Forever Norman

Norman Chow, my painting teacher for over 12 years, and I were supposed to "plot out" what would have been the 12th and last of 12 paintings for a two-person show I am scheduled to be part of in November. We began leisurely work as early as the first quarter of this year. We hated being hurried. But the 12th work isn't meant to be because just as Baguio was waking up from the debris left by super-typhoon Ompong, we who loved and respected Norman learned that he died Sept. 17. To say it was sudden is an understatement. I haven't totally come to terms with the loss. I will miss his quiet guidance, his humble ways (he was an excellent visual artist skilled in dry and wet media, able to paint in the traditional Oriental style and also come up with contemporary images) and his patience in imparting his technical knowledge. He helped me find my style and feel confident in it, not to be apologetic about a childlike view of the world and of shapes and colors. In honor of Norman, I am giving the title "Norman's Feast" to my show of still lifes of food painted in acrylic. The show, which will also feature the paper cutouts of Sinag de Leon, opens Nov. 7 at Waya Araos Wijangco's Gourmet Gypsy Art Cafe at 25 Roces Ave., Quezon City, and will run until the end of December. Waya comforted me, texting, "I'm sure he has given enough in the last 12 years for you to keep painting forever." In photo is Norman's rendition of what Green Valley in Baguio looked like before it was developed into the subdivision it is today.