On March 3 this year at 4:50 p.m., a friend interviewed me by email when he learned I was preparing for my third solo exhibition in April. The show “Bling Blings and Lucky Me” is still up on the walls of Taumbayan, a bar at 40 T. Gener and K-1 streets, Kamuning, Quezon City. The bar is open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Exhibit ends on May 8.
And this was how that online conversation went:
How does this coming exhibit differ from your previous ones?
I’ve always worked with themes when preparing for a show. This time I focused on bling blings, those fashion accessories that you and I are not into (I can only buy genuine ones if I hit the lotto jackpot, but the thing is I don’t gamble). These branded bling blings are the stuff of the lives of some senatorial, congressional and landlords’ wives. Even the salesladies at Louis Vuitton in Greenbelt Makati were quoted by the Inquirer as saying they missed the Ampatuan ladies during the Christmas season because they used to make multiple purchases and paid in cold cash. You can say that this third exhibit is my first that is tweaking a social theme: the obsession over brand names and luxury goods contrasted with the typical diet of the urban poor (instant noodles and canned sardines).
What do you think is the added advantage of writers going into visual arts, if there is any?
The writer’s advantage is his/her capacity to articulate ideas and feelings. It’s not just “Wala lang. Type ko gawin.” That kind of answer used to be a no-no to my fine arts teachers on my first year at UP Diliman, the exacting ones like Bob Feleo and Nestor Vinluan. They constantly challenged us.
Many writers paint or draw, among them, Gilda Cordero Fernando, Tita Lacambra Ayala, Cirilo Bautista, Edel Garcellano, the late art critic Leo Benesa, the late Larry Francia. In Baguio, the names I can think of are mostly women: Baboo Mondoñedo who’s a columnist of the biggest circulating community paper there; Merci Dulawan, a multi-lingual writer; Jenny Cariño, my hijada who also composes poetry, lyrics and music for her songs; Toottee Chanco Pacis, a cookbook author and theology lecturer; Chi Balmaceda Gutierrez, a magazine publisher.
How does your creative moment (s) look like? You paint at any time of the day and night?
I paint in the daytime. I rest at night. I paint because it is so pleasurable. I regret that I didn’t turn to painting earlier and concentrated on writing, but that’s how life is. Midlife allows me to pick up the “dream deferred.” I loved doing art in my grade school days; it was work education I abhorred (needlework, cooking and the like). But I won’t be a hypocrite--I never liked home arts or home economics. The things in the pantry and China cabinet—for me they’re no more than models for still life paintings. My partner will admit that I am the worst hausfrau in the world. And I won’t apologize for that. I’d much rather write or paint. And if I had to choose between writing and painting, I’d still much rather paint.
Is pursuing the visual arts anything like writers pursuing their assorted muses?
I never chased after a muse, male or female. With writing, it’s the deadline, even if it’s self-imposed, that drives me to finish an article. The same with poetry and fiction—I have an idea, feeling, an experience or I overheard unforgettable snatches of conversation. And that’s when I write. With painting, it’s the totally pleasurable, almost hedonistic, feeling of the brush in my hand, moving it across the canvas. And when the work is finished, be it a feature story or a watercolor, that’s my reward. That’s why hindi tayo yayaman, My values are different; work is its own reward.
I had a grandmother, Telesfora Lolarga, who kept herself busy always. She had a career, yes, but Lola had this gift of transforming any house she lived in into a home because of her artistic touches, her flair for setting this object against that, her appreciation for fine music. So if I have a muse, it must be her. She would’ve been proud. She kept my, my siblings’ and our cousins’ paintings, drawings, letters from childhood.
What have you learned from your past exhibits?
I learned how much fun a visual arts exhibit can be in a way being published can’t approximate. You wait long for feedback for an article or anything written and published. Most times feedback doesn’t come at all. You feel like you just “talked” into the void. At an exhibit opening, you see the people who matter in your life instantly reacting and giving immediate feedback.
What are the new works in your exhibit?
Everything is new whenever I have a solo show.
Is Baguio the best place to paint and why?
I like to paint anywhere but home. The best places there are the greenhouse of Toottee Pacis in Happy Homes, Baguio, and the extended work place of Baboo in Pinsao. I like it in those places because of abundant natural light. And those women are foodies like me; they love good food. Conversation is always light. Our teacher is Norman Chow who is extremely patient with all of us. He deserves his own show, but we, his students, are more excited about booking our own shows.
What stages have you gone through as an artist thus far?
Formal fine arts studies from 2004 to 2009, private art lessons with Bob Feleo in the early 1990s, with Pytz Santos in 2004-05 and Norman to this day. Never-ending apprenticeship with Jerry Araos who is exacting in his demand for a well thought out idea for a show before mounting anything.
What do you want to achieve as one enamoured (is this the right word) with the visual arts?
More explorations of other media I don’t have mastery over yet, more exhibits that'll challenge me.
How was your 2009 and how do you see 2010 in your creative life?
2009 was a good year. I joined the Baguio Aquarelle Society in its group shows, and I had one solo at Cafe by the Ruins in Baguio. The partners there were happy, I think, with my show because I helped brighten up their walls. I can’t say what the future holds, but I hope to continue writing, painting, helping friends put together projects, including parties, and having fun while doing all of the activities I just cited.
Anything else you want to add in connection with your exhibit?
I have to thank my fashionista daughter Ida Fernandez who doesn’t throw away fashion brochures and similar print materials. These served as my visual references. I owe my partner Rolly Fernandez a big blowout; he supported my fine art studies at UP. I thank family members and friends who continue to believe. They know who they are.
Photo by ANNA LEAH SARABIA shows the painter with friends Frances Makil Ignacio and Eyelectric president Rey Araos who gave the winning bid for the work "Oh, My Señorita, Sweet Sweet Lady." The four feet by four feet work is a collaboration with Chino Chow, a computer science student at the University of Baguio.Proceeds of the auction went to Noel Cuizon, Brenda Fajardo and Rey Rimando.
