heART to HEARt: A Sequel to Break the Silence

"There are times in life that things get a little clearer ... It doesn't last long and then it passes, only the understanding is left behind and the line of thought is lost. 

I have always drawn or painted through my life with gaps due to the demands of work or study .On one occasion I was just finished a picture and was not satisfied with the results, something was 

missing.

 At this time I could paint one picture in about a week or two.You know the feeling when you finish something and you could have done things a little differently or better .

 Then two things struck me, one was that my pictures were getting bigger and the other was that I didn't have to rush to finish." 

I took my craypas out of the closet two weeks ago after running through our journal. It has been several months now since I did my last artwork and everybody was nudging me to draw 

again...

________________________________________________

at Clarke Quay

My dad would often take me to art exhibits in the mall on weekends. We carefully  scrutinized art styles together and looked critically on paintings and other art forms.

My mom would often say that my dad and my siblings could do better if we only have the patience to put our art works together.

____________________________________________

"Please don't write anything about emotions and creativity , lets take it for granted that people have emotions whether they are creative , destructive or indifferent . Why one is being confused with the other is a mystery to me." 

 I wasn't inspired at all or anything... I, somehow, lost my direction towards art. But Jim Brandano's ABS keeps popping on my mind.

My dad told me to take photographs of the subjects I choose to draw personally, in order to make the work original.  But it wasn't easy so I asked Aaron Offord if I could use his' first... His works exhibited something out of the ordinary...there's soul in them...

http://www.aaronoutward.com/2011/05/aprils-best-urban-and-landscapes.html

my work table

It usually takes me an hour or so to finish one art work... but this time, it wasn't like that at all...

second week

"As I looked at the paintings it struck me , it was space I was missing .

My next painting would be on a small canvas and would take as 

long as it took."

I'd look at my work each day and get absorbed with the subject...

what stands out... what remains hidden... 

Some things just cannot be hurried...

I worked on it conscientiously... giving in to the minutest details... and I heard the deepest voices within me that craved to be heard...

Sometimes, my moods would get in the way... and I'd ask my art partner Fher Ymas for advice.

He'd tell me to give it a rest... and not to force myself if I just couldn't make it alive. Perhaps, he also knew my temperament... I just have to be patient...

until finally one day... I could finish it... but...

reproduced from Aaron Offord's photograph

"There is an endless depth to a canvas that goes on for ever and ever..."

the work is boundless and continues to recreate itself in other forms...

as a reflection...

contemplation...

a gift...

talent and restitution...

"...this gave me what I was looking for."

... faithfulness to LIFE...

_________________________________________

my gratitude to my art mentor, Kevin Hayden (words in italics were written by him during our art reflections); Fher Ymas, my art partner for two years; photographer friends: Aaron Offord, who generously shared me his photo; and Jim Brandano for his ABS philosophy