9tNPLFeeNo6To3SHAyNAIkWxsYozJjowvKJiz3yYMGX3C4vLEksCjOPoXhFikmuwhyI/s2560/1390849079473.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB9PjGAtVzLWNgQ7TBl8tQN2pjSMos7MUYV1I0FKUftCRu428grvwLjg6kg_6k3ICTrgWR-qzQ9tNPLFeeNo6To3SHAyNAIkWxsYozJjowvKJiz3yYMGX3C4vLEksCjOPoXhFikmuwhyI/s288/1390849079473.jpeg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 288px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 216px;" /></a><br />
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This is not it of course. This is just a preliminary sketch. I'd post the finish drawings after I give the final pieces to her.<br />
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Doing artsy stuff ain't so bad. It's kinda therapeutic. I should however, make sure it doesn't interfere with the other things that I do. I tend to lose focus on important things in favor of a sketch or painting.</div>
Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-85695396960085533002011-11-05T18:10:00.001-07:002011-11-06T03:39:08.213-08:00Tug o' War<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3AcyLFd6eR-OnUkh-RiLd49hZ1dm6k-RwEJmY0B8meqSyTlerlJflwuI7SL2JTWm21a9zvV05eqovEcS0K13aQFtWTUKwGuwkQmTK4AusGtW7v0Uq4Q6D-EOqxHddyv2Rq-fy-_84w/?imgmax=800" title="110620112076.jpg"><img alt="110620112076.jpg" border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9A_Vov8ujH1i1TnOtKnvr8C8Cj2O129AlRPSlqCbv0QbSj03Jr7g3Hg7xaQxXlDtrmSVN7wBXFsDW5eFyYd9NjWL_kZrLNKyrB-YiNX4hPf64j738sUAABmqV8Gz_XCS1aVLJJO3-Ew/?imgmax=400" style="border-bottom: #000000 1px; border-left: #000000 1px; border-right: #000000 1px; border-top: #000000 1px;" width="400" /></a><br />
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"To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim..." - Oscar Wilde's preface to "The Picture of Dorian Gray"<br />
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There is a constant tug of war going on whenever I grab hold of a brush. On one side, the familiar persona of a craftsman wishing to attain technical perfection, and on the other a somewhat boisterous character that glides and whips across brushes without a care in the world.<br />
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Lately, I've been enticing the boisterous character to come out and paint. This character silences all other voices and dominates the night air with wild brush strokes and forceful lunges. It lures shadows and highlights out effortlessly onto the canvas, and it tells its story by swiping out emphatic lines that will emotions out onto a flat surface.<br />
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Almost like a spectator, I watch my images appear before my bewildered eyes.<br />
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I still have no understanding how the process works, but it seems painting "large" frees up this persona, whereas painting detailed sections forces the boisterous character to retreat, giving way to the craftsman.<br />
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Like any loaded weapon, a mind must direct it for it to be of any use. The boisterous persona needs to be pointed like a gun. I always plan and contemplate on my paintings before I even start. I've visualized and pondered how my paintings should eventually look like when finished. I might revise midway, but essentially, what I've visualized early on is what I ended up with.<br />
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I've allowed myself to run freely away without a clear plan before, and the result was disastrous - and wasteful. This possibility, this risk, is always at the back of my mind whenever I start a work. It's no different with this 36x60in composition I have in mind.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_Yn1CSDy6BySlF8fcK__9Ba5UkpNmGnnvM8BGkPNeyVHJnXOpbl0j5p9U7VTKo4_HKWxH7uHvfDnbz49J2PRVhZgqkLk9HQhZ4vYM-yuxK-NcpVeNFihT9jqv_wKKy34JWdI3ZAw6w/?imgmax=800" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;" title="110420112069.jpg"><img alt="110420112069.jpg" border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih04QP32n32yoVML5JGcn8WRRXTvNYJxp8FFICPCk_362eaY65LTj0OVkyr0ZbdIrvS1PzDFjeymdnmvS6oeSMtOCPUPdFXLrq65BiUw4MCvctIe2SKE4IP7B6f_cz188YszxowT3B9Q/?imgmax=400" style="border-bottom: #000000 1px; border-left: #000000 1px; border-right: #000000 1px; border-top: #000000 1px;" width="400" /></a><br />
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I've thought about the appropriateness of the subject matter in relation to the size of the canvas. I've considered how immature it might seem like, or even how uncreative or cliched it may seem to others, but the image begs to be painted. I can easily choose to paint my Binangonan or even Bulacan compositions in this huge canvas, but still, the virtual cries of the image above will be an incessant noise in my mind if I don't get it done.<br />
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I try to reassure myself that the color scheme will be fresh, that the faded and seemingly cubist "male" will be interesting to watch, and that a projected shadow on everything will add another dimension to an otherwise flat composition. If anything else, that fantastically long hair tying everything down longitudinally will be a defining element - the appreciation of which will justify the work.<br />
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It begs to be painted, and it begs to be painted "that" large.<br />
<br />Ian Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00067287561605792311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-85450981099761485812011-11-01T15:14:00.000-07:002011-11-01T15:14:28.037-07:00Tearing Off a Canvas and Falling Asleep<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I should have seen it, but I didn't. The “Lechon” in the quadtych was too small in proportion to the other panels. I tore it off the stretcher (well, it was not as dramatic as what you might think) and tried flipping it but I couldn't stretch the creases out of the painting surface. Good thing I had a length of canvas lying around. That erroneous “Lechon” would be my second canvas that a trashed. Frankly, I should do that more often. It might be a tad wasteful but you can't go wrong with quality control.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I've started on the underpainting for the quadtych and was amazed that I can actually paint while sleeping. I was trying to pull off an all nighter, fell asleep while painting and... well, woke up with this in front of me:</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXT1nEXAdxj0sIP5alAQUi3aEbOIvlifEZRuSqVCt10tkwhZ2bzhOtb40Hz5KBFIaWjEcXSGAJjmbRpueHpXxIMHa8wkUoc5qPAsgPsWU732ZmtCGRHixK55e1zxoht6c3r-KtWdozAUY/s1600/_MG_6718.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXT1nEXAdxj0sIP5alAQUi3aEbOIvlifEZRuSqVCt10tkwhZ2bzhOtb40Hz5KBFIaWjEcXSGAJjmbRpueHpXxIMHa8wkUoc5qPAsgPsWU732ZmtCGRHixK55e1zxoht6c3r-KtWdozAUY/s320/_MG_6718.JPG" width="316" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I don't know how much of it was done while I was asleep – or half asleep. Heck, I don't even know how I loaded the brush.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These other ones were done while I was fully awake:</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDcg6O9R61wQrtAb7Avrjbs9yTz8IabAauZdcojkdj8Hk6nrm9L1dZPzrVAVi4X6Ws8xZPM9nUVCcffEwdbHhd29Uryy77MuXhKvF8p-Qo-uPcItizBUYRx0EZ4_SBErx__jQCs5JTks/s1600/_MG_6716.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeDcg6O9R61wQrtAb7Avrjbs9yTz8IabAauZdcojkdj8Hk6nrm9L1dZPzrVAVi4X6Ws8xZPM9nUVCcffEwdbHhd29Uryy77MuXhKvF8p-Qo-uPcItizBUYRx0EZ4_SBErx__jQCs5JTks/s320/_MG_6716.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GDUl_NYRObaKOJ6npEA-t7wC4wjL6gp00Hb3B3P3hTlCe3kSY_w5ZVAFvBJzHnaVjUWhgZNfXeVaEYcM0Bz1OqJ0vwf_bfw5S4-dXC_qT67PPF_LOqFTBWdxwcj3wd_PoU29OiPfGTw/s1600/_MG_6717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GDUl_NYRObaKOJ6npEA-t7wC4wjL6gp00Hb3B3P3hTlCe3kSY_w5ZVAFvBJzHnaVjUWhgZNfXeVaEYcM0Bz1OqJ0vwf_bfw5S4-dXC_qT67PPF_LOqFTBWdxwcj3wd_PoU29OiPfGTw/s320/_MG_6717.JPG" width="318" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I enjoy underpainting. I feel lost most of the time, but it is really a very liberating exercise. It feels almost mindless. Which brings me to lament how I wish I could paint portraits in a very painterly manner. I don't know if I actually could paint technically acceptable portraits but I think my patience will run out before I even get halfway. Nonetheless, I've been “studying” a collection of fine portraits from other artists over at Artbreak. Been re-reading books on Renoir and Manet as well.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Roofscape... hell, I'm fighting for every inch of it. I think I'll revisit it after a few days. Besides, I still need reference materials for the boy leaning on the dome structure.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZxXP3_2wDLjI_Uv7oaGJw5UlQxFamv79qvb-sgUjbEYnlJNJEcAL5zZSl9hphNQGVnkczzLoFHh670fYPsHSNT1rK0nZIiKdpJA7ufh3kl0jOAPyec4TLbgAtkBSCJwUvNfDzJplxQk/s1600/_MG_6720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZxXP3_2wDLjI_Uv7oaGJw5UlQxFamv79qvb-sgUjbEYnlJNJEcAL5zZSl9hphNQGVnkczzLoFHh670fYPsHSNT1rK0nZIiKdpJA7ufh3kl0jOAPyec4TLbgAtkBSCJwUvNfDzJplxQk/s320/_MG_6720.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-48366169218740935462011-10-28T17:49:00.000-07:002011-10-28T17:49:06.424-07:00Silly<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">How far can you push something before it starts looking silly?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDV-gtPo2mKH2EU_uNSwRkrU6tX9hqB9UCKoHKC53OWpGt0OWSPPu8UpKShs7XAgHDkwQI1VCQXKYUdEDA8kAOwIyiEo3jXP36bvRfH4amSFWS72LZi9co5OLHfbZ3wYEZBXHtLX5Yrq0/s1600/102920112052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDV-gtPo2mKH2EU_uNSwRkrU6tX9hqB9UCKoHKC53OWpGt0OWSPPu8UpKShs7XAgHDkwQI1VCQXKYUdEDA8kAOwIyiEo3jXP36bvRfH4amSFWS72LZi9co5OLHfbZ3wYEZBXHtLX5Yrq0/s320/102920112052.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIr5hVZB2QSPD_5D5omE6T09hkr4gIcgrcgAtjYVcJxar-Mn3bSTyLjZaLPKbFCBvO39D68PMuaQkVYTulTsVfuWPBOh1r2K-SOutKWlPawQ8-G_-adook9Ow311LhhePAArJtR6tnGw/s1600/Copy+of+102920112053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIr5hVZB2QSPD_5D5omE6T09hkr4gIcgrcgAtjYVcJxar-Mn3bSTyLjZaLPKbFCBvO39D68PMuaQkVYTulTsVfuWPBOh1r2K-SOutKWlPawQ8-G_-adook9Ow311LhhePAArJtR6tnGw/s320/Copy+of+102920112053.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhAQaVYvWxndLUO3eXoO74vy0CbWlzvSfqQ4nPJYEe0LpwqKsPc2LCyp8qZbVbDBIi5r6sbmBBOn-geymfUXoWVxxH9uQ9X3I2yqZAzwPHU1U46Gx-tkjwIlUCn4Rzw2STuXu_R7Y9Mo/s1600/Copy+of+102920112054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhAQaVYvWxndLUO3eXoO74vy0CbWlzvSfqQ4nPJYEe0LpwqKsPc2LCyp8qZbVbDBIi5r6sbmBBOn-geymfUXoWVxxH9uQ9X3I2yqZAzwPHU1U46Gx-tkjwIlUCn4Rzw2STuXu_R7Y9Mo/s320/Copy+of+102920112054.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><br />
These are my canvas sketches for the three panel in the Quadtych. I like these sketches. I kind of ran away with it, forgetting it will get painted over anyway. In any case, establishing my major lines is a good thing to do. I've blundered in the placements of my elements before, for which I noticed the error only after applying layers of paint. It's better to finalize everything at the primer layer.<br />
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They are not caricatures. I've worked my hardest to avoid that while forcing expressions out of these faces.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-40083310731052253692011-10-26T17:24:00.000-07:002011-10-26T17:26:23.815-07:00ApparitionOne of my aunts recalled that when she found out she had cancer, at what seemed to be the lowest moment in her life, an apparition appeared - a young boy who approached the foot of her bed. She stared at the apparition, not knowing what to think or do next. Eventually, she shooed away the apparition by invoking the name of Jesus; she was "born again" you see. Eventually, she succumbed to cancer.<br />
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</div><div>My mother, when she was engaged in her last pitched battle with cancer, confronted a male apparition only she could see. Catholics around her would like to believe it was Jesus, of course. And of course, I wished it was.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pyEYja2XOwfztPymJJTnkti6w7XkVG1TQqZaViCq3eNBZynUBKQ4kbVoo3v2wDsQKJNQJKtMEdBGjAV5C8oEcyAk3olwIOqi_bgO6jcmSpNfi8pBYse2YzqhSY9EtgDr_mu4wzHEHxA/s1600/102720112046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4pyEYja2XOwfztPymJJTnkti6w7XkVG1TQqZaViCq3eNBZynUBKQ4kbVoo3v2wDsQKJNQJKtMEdBGjAV5C8oEcyAk3olwIOqi_bgO6jcmSpNfi8pBYse2YzqhSY9EtgDr_mu4wzHEHxA/s320/102720112046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
</div><div>I wonder what my apparition will look like? I need to know for me to paint a vision of it, and more importantly, for me to work on a highly subjective, mostly non-figurative subject matter. I would like to work on atmosphere this time around - no more hard edges, except of course the one needed on the gnarled covetous hand of the apparition.<br />
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I also have a composition in my head that can be likened to a spatial puzzle of sort. I'm trying to make a voluptuous woman take the form of an ovoid, while trying to make her gestures a bit more pronounced. Yes, I have a feeling this composition will sit in my head for a whole lot longer.</div><div><br />
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</div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-72859009744539195912011-10-22T15:11:00.000-07:002011-10-22T15:13:04.734-07:00Fighting for Every Inch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYR_1WQ_YSXIQHJIb1z1XNqfyIhiPcdIKtua4oAJ2TA8M6lz5B4V2FL08N_9omxUwRPNo6uCB1XE4hXbiLMJnbMEUEeVns6PfjV1DAj6D_teShdDhilGAMpXzqDaChjJ7DNUZIXYeA0SU/s1600/102320112026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYR_1WQ_YSXIQHJIb1z1XNqfyIhiPcdIKtua4oAJ2TA8M6lz5B4V2FL08N_9omxUwRPNo6uCB1XE4hXbiLMJnbMEUEeVns6PfjV1DAj6D_teShdDhilGAMpXzqDaChjJ7DNUZIXYeA0SU/s320/102320112026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
It feels like I'm fighting for every inch.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-53321423010880281672011-10-20T13:59:00.000-07:002011-10-21T00:10:15.991-07:00Quadtych<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZc94gQgaNbTVZEl3Lxi2Q8j4ObjH93akN0QhdBUIPmlAvIeDJXBKFqY9h2hRLCMMDV3qwMoCPOADtpkxadyhTaSVbUri3dfd4m-0Buu8rymxD47hExntEFBonaojFu0Syfh-PlgxXt0k/s1600/quadtych+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZc94gQgaNbTVZEl3Lxi2Q8j4ObjH93akN0QhdBUIPmlAvIeDJXBKFqY9h2hRLCMMDV3qwMoCPOADtpkxadyhTaSVbUri3dfd4m-0Buu8rymxD47hExntEFBonaojFu0Syfh-PlgxXt0k/s320/quadtych+copy.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><br />
Quadtych, I didn't even think that such a word existed. Apparently, at this day and age, there is always a noun or verb corresponding to everything we can possibly do. Makes you think, does language confines our actions to a finite set, or does our limited abilities bound the expansion of our language. Good thing there is imagination which raises us above the physical and mental limitations we have set all around us. I may not know what to call what I am doing, but I'll be doing this thingamajig anyway.<br />
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I've been wondering how to break free from the two dimensional confines of a canvas, without resorting to the use of relief. If paintings can speak to the viewer, can't they speak among themselves? Why not have them interact with each other using real space as a sort of sounding board?<br />
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A long time ago, I was fixated with the idea of using <a href="http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs26/i/2008/127/0/c/Ang_Paggapos_kay_Haliya_by_suntoksabwan.jpg">triptychs</a> to juxtapose photographs, convey movement, progression and sequences. Now, I've been contemplating how to use three dimensional space between paintings to convey an idea.<br />
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The work in progress above I already have a name for: Eleksyon Lechon. The four frames will be tightly displayed with each other, and in the order which I will specify when completed.<br />
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Another project I might start working on soon is two vertically oriented figure paintings which are meant to be displayed facing each other in a hall or relatively small room. One frame depicts a thin woman, while the other frame will depict a heavy set woman who shadows the pose of the other. Viewers should find themselves between the gaze of the two paintings. They should feel torn to choose which side to gravitate towards.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-57737734555318129972011-06-07T10:49:00.000-07:002011-11-01T15:21:20.330-07:00Guiting-Guiting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8TqBzfMlKvkJ-cOJABnoQp3kk-k_pXiSkN5DM00Y3sdE-W3HJZh0l7xxkePbAjXCnfZltLqcqhAXFF0ZZA8m21u4nKM91QhkTnXtHsRk7HVs5ZUMiSkYp58GPbXpbhW_YZSKg2tqqWY/s1600/Guiting-Guiting+Final+Version.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8TqBzfMlKvkJ-cOJABnoQp3kk-k_pXiSkN5DM00Y3sdE-W3HJZh0l7xxkePbAjXCnfZltLqcqhAXFF0ZZA8m21u4nKM91QhkTnXtHsRk7HVs5ZUMiSkYp58GPbXpbhW_YZSKg2tqqWY/s320/Guiting-Guiting+Final+Version.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><b>Guiting-Guiting</b><br />
66 x 27 in<br />
Oil on canvas<br />
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There is nothing more I can do to this painting. I am sufficiently satisfied to put this behind me. I was meaning to come up with 2 more paintings for the series, but after this, I've decided to paint one more and leave it to rest.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXaNJr6Sce5bexFJ5cmxJbiK2qgamJ_KIlCVVyxRq0a4hMEnrzKFRMxSwglvBP0BjjoqiYmikotqk8DqE9UUh5SB7O4kdXjHINICHsNicIUuZyrCWJzaAzk6J9TGN3ifX58i5ZIdsZhg8/s1600/details+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXaNJr6Sce5bexFJ5cmxJbiK2qgamJ_KIlCVVyxRq0a4hMEnrzKFRMxSwglvBP0BjjoqiYmikotqk8DqE9UUh5SB7O4kdXjHINICHsNicIUuZyrCWJzaAzk6J9TGN3ifX58i5ZIdsZhg8/s320/details+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Perhaps I'm just exhausted and cannot think of anything more to say about this piece, other than I felt liberated working on it. Things just happened and that led me to explore details and highlights as I went along. I really did felt free.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRbVbHkSVrQPOWQMbHUIjENSxgTvnEWLHzX15CXnsTtA4V4ymSDrLV-MgbG2RPraQNi-1VEOXUNcmc9SZmuUZEk1RMHEYO80Bfu2F8yY5ejJWQ8j5Yn4ZkouR7pqGQ9xrxi-2nPBCcOE/s1600/details+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaRbVbHkSVrQPOWQMbHUIjENSxgTvnEWLHzX15CXnsTtA4V4ymSDrLV-MgbG2RPraQNi-1VEOXUNcmc9SZmuUZEk1RMHEYO80Bfu2F8yY5ejJWQ8j5Yn4ZkouR7pqGQ9xrxi-2nPBCcOE/s320/details+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
After I return from Benguet, I will try to complete the roofscape painting before the end of the month. I will also begin work on the Jowein set. I might be able to manage to begin work on a particular piece that is really personally relevant to me, but as of now I can't get myself to begin. I don't know. We'll see.<br />
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This is a bit embarrassing, but I actually gone back to this and painted in a few things. It's been bugging me for months. So I actually finished this painting today, 18 October 2011. I don't think I can do anything for this piece anymore. I know I said it before but, I'm now sufficiently satisfied with this to finally put it behind me.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-75163640402666721582011-06-02T00:20:00.000-07:002011-06-02T02:16:20.362-07:00Clouds are meant to be fleeting, not confusing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZku_yxMhZxrQr7TFKCUNx2WftoCsf1YO9jlqiTC_co7T74jdPHNgm54JJQiPsYC9n0O-TLfMxEquvt5-0Ssd71Uu6Z9pXPw70Hk8IACwU8v8CSj58qK5_6-he2qsQFZowZBSIt1azL78/s1600/060220111630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZku_yxMhZxrQr7TFKCUNx2WftoCsf1YO9jlqiTC_co7T74jdPHNgm54JJQiPsYC9n0O-TLfMxEquvt5-0Ssd71Uu6Z9pXPw70Hk8IACwU8v8CSj58qK5_6-he2qsQFZowZBSIt1azL78/s320/060220111630.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's not finished yet, though the more difficult parts are almost done. That large space to the right is confusing to work on because there is no obvious reference to know where I'm laying my brush. There's no tree, crest, line or obvious visual reference. Another thing gnawing at my attention would be all that mental note I have on what to adjust, what to add, what to remove, that are strewn all across the frame. I've fought the temptation to use Post-It to keep tabs of them all! Other than those mentioned, it should be smooth sailing with this piece from here on end.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Though it is not the largest canvas I've worked on, it is the widest. This canvas has given me more confidence to tackle more complex works, I'm happy to say. I believe I've broken that paralyzing apprehension I've been getting whenever I look at the unfinished Kubol piece. We'll get there, soon enough. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUpsu8KZD65MLh7Mafru0CnKD9wuTUImRJTxOhYayITfHKRR8vEu1w0_lQeB6RBfFgVWBua-91GPmsHJvNdWdqfpQCaNP52dh4bMq5AMtrA-PSeNte9i3tb_kAPmStWybLXnLIwFw2rE/s1600/060220111631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUpsu8KZD65MLh7Mafru0CnKD9wuTUImRJTxOhYayITfHKRR8vEu1w0_lQeB6RBfFgVWBua-91GPmsHJvNdWdqfpQCaNP52dh4bMq5AMtrA-PSeNte9i3tb_kAPmStWybLXnLIwFw2rE/s320/060220111631.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This will look good in the master's bedroom. I've made the painting to fit the dimension of the wall facing the bed. When I wake up, this will be the first thing that will greet me. All I need now is a low and shallow book shelf, a small sound system, and some trinkets and bookends to complement that space under this painting.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After this - maybe a week or two more, I'll begin the last half of the roof scape painting I've put on hold a few weeks back. I need references to keep on going with that piece.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-58374154295044861672011-05-31T00:54:00.000-07:002011-05-31T00:54:06.934-07:00Light as Clouds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczO_1pkqZwiQQCk86f7r8JLL-Y1r6Umq8EOeIIJvmsXcHN3DfuowQ-BVVTS5SCPcUIZecg4rbVlOIXLjh2Px_nSzGWGpI3A0ofoRs_MFKJFaExSn3B9FN-NMHavbdywXIHAuOPoPdjQ0/s1600/053120111620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczO_1pkqZwiQQCk86f7r8JLL-Y1r6Umq8EOeIIJvmsXcHN3DfuowQ-BVVTS5SCPcUIZecg4rbVlOIXLjh2Px_nSzGWGpI3A0ofoRs_MFKJFaExSn3B9FN-NMHavbdywXIHAuOPoPdjQ0/s320/053120111620.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I shouldn't take these paintings too seriously. I should just learn to enjoy the moment and not bother about consequences.<br />
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The lighter I feel about working on these canvasses, the more likely I would be returning to them.<br />
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Yes, I should just make my strokes and smudges, oblivious of nighttime noises, listening to Mraz and whatever song shuffling will lead me to.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-75215726783000752822011-05-03T04:36:00.000-07:002011-05-03T04:36:17.563-07:00Gone Stupid with the Details<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDY3j5dz9ub9woQts20vSgZQZzpve9qrOgUBrXMEcX16QZiu2jJNgt35KNf9cwsJPBwsZGdHaNVibWfHLp-VTR35IUfig-3aX8tWj8KaGxZ0FzDnFPm-wYASahyth_kF5yH4vDri23zPw/s1600/050320111587.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDY3j5dz9ub9woQts20vSgZQZzpve9qrOgUBrXMEcX16QZiu2jJNgt35KNf9cwsJPBwsZGdHaNVibWfHLp-VTR35IUfig-3aX8tWj8KaGxZ0FzDnFPm-wYASahyth_kF5yH4vDri23zPw/s320/050320111587.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I usually paint at night. I often lose touch of time when I start dabbing in the paint. I'd blow past three hours and 4 cups of coffee and think I've only been working on a canvas for 30 minutes. It's a great way to pass the time, and a darn efficient way to escape everything else in life. Which reminds me, I have other important things to attend to outside of art!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_le9ZZXCFYt_JlQmTMSvbPki6Uv1g1iKDQCjyT6w5UnKt3LP5gT3ooeLVOycLDyi4LrGPHqzDyZiS7Nbjw_3N9woIvDeYekVkwydeAQ0qHgJBh4XmWKyXeNdO_8qOfpGU1-L5k2jEQ3w/s1600/050320111586.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_le9ZZXCFYt_JlQmTMSvbPki6Uv1g1iKDQCjyT6w5UnKt3LP5gT3ooeLVOycLDyi4LrGPHqzDyZiS7Nbjw_3N9woIvDeYekVkwydeAQ0qHgJBh4XmWKyXeNdO_8qOfpGU1-L5k2jEQ3w/s320/050320111586.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In any case, I was contemplating last night how to resolve two conflicting aims I was having with regards this rooftop painting. I needed to satisfy this impulse to paint in details. Usually, if you want to focus on something, you paint in details. If you want the eyes to flow across briefly but not focus on an area, you just make suggestive strokes, or lighten the tone, or as they say in Photography, just bring it out of focus. These usually are not friendly to the eyes and a viewer will instinctively move his eyes away from these areas where the brain cannot satiate it's need for hard edged details. But as what I have said, I was going crazy over the details.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was wondering whether cluttering everything will force the eyes to move to the foreground where things are not as cluttered as the background because of perspective - where things are of course larger and therefore may seem not as cluttered as the back.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Or then again, I can always use heavy lines and frame a small section where the eyes and mind should focus on. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ah yes...and there goes the plan once again.</div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-46186045695039217052011-05-02T04:07:00.000-07:002011-05-02T04:08:14.736-07:00Humans or No Humans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5O6Yc4VGXtSMDTGM8KCZn0FV23ULm7ZIyLQsNO-b-_H4Cyapxx3-uUq79FiROtTcO7DgVi-F-5UCSIVkJUglz5WAlWqTWEEKKAmzIzYlJ4D3CitDyrF0lu6KsGPLQU88fRzjPjAamw50/s1600/050220111585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5O6Yc4VGXtSMDTGM8KCZn0FV23ULm7ZIyLQsNO-b-_H4Cyapxx3-uUq79FiROtTcO7DgVi-F-5UCSIVkJUglz5WAlWqTWEEKKAmzIzYlJ4D3CitDyrF0lu6KsGPLQU88fRzjPjAamw50/s400/050220111585.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This painting is coming along well. It's not quite done yet. The intended fluffiness and ephemeral quality of the 3 kinds of clouds depicted has not been applied yet. Frankly, I only have an inkling on how to execute it and i suspect it will take a number of layers to get the translucent effect I'm aiming for. Good luck with that.<br />
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Because almost everything is suggested given the freedom I allowed myself on the brush strokes, the viewer's eyes will wander aimlessly across the frame. I needed an anchor of sorts where the eyes can begin and launch off towards the horizon, then follow a path back to a comfortable point of focus. I'm torn between putting in a person, or just rendering with more details the light green grassy foreground on the lower left of the frame. Either one, it will serve a good anchor. But, choosing either one will alter the philosophy underpinning the painting.<br />
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I always maintain that nature cares not for man or our fate. In fact, nature is not conscious of how she looks like, of how barren or verdant she might be. Nature just exist and we are a complication in this grand scheme of just being.<br />
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I just want us to be out of the frame. To be able to see and comprehend, but never covet, infect or destroy. <br />
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But without the manifestation of man within the frame, it is conceptually a lightweight anchor. Humans are exasperatingly self-conscious and egomaniacal. We are obsessed with our own kind and naturally gravitate towards another biped. A human figure 1/10th the size of the frame is as heavy as the mountain - if not heavier. We explore the figure not only with our eyes, but also with our minds.<br />
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So what will it be?Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-84954352841297771712011-04-29T23:51:00.000-07:002011-04-29T23:53:58.302-07:00Distraction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmNfYQ-_330_7a7Wf5KaWH3G-xMzOAqMIRAYMLkqMVTGI5sIPJ2NxsBjvSnLZXw4Lb5YzTHI4M3DgN0o6TywjQoQMKgxz11MOntmlwJ199BypnEMwFsgcx35K5qi1j3S_F2snIsjDSXc/s1600/New+Image.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmNfYQ-_330_7a7Wf5KaWH3G-xMzOAqMIRAYMLkqMVTGI5sIPJ2NxsBjvSnLZXw4Lb5YzTHI4M3DgN0o6TywjQoQMKgxz11MOntmlwJ199BypnEMwFsgcx35K5qi1j3S_F2snIsjDSXc/s320/New+Image.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I got distracted from working on the roofscape painting at the moment. Since the areas I needed to work on were still “wet” and I needed to take reference images of scrawny kids first, I decided to start work on this mountain scape that I have in mind. It will be part of a three-part series which I will call Guiting-Guiting.<br />
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The dimension of the frame was intended really for a somewhat mannerist painting of a woman, but the person that will pose for that had a falling out with me and that planned painting will no longer be feasible. That falling out had some serious personal ramification for me, and as usual, I revert to the mountains for solace.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-41710286871114062532011-04-25T12:26:00.000-07:002011-04-25T19:32:24.030-07:00Gunning for GSIS<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2FLaNRnEI6hxw8GaCflpO1o1WS-ubGt7kH6OZfvfSpxRdkGyGfUjH8hbW_jS61rLZT9zjSQFO0lkRU4pOTUAeulhOf2TyjX07ox3oaYHmf1kqaOF5914Ysz6a9kGviNbnrklHNZXmYU/s1600/042320111553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH2FLaNRnEI6hxw8GaCflpO1o1WS-ubGt7kH6OZfvfSpxRdkGyGfUjH8hbW_jS61rLZT9zjSQFO0lkRU4pOTUAeulhOf2TyjX07ox3oaYHmf1kqaOF5914Ysz6a9kGviNbnrklHNZXmYU/s320/042320111553.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>I've finally remembered that there is such a thing as a GSIS Art Competition and the due date for this year's competition hasn't passed yet.<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">The theme is “Makabagong Kinabukasan” </span></span>(A New Kind of Future).</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I have been contemplating a particular composition, but not for the theme above. However, having a theme allowed me to crystallized the work in my head in no time, and led me in this direction. The moment my lead touched paper, all the elements came together without a fuss. I was pretty amused by the speed in which I arranged my elements.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I wanted to show a landscape of haphazardly built structures – a squatter roofscape. It has come to symbolize in my head everything that has gone wrong with the Philippines. It is a patchwork of temporary and flimsy attempts to build a community. It serves it's purpose marginally, but it simply is wanting of so many things: justice, order, direction.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I didn't want to show a living person amid the squalor. You will not see a single Filipino in the picture because this landscape is not Filipino. It is not what we are. It is just a predicament we have found ourselves in. It is a mere situation. There is even what appears to be a classical structure of sorts, but you will find it almost built over by the corrugated sheet iron structures surrounding it. A person should wonder what else is underneath all that rusted corrugated iron sheets. Will it reveal our true selves?</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The only human form in the roofscape is the image of a construction worker wielding a sledgehammer in a tarpaulin banner. I'm just suggesting it, but in my opinion, the only way to move forward is to rid ourselves of things we have become comfortable with. We have been so used to the dysfunctions, that we are bewildered by reactions of visitors to our shores.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWukykRKw7jmGZ0wUeh2SXUjWhI2k1hR6jH6vbPyVJoY78R7r9KaCD4aHeKOsSj0TPgpwqlS9PcaQjtBQaqot_pVIopkJii9buwOj6IP-zOtojJgcjWrLRFv-ENGIyZ0jS4s_sl7xepyA/s1600/042620111569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWukykRKw7jmGZ0wUeh2SXUjWhI2k1hR6jH6vbPyVJoY78R7r9KaCD4aHeKOsSj0TPgpwqlS9PcaQjtBQaqot_pVIopkJii9buwOj6IP-zOtojJgcjWrLRFv-ENGIyZ0jS4s_sl7xepyA/s320/042620111569.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">I gave the painting horizon gaps which should make the viewer feel that beyond the roofs, is a large open space - perhaps a beach of sorts. You should notice that the sky seems overly “nice” for the scene at the foreground. I just what the viewer to see my idea of hope. Beyond all that mess, is what we've all been working for. We just have to wield that sledgehammer with the conviction that it will demand.</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The image above is about 60% complete. It's not that easy to render rusted corrugated iron sheets without making it look like an absolute mess. </span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">This is my first painting after a year's hiatus! </span>Rock climbing had messed up my hands. I can't control them as well as before. It forced me to feather my brush strokes and I am mystified by the results.<br />
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UPDATE:<br />
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The new GSIS Painting Competition size requirement is 4 feet by 5 feet. Last year it was 3x4 and I assumed wrong or perhaps read wrong. I will not have any entry this year. What a let down.<br />
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Now that the theme doesn't apply anymore, I feel that I may have to rethink the elements in my frame and go back to my original concept of having a thin kid balancing on the rooftops - a play on juxtaposition.<br />
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</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br />
</div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><span style="color: black;"> </span> </div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-52421784813397623592011-04-21T12:34:00.000-07:002011-04-25T19:51:19.906-07:00What's that?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKyI9ZXF_XbWZh_6WotH2eWP7PF6TfGS6e7DwGl2VuMxMxaAQXhl3rDSPyB5AkZjO04DbH_EMfOOa-jxSkGz8iEihfGI_yhynrqiAR_KCH_VMHCEBC-fKRRKspoBK63TPCiGGellEZbQ/s1600/042020111543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQKyI9ZXF_XbWZh_6WotH2eWP7PF6TfGS6e7DwGl2VuMxMxaAQXhl3rDSPyB5AkZjO04DbH_EMfOOa-jxSkGz8iEihfGI_yhynrqiAR_KCH_VMHCEBC-fKRRKspoBK63TPCiGGellEZbQ/s320/042020111543.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Do you know what this is?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not my finger! I was talking about what I was pointing at. Yup. A blank canvas. And I have two for that matter.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Y0wowOadIy2E3iTa4swZrqxITvNdEG7DMZx_AUtDp9eqBvN_gPGhZaRZcbzNLvHAshsCgp-oaM5XeHwaqV4-KDhDrM0doGZoT3R-dS9XB6PuDBdN139g7I4XOixmG2f49vxcX0UVWoU/s1600/042020111541.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Y0wowOadIy2E3iTa4swZrqxITvNdEG7DMZx_AUtDp9eqBvN_gPGhZaRZcbzNLvHAshsCgp-oaM5XeHwaqV4-KDhDrM0doGZoT3R-dS9XB6PuDBdN139g7I4XOixmG2f49vxcX0UVWoU/s320/042020111541.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had the frames for these custom-made by Sunga. Cost me a thousand pesos for the two. A bit pricey, but I can't really complain given the weight of the wood and the quality of the workmanship. I use to make my own frames but my skills in carpentry can't overcome my usual problems: warping, usual flimsy construction and the ever annoying trapezoidal shape I end up with.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We're trying to work out a solution to bring down the price of the frame. Some of the cheaper wood are just not workable as frames. I told the people at Sunga if they can bring my 3x4s to P300, then we're dandy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Yes, I do my own stretching, priming, sanding and whatever else that is necessary to come up with a nice consistent bite on the surface. I think of it as part of the creative process. Before you can paint anything, you have to create space for your other creations to exist in.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Wonder what's going to be pulled out of the air and plastered on these white surfaces? Well, do come back every now and then to find out. One of them is due on May 7! I may have to use those spray on varnish for that. Damn!</div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-26721341427733491142011-03-29T12:00:00.000-07:002011-03-29T12:00:02.563-07:00Devoid of a CenterThere was a piece of heavy paper lying around, and I can't get myself to sleep just yet. When worries and woes numb the mind, I really appreciate regressing into momentary peace that working on a simple piece such as this affords me. It has no center, and nothing is really defined. Anything more is just added burden that I don't need.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGomAInjkv8xpWn1xHaene82YUTAH-Se885ggJzhyphenhyphenZRVTyjf9TY-Zlpfv9i-Ewl2m7dyQ1HBrHeGxunxmlb1masAup7Gv0dc7Gaes6ea9OLaYuF-f9iSNAPmhFAtl8Ca_sKGbRM8ZIbxA/s1600/033020111471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGomAInjkv8xpWn1xHaene82YUTAH-Se885ggJzhyphenhyphenZRVTyjf9TY-Zlpfv9i-Ewl2m7dyQ1HBrHeGxunxmlb1masAup7Gv0dc7Gaes6ea9OLaYuF-f9iSNAPmhFAtl8Ca_sKGbRM8ZIbxA/s320/033020111471.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<b>Ortigas</b><br />
10.25 x 7.75 in<br />
Oil Pastel on PaperIan V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-41752217011723990342011-03-28T12:54:00.000-07:002011-03-29T10:03:52.430-07:00Hitting the Pavement RunningThere was no sense in prolonging this hiatus from art which I found myself stuck in. Come to think of it, these past couple of weeks I've been going over in my head works which I am yet to do. Also, it is hard not to think about art after coming back from Batanes last weekend. There, the medium that was at my disposal was photography. It was a perfect medium to capture the fickleness and dynamism of the landscape - it was a landscape in flux!<br />
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I've decided to work on this image I had sketched out for quite some time, just to get me back into rhythm. I told myself to use the plate to just loosen up - no expectations, no direction. I just wanted to shake off the cobwebs. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmWaXDA_TCbkeDwNrHhEmm_hMfvrCMTKXSCu0ZeXkcGvI2yIvtZEB2zrzJUCGKXadwsYOT14kBn-ZIvDLOPtzHwdEVHy0Si0PlqOQiyW4AH512DRTjIVNzUKJMllrdtXyHWM6SetH3XU/s1600/Twisted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmWaXDA_TCbkeDwNrHhEmm_hMfvrCMTKXSCu0ZeXkcGvI2yIvtZEB2zrzJUCGKXadwsYOT14kBn-ZIvDLOPtzHwdEVHy0Si0PlqOQiyW4AH512DRTjIVNzUKJMllrdtXyHWM6SetH3XU/s320/Twisted.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><b>Pilipit</b><br />
Oil Pastel on Paper<br />
12x15 inches<br />
Unmounted<br />
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I've been rock and wall climbing these past few months - since November actually. I've always had reservations in that the activity might affect the tactile feelings on my fingers. It does, apparently.<br />
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I find my hands less nimble, working on this sketch. I don't think it was because I haven't held a brush for more than a year. The brush still felt the same, and after a few minutes on this work, I felt I was back into it. But my strokes felt more forced - there is too much jerkiness at the end of every movement. I knew what I wanted to do with my hands, but all the movements seem exaggerated.<br />
<br />
I don't know how all this will play out when I start painting with oils again.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-49063113939997438242010-10-13T13:26:00.000-07:002011-03-28T20:04:01.909-07:00Surprises and KarmaI had an interesting talk with a <a href="http://ianvmartinez.blogspot.com/2010/01/night-swimming.html">friend</a> this week.<br />
<br />
In it, I found out she got married in a civil wedding early this October. I was mystified by the announcement... wait, let me rephrase that... I was shocked at her announcement. One moment, you think you know the person, and then suddenly you're facing someone with a stranger's surname.<br />
<br />
In any case, our conversation digressed at the ills we've done others. I guess the moment crystallized my thoughts, and I said though I was atheist, it seems I have always unconsciously deferred to the will of the Universe and accepted Karma as its means to exact justice for all the times we've caused bad things to happen to others. The line of thinking would be, "I'm suffering now because I deserve it", or "I should cease to feel guilty because I've been punished for it already". It's truly satisfying to live in delusion sometimes - to think forces greater than ourselves are at play to harmonize and right the wrongs we have done, or to put back in balance what we have tipped over.<br />
<br />
A realization did come by my way. The Universe is amoral. Isn't justice just a construct of our minds as it struggles with logic and the tempering effects of empathy? No one is out there keeping tabs of our good deeds, or bad deeds at that.<br />
<br />
Karma seems meaningful only in retrospect; a convenient means to ease our guilt.<br />
<br />
Come to think of it, the guilt I carry was never lightened by the harm and ill done to me by others. The hurt I've felt never did ease the guilt of the hurt I dispensed on others. My betrayal never did cancel out the betrayal done to me. It all turns out to be one complex and confounding network of hurt and pain we've all weaved to entangle each and everyone of us in.<br />
<br />
As we age, they say we grow in wisdom. I say, we entangle ourselves so much from all the things we've done in our early years that we can barely move anymore. That is ageing. One day, you'd rather stay in your chair all day than to spin more of your caustic web into the world and its inhabitants.<br />
<br />
There really is wisdom in the adage of forgiving and forgetting. Life can be a real bummer if you are lugging around a bag of guilt everywhere you go - like some forlorn Santa Claus.<br />
<br />
To my friend down there in the south, I wish you blissful happiness.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-43703902312234191482010-10-03T12:10:00.000-07:002010-10-03T12:10:49.934-07:00What is worse than a tormented artist?What is worse than a tormented artist?<br />
<br />
Well, to be simply tormented.<br />
<br />
...<br />
<br />
I've come to realize a long time ago, that I've developed this psychological mechanism whereby to ease the impact of my seasonal depression on my daily life, I'd focus its manifestation on something else - usually something and sometimes someone that is dear to me. I'd aim hate, annoyance, rejection and some dark destructive fantasies on these objects or people, even as I go along humming normally through my daily routines.<br />
<br />
I'm aware of this mechanism, and I allow it to play out, because it does allow me to function through such bouts of momentary unreasonableness. Besides, what damage can thoughts do, especially if you are aware that is is purely hypothetical and therapeutic?<br />
<br />
But as of late, I've found myself seemingly unencumbered by such bouts. It's like noticing you haven't gotten your credit card bills for the month, even though you'd love not to receive them at all. <br />
<br />
Something is not right here. There is something I still have to resolve but have not identified yet.<br />
<br />
Then, I remembered this ongoing avoidance I've been acting out with regards these unfinished canvasses I have. In introspect, this game of avoidance has been hurting me quite well - a bit like a sort of self imposed punishment. It is exactly what I'd do to cope with my seasonal bouts, but I am not aware of it.<br />
<br />
If I'm not mistaken, the reason I haven't felt depressed as of late is because I'm already stuck in a perpetual cycle of feeling depressed and coping which feeds each other so well that they perpetuate themselves.<br />
<br />
I need to snap out of this comfortable spiral into perdition. I need to paint. Even if it's worth shit, I need to paint it out of the canvas.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-55580302119387552452010-06-21T11:03:00.000-07:002010-09-26T11:46:47.069-07:00There's a Time for EverythingWhen the 2010 Campaign Season started, I was ecstatic at all the possibilities that the experience will present me. I readied my sketchbook and promised myself to keep my camera nearby just in case a piece of inspiration do come my way.<br />
<br />
But as soon as the feverish pace of Philippine campaign season got under way, did I find myself bogged down with tasks and the need to create art took a back seat.<br />
<br />
I think I packed away the artist in me too well. I find it difficult to even start sketching now - and that's halfway through the year. Somewhere along the way, I think I left the artist in me wallowing in some perennially flooded back road in Malabon City.<br />
<br />
Come to think of it, I don't even bother bringing my camera when I go on trips. Just this weekend, I left home for Tarak Ridge in the Mariveles Range, Bataan, without a camera. And interestingly, it didn't bother me one bit. A year ago, I'd find that thought reprehensible.<br />
<br />
There's this growing annoyance when I see these brushes and tube paints in my living room. I feel this itch to finally pack them away. It's the same feeling I got when I had this compulsion to pack away my Transformer toys when I was a boy, that had outgrown his toys. As with the toys, the paint brushes embarrass me.<br />
<br />
I think there is a need for me to rid myself of all these distractions. I need to set up a company and these brushes do nothing but clutter my thoughts.<br />
<br />
Perhaps it's now time to pack away these last vestiges of my creative past.Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-13824225512326821982010-01-28T13:58:00.001-08:002010-01-28T14:06:15.639-08:00Not a Good Practice<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYT_8LwES7pd9-xEQSyUeGZ5LwSfnWZTKpvMfvKuHOv4zjew9_cy9E0SpcaFyEnZttfhzFlcZrv7GtokP02Nr2_GPzjL24yzFf_JU8TvRqTI0CvY5uYLvYCrxVdHB0knJh4GhjU74b9g/s1600-h/_MG_7304.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYT_8LwES7pd9-xEQSyUeGZ5LwSfnWZTKpvMfvKuHOv4zjew9_cy9E0SpcaFyEnZttfhzFlcZrv7GtokP02Nr2_GPzjL24yzFf_JU8TvRqTI0CvY5uYLvYCrxVdHB0knJh4GhjU74b9g/s400/_MG_7304.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431913656303806706" /></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYT_8LwES7pd9-xEQSyUeGZ5LwSfnWZTKpvMfvKuHOv4zjew9_cy9E0SpcaFyEnZttfhzFlcZrv7GtokP02Nr2_GPzjL24yzFf_JU8TvRqTI0CvY5uYLvYCrxVdHB0knJh4GhjU74b9g/s1600-h/_MG_7304.JPG"></a><br />It's not a good practice, but I just couldn't help it. As I walk day in and day out past "Night Swimming" as it sat there "drying", I was developing an itch to make some minor modification on the woman's hair. I wanted to make the black mass lighter by making the glow of the pool show through her strands of hair. <div><br /></div><div>I also needed to correct what seemed like some really badly placed highlights on the hair.</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, now that it is done, I can finally make my way past it without being tortured.</div></div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-45411098043178588042010-01-28T12:24:00.000-08:002010-01-29T03:32:56.679-08:00Sa Bubungan ng Mabini<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEyDQJCznfXqA2Hpyt5gDy-RIkcfFG0SVfPlokSjuDgEcLwz9jtJY10ik2Dp6_pTzjUoR5oc6rR40yUO1I9VJ3ID4a9jRvipyB_30_UyVR_QoYiouFScjwtLg4ZxeATmrEjY7P3i7HsE/s1600-h/_MG_7294+FINAL.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvEyDQJCznfXqA2Hpyt5gDy-RIkcfFG0SVfPlokSjuDgEcLwz9jtJY10ik2Dp6_pTzjUoR5oc6rR40yUO1I9VJ3ID4a9jRvipyB_30_UyVR_QoYiouFScjwtLg4ZxeATmrEjY7P3i7HsE/s400/_MG_7294+FINAL.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432122501922823586" /></a><br /><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ABPIJ6nILiiVNQNCFO_dKwb_7ZRsKkwqnCAJgsy43yYd0BSzOAClIg7EAzgX1XLCQULlkM5V_I638bicldMTi6yYSFvjqHGpQ15IysW6OVNm-6dQovp_gADYu2tQBp1Ys7aerXQtHP0/s1600-h/_MG_7294.JPG"></a><b>Sa Bubungan ng Mabini</b><div>(At the Roof of Mabini)</div><div>By: Ian V. Martinez</div><div>29 January 2010</div><div><br /></div><div>Oil on canvas</div><div>32.25 x 25 inches</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm done with this! Though I thought I'd be as ecstatic as the woman portrayed in this painting, apparently I'm not. There are a few things I'd like to change, but cannot. I keep on telling myself to just move on and take whatever lessons I got from this canvas to my next paintings.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGKk9DiGf48firmCvWydBWdhWJgh6eyHwFwqTOSELVLLKdzDz6_Rnkljtdok8SfqiPSCZw77cls8i791wYPjA6vOv5vOSKKpft2pSnMipwSe0b8fc6KAKYSh7oaGnn_wQzfll8uRVRDc/s400/_MG_7298.JPG" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431891638840594610" /></div><div><br /></div><div>As I go along, I find myself more and more confident throwing in details or "suggestions of details." I can more boldly play with colors now and explore the way they interact, as I find myself more confident and less apprehensive in handling paint.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am no longer fixated in applying a particular technique in paint application as before. With this, I found myself more interested in texture and composition.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8YE9LFanqbXYs3pxBbgPkXSxQG8G4DZenzpPmZFGNB0joDgkIkIwyi3JyFaFJleQu5Ml_jIv6rBZoApk5P3QDr7ZTqB1jZDEgY32zpTPh8MLC8-6205bUQJahIU3mqDAze8Esy85MGg/s400/_MG_7296.JPG" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431891635181594290" /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you must know, the scene is set on top of Mt. Gulugod Baboy, located in the Municipality of Mabini, Batangas. The chain of islands you see on the left side of the painting... I cannot quite remember the name, but that small island closest the woman's face is Sombrero Island. Beneath the waters of that island is a dive location called Beatriz. There you will encounter somewhat strong currents and because of this, the abundant soft coral gardens would come alive as they sway, fill up and expand, and ripple with the currents. I do not have words to describe the sight, sound and sensations underneath the waves near that island.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibdiTl1COItUYrqLfd1jVd6BGhJiQu4uXp02znngq5CJ3MHdSUUlfhqirzoRn55GLjTQB-SNwyqSIL8FhblmHrMnRm6oghxaW4fIYDenhwa7WACV_Q3ug2ffenogn2McpRghTqNf2Kj2U/s400/_MG_7295.JPG" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431898590259238930" /></div><div><br /></div><div>I originally thought of calling this painting "Happiness", for reasons some of you might be able to surmise. I however, decided to give my paintings Tagalog names to give tribute to the culture that I have always drawn upon when I needed inspiration.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDr4VFVGlY82soYzMZFniEl7QA2Rztr_RSNDgapI545p0aWxUbVwS3cD0ZI3BJ4VtYc2O41I02fek_WrPTgKzXEL_gviLKM0Ehy78-qysKF7jrsBvMXTOQKZkmuBwjwfkDgL95CAblsp4/s400/_MG_7299.JPG" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431891647140115570" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Sa Bubungan ng Mabini, nakita ng aking mata, ang lahat ng maidudulot ng buhay kong ito, na tunay na magpapasaya sa akin.</div></div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8519641087965324051.post-38113526057159586032010-01-27T07:40:00.000-08:002010-01-27T08:28:43.105-08:00Highlights on the GroundI can't wait to finally finish this painting and get it out of the way. Things have been hectic at work and I've been coming home fairly late. I've tried to sneak in a few brushworks here and there but it's hard to "get into it" unless I really sit down for a moment to contemplate on the work at hand.<div><br /><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Q2gkukMlcp9S9u7P4F8Zqjq8KccFytjoncMF05nxZKGeE_v5tNUH5y5erQimpTFM1ZJGsBmcniiwJ8iVvrNROoVSXG6BP3QhvOy7VrwmASmNchyphenhyphenr1CiTSCCAlDvZ-KhCSiEE7llMa_s/s400/01262010522.jpg" style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431456281431310146" /></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm almost happy with the skin tone, but I will most probably dab in some yellow glaze to warm the person up a bit; except of course the pants which needs to stand out and "pull" in the clouds.</div><div><br /></div><div>A bit of wispy hair here and there, some minor correction on the shadows in the face, some hair highlights, a bit more foreground grass highlights and... Bob's your uncle!</div><div><br /></div><div>I might want to touch up that sky a bit but am hesitant to do so lest I end up with an ugly inconsistent large blue space above. I got that blue gradation painting wet on wet and applying a new layer over dry might ruin the whole thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm more or less happy with the almost finished work. I do acknowledge that some painting problems I have not handled all that well, but I believe each painting I complete inches me closer to that level of competence I could be happy living with.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, if only I can figure out how to sell these things.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Ian V. Martinezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09687230820770796434noreply@blogger.com0