09
TheCarrier
ART S
Stroking tones with values Stories of the monochromatic and polychromatic Lacsonian artists who sell their work during the pandemic. words by RENGIL MANA-AY & PAUL IVAN QUEZON photo courtesy of KENNETH MUNEZ & CHRISTIAN OCTOSO
K
enneth Muñez and Christian Octoso are contrasting artists. The former masters the shades of gray in portraiture, and the latter screams a palette of colors in oil painting. One of them happened to hone his skill in a short period of time, while the other has already spent years finding himself in his own art. The two of them might be different in some ways, but both tell the same strokes of struggles and earning out of their skills. MONOCHROME IS COLORFUL It was summer in April when Kenneth suddenly decided to grab a sharpened pencil. The feeling seemed familiar to him as it brings him back to five years ago when he had the keenness in scribbling lines and patterns— but this time, it is the faces of the people that he sketches on a blank piece of paper. It kept him busy during the long quarantine period. He made use of almost four months of his vacation to improve his talent in visual arts— portraiture in particular. Every stroke ignites the hope of easing the burden of his parents. Rekindling with his old interest, it lit a dying flame and fueled the passion that he now uses to help his parents in their finances. At 19 years old, he was able to earn some money out of his drawing commissions from the people in their community in Sagay City who saw his natural talent in art. Graphite, charcoal, stick glue, and kneadable eraser are the media he utilizes on vellum boards. These little investments
