SoutheastAsian ARTISTS MAGAZINE Arts • Culture • Events Vol. 3 issue no. 7 P 250 (5.25 usd) WILLIAM YU Beyond Language Artists : Marlon Lucenara, Khalid Othman, Ghanyleo, Angelie Banaag, Ambrocio Mallari & Marlene Pasini 7 Simple Tips to Encourage a Daily Drawing Routine Your Guide to Acrylic Paint Medium,Gels and Pastes
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EDITORTHEFROM
Of endings and beginnings. This pretty much sums up the things that has happened in the first half of the year, at least to me personally, and to my country politically. Early this year I saw my mama peacefully joined my papa in heaven. I realized that even though you already knew it is coming anytime soon, you will never be ready to accept losing a loved one. And as the dust set tles down, you thus begin a new chapter in your life. Now my daily routine has changed from the things I used to do and my perspective in life altered. One thing I learned from this though is that life is short and fleeting. Nothing is permanent, so make the most while you can.
On the national front, an era that we thought has long ended suddenly resurrected and began anew. I just hope that all this including the negative things happening around us such as the rising inflation rate and the skyrocketing fuel price and cost of commodities would just be another case of “nothing is permanent” exemplified. But despite the heavy feeling and the gloomy situation, in the end I still believe in my favourite saying - this too shall pass. On a lighter note, am glad to see a lot of in-person art events happening again in both local and international venues. Still, we need to observe proper health protocols when going out to one because we are still in the pandemic. Keep safe everyone.
Editor-in-Chief
SoutheastAsian Arts • Culture • Events Published Quarterly Ruth Chua Editor in Chief Filarts VanessaRoyPublisherInc.EspinosaCreativeDirectorIngridAimeeTanGanaMarkShellshear Simon Penaflora Writer/Contributor Editorial and Satellite Business Office Blk 4 Lot 13 A Gemini Street Cruzville Subd Brgy. Kaligayahan Quezon City 1124 Email: filartspublishing @gmail.com A R T I S T S M A G A Z I N E 4 Marlon Lucenara 6 Ingrid Aimee: The Life of an Average “ Weakest Link” - A Short Story8 Ambrocio Mallari 10 Your Guide to Acrylic Paint Medium, Gels and Pastes 20 Marlene Pasini 22 Article : Simon Penaflora "Midnight" 23 Article : Mark Shellshear 24 Ghanyleo 26 7 Simple Tips to Encourage a DailyDrawing Routine 38 Khalid Othman 40 A Life Long Learning Curve 46 Ikani Resort 48 Gunita : The UPCFA Studio Arts DegreeThesis Works of Batch 2022 Graduates 52 Angelie Maranan Banaag 54 Art for Life Exhibition 58 Urban Wave Resort 60 Hakuna Matata South East Asian Artists Magazine 3 WILLIAM YU30 COVER STORY STNETNOC
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LUCENARAMARLON
Marlon hails from the city of Sagay in Negros Occidental. Just like many others before him, he went to Manila to pursue a career in arts. He both paints and sculpts, and is an active member of several art groups like Tunay na Skulptor and Pinoy Visual Arts. He is a fast-rising emerging artist who has participated in a number of art exhibitions both in the Philippines and abroad. His craft has been recognized by the GSIS Awarding Body and was given GSIS Certificate Award from 2013 to Marlon's2018.works
Exhibits and Achievements
have graced a number of renowned galleries and have captured the admiration of avid collectors. He has been interviewed on various TV shows showcasing the beauty of his art. He is best known for his orchids and kiat kiat sculpture series, where his technique is evident in his elegantly carved Marlonsculptures.believes that art mirrors life, always growing and is developing, thus his creations exemplify discipline and drive, which is how he is creating his works. As Marlon continues to improve his craft, he is sure one artist to look out for.
Marlon also shared his talent by participating in several group exhibits: -Art Exhibit in Makati in 2012 and 2014 - Alay Sining Art Sculpture Art Exhibition in 2014 to 2016 -GSIS Museum twice in a row (2014 to 2018) -SM Megamall, 2015 -Alay Sining Sculpture Exhibit (2016 and 2017) -Sculpture Review, 2017, Gallery Roberto Art Exhibit -Art Anton Gallery Exhibit, 2017 -Art Fair to Remember 2017 -Awarded Kinetic Sculpture of the Year -Interviewed in AHA! A GMA Network TV Program -TV Interviews in ABS-CBN, UNtv and NETTv
True to his calling he participated in several art sculpture exhibits and his works was recognized by the GSIS Awarding Body and was given the GSIS Certificate of Award from 2013 to 2018.
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LIFE OF AVERAGEAN " Weakest Link " - A Short By: Ingrid Aimee
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with her was like going home again. When we were together, we were in our own little happy bubble. It felt good to feel happy. After each meeting, I felt like I had taken a deep satisfying breath and life was good. I felt seen and heard. I felt important, understood and deeply loved and adored. Ultimately, and not surprisingly to either of us, reality burst our bubble once again. While our bond was good, we both knew the weak link that caused us to break up was still there. And we needed to concentrate on both our marriages. We decided to occasionally keep in touch by phone. One day, Angie called, her usual upbeat voice sounding flat, and I knew something was wrong. She was calling to tell me she had cancer. Throughout Angie's chemo, I'd visit her in the hospital. She would stroke my face as if to comfort me. One rainy day, we were scheduled to meet for lunch. I arrived at the restaurant and waited and waited, but she didn't show up. I panicked. I called her. and much to my relief, discovered she had fallen asleep. She insisted that she wanted to see me regardless of the weather and asked me to please wait. As sick as she felt, she drove through the rain to meet me. I hadn't seen her in a few weeks, and the difference was devastating. She was thin, gaunt and pasty gray. My heart was breaking. I brought old pictures of us together to show her, thinking it would lift her spirits. She shook her head as she reviewed them, asking "Who is this person? What happened to me?" She looked at me and her once-sparkling eyes were now rife with frustration.We hugged and sat for a long time holding each other tightly. Not long after that visit, I got the call from her mom to come to say goodbye to Angie. I gently caressed her face and she opened her eyes, which were now at peace, filled with love and tears. "Thank you for being such an important part of my life," she said. I told her that I loved her and asked her to give me a sign once she "crossed over" to let me know she was okay. I kissed her on the forehead and said goodbye. For whatever reason, we were not meant to be a couple in this lifetime. Angie has given me many memories which is very comforting. Angie has since given me many signs from beyond letting me know she is with me, and continues to do so, which is very comforting.
We were both 16. Angie and I belonged to the same school but never crossed paths until senior high. She had a sparkle in her smile, eyes that beamed with each playful thought that made me melt from the inside out. As love stories goes, we had a "heart on" for each other, ours would be right up there with the best them--I just didn't know it at that time. They say timing is everything, and it seemed our time had to come to an end when the college bell rang. I went on with my life without her. A couple of years by, and while I had my share of experiences away at college, I was very homesick for Angie. Somehow we found ourselves talking on the phone again, eventually every night. Her voice and her wonderful laugh were so comforting. She gave me a sense of calm and a feeling that everything was right with the world. Eventually, we decided to try a long-distance relationship. Not surprisingly, even as strong as our feelings were for each other, it didn't work. Long distance is not the next best thing. Angie and I attempted reconnecting again a couple of years later, but again, we were unsuccessful. After much inner conflict, I came to realization that our relationship wasn't working.The vision of my future didn't mesh with the soul I fell in love with. She felt hurt and stormed away, slamming the book shut on what appeared to be the last chapter in our story. Loving someone and realizing you can't be together is not an easy dilemma. 10 years had passed and I still missed her. Even though I had gotten married to someone else, each time I go back home, I wondered if I would run into Angie. I felt horrible about the way things ended. Call it selfish, but I needed closure. I needed to apologize for hurting her, I needed to see Angie. Until one day, after two decades, we have reconnected again through a social network. And we agreed to meet. Seeing her walk into the coffee shop made my heart race and calmed my nerves all at the same time. She walked over to me and hugged me with such passionate gusto and deep, genuine love. We sat down and talked about what had transpired in our lives over the past 20 years. She was married and was doing fine. We discussed about our breakup. We agreed to occasionally meet as friends, and we did for quite a while at the same coffee shop.We talked and more importantly, she listened. BeingEnter
Story -
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MALLARIAMBROCIO
Born on May 17,1957 in Concepcion, Tarlac to his parents Alejandro Mallari, a farmer and Dorotea Mallari, a housewife. Mallari, "Ambo" to his family and friends had shown interest in art at young age. During his childhood he brings a piece of paper and a pencil to draw while he was pasteuring carabaos. In his teen years, he went to Manila together with his uncle Perfecto Mercado to where they became a movie billboard artists. Having no formal studies in art, he saw this as an excellent opportunity to learn about painting materials and techniques. In 1975 he started practicing painting on canvas. At the year 1983, he worked in Israel together with his fellow Filipino Artists and make paintings on velvet cloth. A kind son, a loving husband and a father of eight, he had passed on his talent to his offsprings. He also taught some of his brothers and cousins. Despite all the practical realities he lived in order to sustain his growing family, he remained committed to his art. His paintings were delivered in some galleries in Pampanga and Manila. His seascapes has also reached some Hawaii's gallery. He also joined some exhibits sponsored by Department of Trade and Industry. In 2011, he was sent by ThemeBuilders Philippines in Donetsk, Ukraine together with his daughter Wencyl whom he also taught Thispainting.self taught artist who can paint almost any kind of subject from portraits, still life, seascape and landscape, reli gious subject has developed his talent over decades and now introducing another phase of his mastery. Presenting representational art showcasing Philippine scenery and culture which allow us to experience a glimpse of a simple yet happy life in the province.
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This how-to guide to working with acrylic paint mediums, gels, pastes and more will help you expand the possibilities in every painting.
10 South East Asian Artists Magazine YOUR GUIDE TO ACRYLIC PAINT MEDIUMS, GELS, AND PASTES
Mix It Up (acrylic on panel, 14×14) by Sandra Duran Wilson. “I love to use light molding paste to veil areas,” Wilson says. “I initially used a gloss gel through a stencil to protect the colorful background. When that was dry, I used a palette knife to drag the light molding paste over the top portion of the painting. The gloss gel resists the paste, and the numbers show up.”
By : Sandra Duran Wilson
There are also sheen options including matte, semi-gloss and gloss. When choosing a viscosity, remember that the higher the viscosity, the higher the peaks. Gels can cause acrylic paint to shrink; test for this, and consider a high-solid gel product to avoid shrinkage.
In general, gels are white when wet, and transparent when dry. They’re like colorless paint. One benefit of incorporat ing gels is their ability to extend your paint, thus saving you money. It may take some hands-on practice to become accustomed to how gels interact with color. When gel is added to paint, the color of the paint becomes lighter, but dries to its out-of-the-tube color. I recommend making a chart illustrating the differences until you become familiar with gel’s effect on paint, such as my chart above.
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White When Wet, Clear When Dry
1. GELS
Gels are available in a variety of viscosities (the product’s thickness), such as soft, regular, heavy, and extra-heavy body.
When you walk into the art supply store, are you befuddled by the rows of acrylic products and acrylic paint medi ums that all look the same? You’re not alone. In this article, I’m unraveling the mysteries of acrylic paint mediums, gels, and pastes. Each product has qualities that enable acrylic painters to achieve a multitude of special effects and textures. For the best results, I recommend starting with artist’s grade acrylic paint, even if you’re just getting started with acrylics.
Sandra Duran Wilson’s sample chart of gels and paste
Altering Sheen With Gels Left: Altering sheen with soft gel gloss. Center: Semi-gloss gel in thin and thick applications. Right: Matte gel and semi-gloss gel over dry paint.
Left: Create texture with gels. Right: Try a sgraffito technique. Create texture. You can create soft folds or high rigid peaks with your acrylic paint depending on the viscosity of the gel. To create a transparent layer without much texture, use a palette knife to spread a layer of soft gel gloss. Let the layer dry before adding additional layers. This method creates wonderful visual depth. Or, mix color into the gel and spread it over a background color to create layers of color. In the example above, I painted the background violet and let dry. I mixed a small amount of quinacridone red into soft gel semi-gloss and used a knife to spread the mixture. I then applied some of the mixture in thin layers and some in thick layers and left other areas unpainted to allow the violet background to show through. To create high peaks, mix heavy gel with your paint. This technique also extends the paint’s volume. Sgraffito is a fun way to add broken color to your surface. In the above image, I painted the background with pyrrole red. When dry, I scraped a layer of heavy gel gloss mixed with diarylide yellow over the surface using a palette knife. While the gel mixture was still wet, I drew on the surface with a knife tip, revealing the underlying color. Notice that I didn’t thoroughly mix the paint into the gel. As a result, I achieved an almost marbled effect with the yellow rather than a solid mass.
12 South East Asian Artists Magazine Creating Texture and Sgraffito Effects With Gels
Blending and Glazing with Polymer Mediums
Gloss: The background color is Liquitex bright aqua green. When dry, a layer of phthalo turquoise was mixed with soft gel gloss and spread with a knife over the surface. On the left side, I applied a thick application; the right has a thin application. The black lines were painted on the background to indicate transparency.
Matte: I mixed Naphthol red light into semi-gloss regular gel and spread the mixture in a thin application on the left and a thicker application on the right. I also was able to control the paint’s transparency. In the final example, I altered the paint’s sheen by applying a layer of gel over the dry paint. I applied matte gel on the left side and semi-gloss on the right.
2. POLYMER MEDIUMS
Acrylic paints tend to be glossy when dry, but you can take control of the sheen by adding acrylic paint mediums like semi-gloss or matte gel to the paint.
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Extending Paint Volume With Gels
This product is a pourable acrylic paint medium. As with gels, it’s white when wet and clear when dry, and is a great paint extender. I like to use a knife to mix my paint into the medium. You may also use a brush since polymer medium has a lower viscosity than the previously discussed gels. Polymer medium makes opaque paint more transparent. Red iron oxide, a mineral color, is opaque, and it becomes more transparent when a polymer medium is added. You can see how the dark lines show the transparency.
Left: Color blending with polymer medium. Right: Glazing with polymer medium. Adding polymer medium to opaque colors such as red iron oxide increases transparency (left).
Glazing. The difference between a mixture of paint with polymer and glazing medium with paint is that the glazing medium has a retarder added so it doesn’t dry as quickly. You may add some water to the polymer mixture to increase its open time.
Color Mixing by Layers with Polymer Mediums Color Mixing by Layers with Polymer Mediums
In the example above, I painted the background with quinacridone magenta. When dry, I painted a glaze made of polymer medium and permanent violet dark on the left side. Next, I painted the right side with a similar mixture using transparent pyrrole orange. The strip down the center of the image reveals the quinacridone magenta background color.
14 South East Asian Artists Magazine Blending. Polymer medium makes it easier to blend colors together and, when a bit of water is added to the mix, the open time is extended. In the image above, used a combination of Payne’s gray and permanent violet dark, both mixed with polymer medium, and blended the two colors together.
Create vibrant colors by layering paints rather than blending colors. For example, paint a color, let it dry, then layer a new color that has been mixed with a polymer medium. In the image above, I painted the left side with permanent violet dark. When dry, I painted a mixture of cobalt teal and polymer medium over the surface. On the right side, the colors are reversed. I find that making a chart of some of my favorite layer combinations comes in handy while painting with acrylic paint mediums. Working With Fluid Matte Medium Fluid matte medium is pourable with a matte appearance.
In my demonstration image, I painted the background a light green and allowed it to dry. Next, I applied a layer of fluid matte medium and let that dry. To add a design element, I drew on the left side of the canvas with a soft pencil, and applied additional fluid matte medium over the drawing. On the right side, I mixed permanent green into the medium.
Light Modeling Paste and Textural Peaks
This is a pourable medium with particulates added to give it a matte appearance. This product lightly veils, or pushes color intensity back, creating a wax-like appearance. When I’m building a surface with many color layers, l use polymer medium gloss with the color layers and finish with fluid matte medium at the end.
Left: Modeling paste. Right: Embossed texture made with modeling paste.
Embossed Texture. In the example above, I painted blue azure as a background. When dry, I applied a thin layer of modeling paste. While wet, I pressed a textured paper into the paste and removed. When the paste was dry, I brushed on watered-down quinacridone gold paint.
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Modeling Paste and Embossed Textures
South East Asian Artists Magazine
3. PASTES Here, we’ll examine modeling paste, coarse paste and light modeling paste. You might also see hard and flexible pastes. Pastes are white when wet and opaque when dry. Pastes contain marble dust to give them opacity. Manufac turers name their pastes differently, calling them molding or modeling, but they’re the same.
Left: Light modeling paste. Right: Textural peaks made with light modeling paste.
Modeling Paste. The paste has a thick viscosity, so spread it with a palette knife. I prefer to spread the paste, let dry and then add paint on top. Molding paste is a bit more absorbent than the gels, but not as absorbent as the light molding paste. Depending on the thickness in which it’s applied, it may be translucent or opaque. In the example above, I applied modeling paste on the left side and light molding paste on the right. Then I brushed watered-down quinacridone gold over both sides. As you can see, the right side is far more absorbent.
Left: Light modeling paste makes paint less transparent. Right: Light modeling paste lightens colors without dulling them. Opacity. Where gels and mediums make opaque paints more transparent, light molding paste makes paint less trans parent. This works especially well with modern colors. In the example above, I mixed transparent pyrrole orange with light modeling paste on the left-hand side. The right features just paint. Lightening colors. Light modeling paste has a unique quality that’s very handy. Mixing modern colors with white tends to yield pastels, but light modeling paste lightens colors without making them dull. In the sample image above, I mixed quinacridone magenta mixed with light modeling paste on the left; on the right, I mixed the same paint with titanium white. I used equal amounts of paste and paint.
Light modeling paste and Golden iridescent bronze acrylic paint creates a beautiful finish.
Combo Exercise: Light Modeling Paste and Iridescent Bronze Paint
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South East Asian Artists Magazine Light modeling paste. Light modeling paste has the viscosity of whipped cream and is very absorbent. When it’s ap plied in a thin layer, it can act like a veil. If it’s thicker, it becomes opaque. I painted phthalo turquoise as a background color in the sample image above. When the color was dry, I spread a thin layer of light molding paste on top of it with a palette knife. Notice that in areas where it’s thicker, it shows as white. Textural Peaks. Light modeling paste can hold extremely high peaks and is a lightweight alternative to heavy modeling paste. You can apply it in thick impasto layers onto large stretched canvas without fear of the canvas pulling off the stretcher bars due to its weight. In my example above, I mixed vivid lime green and yellow ochre with the light modeling paste, and drew the paste up with my palette knife to create peaks.
Opacity and Lightening Colors With Light Modeling Paste
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Try this combination. Light modeling paste is very absorbent, holds textures well, and when combined with the unique properties of Golden iridescent bronze, makes for a beautiful finish. Here’s a fun exercise: I applied light modeling paste and while wet, pressed a dowel into the paste to create interesting marks. When the paste was dry, I brushed on a very watered-down iridescent bronze paint. This only works if the paint is very diluted. It takes a few minutes for the bronze particles and the green color to separate.
Coarse molding paste has some tooth and is ideal as a surface for drawing or pastels.
Coarse molding paste has some tooth and is ideal as a surface for drawing or pastels. This paste has a bit of grit to it and it dries to an off-white gray finish. The tooth makes it ideal for drawing or using pastels on top of it. Try using it to prepare a surface for pastels or as a unique painting surface. For the example above, I spread the paste in a thin layer. When dry, I applied fluid paints on the surface, creating almost a watercolor paper look. When the paint was dry, there was still enough tooth to draw on it with a red pastel pencil.
Coarse Molding Paste
4. COMBINING ACRYLIC PAINT MEDIUMS, GELS, AND PASTES
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Two or More Pastes
Combining Gels and Pastes Gels and Pastes. When you combine the transparency of gels and the opacity of the pastes, you get an interesting surface texture. I often jump-start a painting by creating a surface using both pastes and gels. I created the back ground above by roughly mixing modeling paste, light modeling paste, and regular gel gloss. Then I spread the mix ture using a knife to create deep texture. When dry, I brushed on a watered-down green paint. When dry, I brushed a brown glaze over the top half. Adding the darker color enhanced the texture.
gel molding paste is a mix of paste and gel.
Hybrid (Extra-Heavy Gel MoldingGoldenPaste)Extra-Heavy
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A mix of modeling paste, light modeling paste, and gel gloss created a deep texture. Combining Pastes. Mixing two or more of the pastes together can create even more viscosities, absorbencies, trans parencies and textures. I placed a small amount of the three different pastes onto the surface and used a palette knife to blend them together in the image above. I didn’t completely mix them, but let their properties overlap. While the pastes were still wet, I pressed plastic lids or other objects into them to create texture. I let the pastes dry and then brushed on a watered-down paint of cobalt blue.
The techniques and textures that gels, pastes and acrylic paint mediums make possible are priceless. I find I buy paint a lot less frequently, and I love creating textures with the assorted products. I know how to alter the transparency, change viscosity and create rich colors by layering colors with mediums and gels. The key is allowing the layers to dry in between and compensating for the shift from white to clear. Experiment and chart your results!
Pumice Gel. This is really a specialty gel. I like to mix it with a gel so it’s easier to spread. I can also change the trans parency and the absorbency depending on the gel I mix with the pumice. You may find it as coarse pumice or ceramic stucco depending on the brand. In the image above, the left side has pumice applied, and the right side has pumice mixed with soft gel gloss. I could alter the absorbency and transparency by mixing it with matte gel, or I could even make my own coarse molding paste by mixing the pumice into the paste. Combination Pumice Layers. Here, I put a combination of pumice and gel onto the surface and let the products dry. Then I flowed a watered-down quinacridone gold paint over the surface so it settled into the recesses. When dry, I added a gel layer. The right side has cobalt turquoise mixed into the regular semi-gloss gel, and the left side has untinted gel spread over the surface. When this layer was dry, I rubbed an orange color over the surface.
The acrylic gels and mediums we’ve been reviewing work beautifully as archival collage adhesives. Match the weight of your paper to the weight of the gel. For example, if you’re going to glue a thin paper, use polymer medium. A regular-weight paper would take soft gel, and a heavyweight paper would need a heavyweight gel. I prefer to use gloss gels when gluing because they dry the clearest. I can always alter the final sheen by adding a layer of gloss, semi-gloss or matte.
Hybrid. Extra-heavy gel molding paste by Golden is a hybrid mix of paste and gel. In this example, I applied a back ground color of green/gold. When dry, I added the hybrid mix. This hybrid mix is opaque in a thick application and translucent in a thin layer.
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Left: Pumice gel. Right: A combination of pumice and gel with additional layers.
Pumice Gel and Combination Pumice Layers
Acrylic Paint Mediums and Gels as Collage Adhesives
20 South East Asian Artists Magazine CAMPO DE AMAPOLAS Fields of Poppies Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30cm 2020 GARDEN COSMIC Acrylic on Canvas 35 x 30cm 2022DESTELLOS EN EL TEMPLO Reflections in Temple Mixed Media on Canvas 50 x 40cm 2022
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• World Ambassador of Peace, literature and culture by the International Association of Poets and Writers, AIPEH, Inc. United States, Lumbini World Peace Forum, Nepal, Grihaswamini Magazine, India, ASIH SASAMI Indonesia
• High doctoral degree HC, in Education for Peace, human development and culture by the Dissertation Council of High Doctoral Degrees AHCASA, Mexico
• “Gobe the first” Award as Leading Woman, Mexico Awards for her literary career:
• Ibero-American Literature Award by the Fundación Liderazgo Hoy A.C., Mexico 2019
• Cultural director of the International Forum Creativity and Humanity, Morocco,
• First place with Certificate and medal as: International Literary Public Figure at the 11th Crimean Literary Festival, May 2021ETERNO
• Diamond Star Distinction and Immortal Award by the International Circle of Journalists, Mexico, 2018
FEMENINO Female Eternity Acrylic on Canvas 45 x 35cm 2021
• President of the Mexican Academy of Modern Literature, Mexico City.
"Throughout my life I have been connected to art, poetry, writing, music and ancient wisdom. I have made trips to countries that have a strong influence of mysticism in their culture and all this has made me connect with deep areas. Walking the paths of writing, painting or ancestral places is also being able to make an internal journey to those depths of the soul and its roots, to reencounter the truth of who one really is, although sometimes those paths are labyrinths of shadows or the unsuspected search of the mind and heart towards something that is not real or of this world. In each verse, in each canvas or paper there is a splitting of the being that is the mirror of our internal duality. The journey to art, therefore, is an experience of synchronicities that lead the poet and the artist to be a passionate mystic of the subtlety of the world and of that which is invisible to the common eye and thus be able to find the true meaning by which life, the world and the universe itself are created and recreated."
• Recognition of Mexican Letters by the Academy of Literature and by Casas del Poeta, A.C., Mexico, 2019
Participation in 140 virtual International Exhibi tions in 34 countries and 6 Exhibitions in Mexi co endorsed with Certificates of participation. Literary personal appearances in Morocco and Egypt. Publication of her literary work in more than 50 cultural magazines, anthologies and interviews at the international level. Translated into several languages. Columnist in 3 maga zines from Mexico and Colombia.
PASINIMARLENE
Marlene Pasini, Mexico. Communicologist, writer and editor, visual artist. Psychotherapist and coach in transpersonal education, master's degree in literature, diploma in history and Egyptology. She is the author of 15 books of poetry, novel, essay and personal development. She has received more than 200 international certificates and awards, as well as some appointments such as:
• Foundation.
• Cultural Counselor of the Fayad Egypt-Lebanon Cultural Forum,
Music to me has always been therapy. Listening to music, creating music, discovering new music. Sometimes i feel like it’s an addiction i listen to music in every chance that i get, it always fascinates me thinking that the song that i’m listening to once started as a thought in someone’s head and now millions of people are listening to what was once a thought and even relate to it once they hear it. I started writing songs when i was a kid at maybe 6 or 7, my mom said that i wrote songs almost about everything but the song that i made when i was at that age that i remembered the most was the song that i made about a stray kitten that spent a day in our garage and the other one was about a song that i made for the funeral of my dead fish. Like i said i’ve always been fascinated with music ever since a young age and at a young age i was exposed to different genres of music because of my family when i was a kid i either wanted to be one of two things when i grew up, a racecar driver and a musician. That’s all that i could think of doing for the rest of my life drive fast cars or make music or maybe even both. I took my writing seriously when i was 14 i wrote mostly songs but i would also write poems, short stories, movie reviews and was even planning on writing a short film but i never shared it with anybody. I wrote, produced, recorded and released my first song on the night of my 17th birthday as a gift to myself. Thinking about that night something inside me really just clicked and decided to release something into the world, honestly i did that just for me. i didn’t do it for the fame or the fortune i did specifically for myself because i wanted to have my own song for as long as i can remember, sometimes i’m just like that i don’t have a plan or anything but something inside of me just snaps and i just do it. Just writing this article now is an example of that i was lost of how to even start this for the past 2 weeks and now i’m writing it like i had all of this planned out. So going back i released my first song on soundcloud titled “Red” on November 8 2017 at exactly 12:35 AM making the whole song in just a span of an hour, the next day i woke up with people from my school talking about my song and all giving positive reviews, this was a different kind of high for me because never have i expected people to like the song that i put out because the content was so personal, and to be honest the quality of the song was just so mediocre. But people didn’t seem to care they ate it up and gave praise to it which made me experience a different kind of happiness.
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After seeing people relating to and quoting “red” i just wanted to make more music for the people and for me because during my 17 years of existence i have never done anything that had a positive impact to the world. So i kept on making songs and after a year a bunch of different kids from my school and also a few of my friends were also starting to make music, it made me happy seeing how i inspired a whole generation of artists to create all because of a birthday present that i made for myself and that has always been my main goal. My main goal as an artist is to support my family by doing what i love while making a positive impact on the world. To inspire a whole generation of new artists and pave the way like my idols did. To leave a trail of inspiration passing through different generations until the end of my days and beyond. I never wanted to be the “greatest” i just want to be remembered as one of them. I make music to express myself to kind of clean all the thoughts in my head when it gets a little too crowded in there. I make music like how any one of my idols do, based on what status my life is and where my head is at while making a particular song or album. I always find beauty in the struggle like the late Mac Miller said “A little more pain that’s just better music”.
SIMON PENAFLOR " Midnight " ARTICLE
Do not trade off fast sales of questionable copied Art for a good reputation and a name for quality work?
I am having a lot of fun with these collages and this one I have used the numbers from my notebook where I record the dates of the groups I have posted in and I thought it would be a great boarder to hold all the colours inside. I like this piece, it has a very beach feel about it.
It is very easy to get caught up in the race to be successful which may cause you to take short cuts that in the long term will damage you and your business.
There is no fast way to be an overnight success.
Build an Art career that will last, build on the reputation of producing original Art that is yours and yours alone.
MARK SHELLSHEAR ARTICLE
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If you want a long career in the Arts build strong always knowing exactly what you want and establishing good ethical standards into your Art business.
There is no fast way to be an overnight success, it takes time and you must pay your dues.
Your good name is what will support you in the future, to lose people’s trust and confidence in you will mean you will not have a long career in the Arts.
" Boarded by numbers. "
South East Asian Artists Magazine
Mixed media collage on watercolour paper. 19cm x 26cm
2018 He exhibited Solo entitled "SEASON" at Ciputra World 1 11th floor Artpreneur Centre Gallery in Jakarta and get a very good many response from medias likes Metro TV, Media Indonesia, Suara Pembaruan, Berita Satu, The Jakarta Post, The PEAK Magazine, Newspaper City News, Mens Obsession & Women's Obsession etc
2015, At the beginning of the year to be exact on 29 January 2015, He started setting up a management office which was named Jakarta Illustration Visual Art (JIVA) the dream that is trying to be realised Because of the increasing num ber of contemporary cultures, it is adopted from western culture, which in fact has the principle of "Anything Goes" (a principle that emphasises freedom of work from art can come from all media, and all beliefs that usually form works of art) that produce runaway values and weigh themselves.
In 2013 he also started his art exhibition in the National Gallery of Indonesia with the headline "Brain,” since then He became a graphic designer & contemporary artist.
The colour of his artworks was inspired by artists Mershad Berber, Syis Paindow & Salvador Dali.
2021 he has had 3 exhibitions in South Korea, to be precise "KOREA ART FAIR 2021" at Coex Hall A (Seoul), "PEACE AGAIN" (7th Geoje International Art Festival) at Haegeumgang Theme Museum (Geoje) & "PEACE AGAIN" tour exhibition at Kim Bo Seong Art Centre (Seoul) His works have been in the Harry Darsono Museum, Villa's and several famous Indonesian people.
In 2020 He exhibited with many Indonesian artists to celebrate 5 years of Jakarta Illustration Visual Art (JIVA) entitled "Excursion" at the National Gallery of Indonesia, in addition to this exhibition getting enthusiasm from visitors and many media Newspapers, Magazines & TV, this year also Ghanyleo's profile was raised by CNN Indonesia
Ghanyleo, born January 29, 1993, studied at Interstudy University in Jakarta majoring in Visual Communication De sign. He is very enthusiastic about the world of contemporary art, fashion and likes gemstones.
24 South East Asian Artists Magazine GHANYLEO
His artworks are a combination of ideas and research about dreams, life, love, local wisdom, space and time
2013 He began His career as a graphic designer for Hanuman Shakti Communication Branding Agency Consultant and Freelance, He made many designs and logos.
2017 until 2019, he gets the trust to be Art Manager at the Ciputra World 1 Artpreneur Center Gallery 11th floor Jakarta.
"NOVA ERA" 100x100cm, mixed media on canvas. 2021
2021
2020
"VENUS" (the soul of water and wind), 100x100cm, mixed media on canvas. 2022
"Angel of Music", 100x100cm, mixed media on canvas.
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" A Mother's Love", 100x100cm, mixed media on canvas.
• Takeaway: You’re more likely to start and keep drawing if you remember it’s okay to “mess up.” TIPS TO ENCOURAGE A DAILY ROUTINEDRAWING
By : Alphonso Dunn
It’s surprising how much your attitude can determine your outcome. If you go into drawing with the expectation that everything you produce should be a “masterpiece,” then anything that falls short becomes a failure. It’s unfair to set such high expectations. No one needs that kind of pressure. Instead, allow room for fun in your daily practice. Use your drawing time to brainstorm ideas, keep notes, make ob servations. This is all part of the creative process. Thinking and reflecting. Evaluating and critiquing. This should also be part of your drawing practice.
1. GET IN THE RIGHT MINDSET.
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7 SIMPLE
There’s nothing like a consistent drawing practice to keep your creativity fired up. Follow these tips to draw every day.
• Takeaway: Keep a sketchbook that’s not for ‘perfect,’ but for progress.
2. KEEP TWO TYPES OF SKETCHBOOKS
Most of us feel become comfortable working at a particular size. When your goal is to draw every day, however, it’s important to get out of that box and find a format that allows you to work consistently and efficiently. I find that this is easier when doing smaller drawings. Find a size that still allows you to do what you enjoy, but is small enough to keep you going. You can also work on just a part of a larger drawing daily.
• Takeaway: Find a sketchbook size that’s not too big and not too small (with compliments to Goldilocks!)
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If you’re always waiting for the “perfect” drawing before you put pen to paper, you’ll never use your sketchbook. Don’t wait. Keep two sketchbooks. Use one for your planned drawings — the ones that will be more polished and finished. Keep a second sketchbook for everything else—your doodles, notes, and experiments. The silly things.
3. DRAW AT A CONVENIENT SIZE.
6. CREATE DRAWINGS IN THEME.
• Takeaway: You don’t have to commit to one thing. Give yourself an open and honest chance to experience something new.
Don’t feel pressured to make a highly polished drawing every time you draw. Simple drawings are fine. Go ahead— doodle, sketch, make a blind contour drawing or a partial study of a subject. Sometimes these less finished efforts are even more expressive and exciting than a finished drawing.
Part of the goal for developing a consistent drawing habit is to grow yourself as well as your drawing practice. You don’t have to commit to just one thing in your art-making. Try out a new a variety of drawing media. If you’re used to graphite, try charcoal. You may discover that you really like it—or that you don’t. Both discoveries are valuable.
• Takeaway: Working on a series of themed drawings allows you to widen your scope and teaches you about your own style and process.
• Takeaway: Simple drawings are fine. The point is to keep yourself moving and progressing.
South East Asian Artists Magazine 28 4. SWITCH IT UP.
Draw variations of the same thing. This could be as simple as drawing a box from different perspectives, in different lighting, or in different sizes. You could draw a series of eyes, hands, feet, trees, or any theme you want. You could draw a subject using different media or in different levels of finish. Working in a theme will help you continue to draw consistently without becoming bored.
5. KEEP IT SIMPLE.
• Takeaway: No need to force a drawing. Give yourself some space and come back refreshed. Ready to Start Your Daily Drawing Routine?
There’s nothing like a consistent drawing practice to keep your creativity fired up, so make yourself do something in the realm of drawing every day. That doesn’t have to mean specifically putting pen or pencil to paper. Spending time reflecting and being visually present is important too. Take time for close observation. Make notes. That men tal activity is also part of the drawing process.
South East Asian Artists Magazine 29 7. HAVE MULTIPLE DRAWINGS GOING AT THE SAME TIME. If you get tired of working on a drawing, take a break. Then, start a new drawing. When you return to the earlier drawing, you’ll come back to it with a fresh eye.
30 South East Asian Artists Magazine WILLIAMYU By : Timberly Fuentes COVER LanguageBeyondSTORY William Yu making artworks for exhibit in Hyatt Hotel San Francisco California
Human language is diverse and dynamic. It is ever-evolving across geography. Whether it is in the form of written, verbal, or gesture, language serves as a bridge in passing information from one being to another being which is a critical part of learning and understanding the values and concepts of a certain culture. Hence, language embodies identity initially shaped by the respective ancestors. It also reveals the nearest neighboring countries as they share distinct commonalities. It is like the process of trade wherein uttered words and expressions are commodities. Also, language shows which country once conquered another country in which the process resulted in an unfolding of stories filled with assimilation, sacrifices, defeats, and victories. There are around 7,151 spoken languages around the world, but there are around 347 extinct languages (Ethnologue). A language is considered extinct if it has not been used as the native language, has not been studied, and has no historical record about it. Therefore, if one nation or state would want to preserve its language, the people in it must be intentional in exercising and documenting it. Historians, scholars, and journalists are first-rate workers when it comes to studying, preserving, and disseminating Thelanguage.Philippines
which is comprised of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, has around 76 to 78 major language groups with more than 500 dialects (thehague.dfa.gov.ph). The eight widely known dialects are Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Tagalog, and Waray. Filipino and English are the languages used in formal education. Baybayin is the writing system used by the Filipinos in the 16th century in which the texts can be seen on archeological artifacts, archival records, leaves using pigment, and bamboos using sharp pointed objects (Philippine National Museum). These can be seen at the Philippine National Museum. Although not mainly used in public, it still persists in many creative ways such as the Facebook Page named Baybayin-Philippine National Writing System which comprised around 712,000 Facebook members who teach each other in learning Baybayin. There are shops that sell products like t-shirts and tumblers with Baybayin text on it. Lectures, seminars, and workshops on Bay bayin are conducted like the workshop conducted by Philippine Baybayin master John Keyson. It was held in London last 2019, attracting many Filipinos and non-Filipinos who are interested to learn about the Philippine indigenous writing system
YAHUWAHshua(londope.dfa.gov.ph).istheProvider Acrylic on Canvas 34 x 34 .5 in 2021
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South East Asian Artists Magazine
32 South East Asian Artists Magazine Compared to the English Alphabet which has twenty-six letters, the traditional Baybayin has fourteen consonants and three vowels. According to visual artist and calligrapher William Sayman Yu, the Baybayin can only accurately commu nicate sixty percent of Filipino words while the remaining forty persent present a problem : there is a deficiency in the Philippine indigenous written language. Although there is no such thing as a perfect language since every language varies from the other, it is still important to tackle and address the problems that occur in a language in order to ef fectively use and maximize it. How to cope with the twenty-six letters without compromising the Baybayin? It is like solving a mathematical problem : seventeen plus blank is equal to twenty-six. How do you solve this without adding another character to be able to retain the traditional writing system? Moreover, Yu stresses Filipino words ng, mga, -ng, and the translation of words and names from the non-Austronesian languages. For example, the name Victor is translated to Mananaog. To resolve the dilemma, the answer is diacritics. Diacritics is the use of an accent atop or below a letter that indicates a variation in pronunciation. By using diacritics, the traditional writing system is able to write all words from around the world, a revitalization of the Filipino language. Hence, the compound word Neo-Baybayin means the new Philip pine writing system. Here, Yu identifies the enigma of the steadfast Baybayin which already existed for four hundred ninety-eight years even longer since 1521. The Malacanang did not publicly address this until they gave official rec ognition of the Philippine Alphabet : Neo-Baybayin including the name of William Yu during the Presidential lecture series last December 10, 2019.
YAHUWAH is the Light of Maharlika Acrylic on Canvas 33 x 35in 2019
33 South East Asian Artists Magazine Greatest Worshipper of ABBAH YAHUWAH ELOHIYM in the animal kingdom Acrylic on Canvas 35 x 41in 2020
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In an interview with Epistola's Studio Art Stories, Yu viewed art as a pictorial invention and a multidimensional form of communication. It is rooted in the soul which flows through the heart out from the body through the arm then to the tip of the brush and then onto the canvas. He added, that since it is a form of communication, painting is an act of worship. It is his genuine desire to worship and honor the heavenly God, whom Yu would sometimes call Sovereign Yahuwah Elohiym, through his visual arts whether realistic, abstract, or semi-abstract with various subject matters hence its term and philosophy "Halelismo" from the Hebrew word Hallel or Hallelujah also known as praise art. Glory be to YAHUWAH Acrylic on Canvas 34.5 x 35in 2019
According to the Heritage Gallery, visual artist and caliigrapher William Sayman Yu was born in Baculin Banganga, Davao in the year 1954 wherein his father taught him calligraphy-the skillful art of designing and arranging symbols by hand using a brush, pen, and other forms of writing tools. In 1981, Yu took painting at the International Correspon dence Course in London and later became an apprentice of the National Artist Cesar Legaspi. Yu along with Alex de los Reyes and Emeritus Jovilla had a three-man show at Banganga, the first art exhibit in the place. The three founded the Banganga Artists Society. In 1983, Yu went to Manila and started to work as a full-time visual artist. During that time, Yu's works are known to reflect influences from the cubist works of Pablo Picasso. Instead of paint brushes, Yu prefer to used palette knives as tools in his paintings. The next phase of his work became more loose, translucent, and abstracted. He had exhibited in different art venues in the Philippines such as Liongoren Art Gallery, Hyatt, Gal lery CHed, Shangri-La Plaza, Galleria de Carlo, Garcia Residence, Metropolitan Art Gallery, Metro Gallery, and so on. He also exhibited at Hyatt Hotel in San Francisco, California, The USA in 2006.
Among his works is King Yahuwah Elohiym - The Aleph and Taw of Maharlika which is derived from the Christian Bible Revelation 1:8. The transliteration of the text is read onward from left to right : I am the Aleph (A) and the Taw (T) Beginning and End says Yahuwah who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. This verse is part of John's greetings to the seven churches that are in Asia. The verse praises God, and claims that Jesus Christ will come again for the second time. His other recent paintings are Yahuwashua is Life, Yauw Haqodesh is the Life-Giver, Yahuwah is the Light of Maharlika, and Yahuwahshua is the Provider. Most of Yu's recent paintings have calligraphic characters which when transliterated as "Abbah Yahuwah Ruwach Elohiym the Father, Yahuwashua Elohiym the son Messiah, Yauw Haqodesh Elohiym the Spirit of Truth". These have seals with pictographic Hebrew of the everlasting name of the "Creator Yahuwah Ruwach Abinu (Our Father), Yauw Haqodesh (the Holy Spirit), the Yahuwshua (the Light), Yahu wah Elyon (the Most High Elohiym)." Sometimes it has Chinese characters which state Yu's Chinese name : Wei Zhan. It is worth noting that on July 11, 2017, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the National Library of the Philippines presented a certificate of copyright registration and deposit regarding a book by William Sayman Yu entitled William S. Yu: Halelismo and the Neo-Baybayin Calligraphy of the Philippines. The certificate acknowledges the praise art merged with the Philippine Neo-Baybayin calligraphy texts of Yu's oeuvre.
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The recent phase of William Yu's paintings is fused with the Philippine Neo-Baybayin. The goal is to further appre ciate, preserve, promote, and challenge the viewers, especially the enthusiasts to deepen their understanding of it. In the field of visual arts, Yu is on the front line in restoring, studying, and promoting the Philippine Neo-Baybayin.
Yu's language is both eternal, artistic, and cultural. It is eternal because he incorporated text that praises the Heavenly Father God. It is a form of prayer or communication between man and God. Hence, beyond Yu's language is a cultivation of a deeper spiritual intimate relationship with the Trinity Whom Yu calls YAHUWAH ELOHIYM (Lord God), YAHUWSHUA (Lord Jesus Christ), and YAUW HAQODESH (Holy Spirit). Yu's language aims to highlight God's language written in the Christian Bible by citing verses and patiently explaining them during discussions and inter views. Beyond Yu's language is a perpetuation of the calligraphy, a three-thousand-year-old form of writing, that Yu calls the sulat-sining. And, beyond his language is an enlivening of the Philippine Neo-Baybayin as a way of being intentional in exercising and documenting it, showing his love for the Philippines and its treasures. AUW HaQODESH is Wisdom Acrylic on canvas 32 x 24 2019
Furthermore, his Yahuwahshua is the Provider is a cubist figured woman carrying a bundle of wheat. This piece recognizes God as the Provider of resources. It reveals the identity of God as the Provider or Jehovah Jireh. He knows what our needs and He will supply them (Philippinans 4:19). Here, the woman seemingly carries a source of food for her family or for a business which in return will have a source of income to buy their needs.
Taken as a whole, behind Yu's eternal, artistic, and cultural language is an ingenious visual artist who is passionate about educating the public on God's attributes and bringing pride to the Philippines' intangible treasures, particular ly the Philippine Neo-Baybayin. His untiring support of the Philippine Neo-Baybayin puts him at the forefront of the Philippine cultural workers. In addition, Yu never fails to acknowledge and links his research to God not only as the Author of all languages but also the God of all nations. William Yu's eternal perspective echoes in his research and exceptional paintings that enrich sulat-sining and Philippine Neo-Baybayin, leaving a mark of heavenly legacy at the same time national heritage. - Timberly S. Fuentes YAUW HaQODESH is the Life Giver Acrylic on Canvas 30 x 48in 2018
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Here, Yu's Yahuwshua is Life is dominated by playful expressive brushstrokes of layered red, yellow-orange, white, and black pigments. Beyond the pictorial elements, this outstanding abstract is a rejoice of one of God's attributes: God is Life. He is the source and ultimate meaning of life. For it is God's plan that we may have life and have it abun dantly, that is might be full and meaningful (John 10:10). One can only experience abundant life through and with God. It also points to Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It entails that Jesus Christ is the One and Only way to God, and when you have Jesus Christ in your life, you have eternal life, which means forever with God.
Morever, his Yauw Haqodesh is the Life-Giver is a cubist figure of a captivating wild cat against a green background. Based on the title, the piece celebrates God as the Source and Primary Essence of Life. In Genesis 1, God the heavenly Father created the heavens, earth, and everything in it. For God has life in Himself (John 5:26). He does not keep life from himself but he creates in order to share what He has. It also honors God as the ultimate Maker of all things. This piece particularly points to when He created all kinds of creatures and living things (Genesis 1:21), as it celebrates the goodness of God and recognizes the animals as good for it says in the verse "And God saw that it was Further,good."hisYahuwah is the Light of Maharlika features geometrically depicted talented musicians, one is playing with a piano while the other one is playing with a guitar. For Yu, the Filipinos are the Maharlikans who are worldwide known to be talented and cheerful despite the odds. He considers God as the source of Light for the Filipinos. Morever, light is associated with God's goodness and righteousness (1 John 1:5). Here, Yu's piece remembers the goodness God has done in the country, the Philippines , amidst the darkness that is happening like corruption, injustices, and abuses. Yu wanted to shed hope on his fellow Filipinos that the living God is good and there is no wicked in Him, hence He is worthy of trust and worship.
37 South East Asian Artists Magazine YAHUWshua is the Life 35 x 35 Acrylic on Canvas 2017
38 South East Asian Artists Magazine Bali Dancer Mixed Media on Canvas 47 x 47cm 2018 Street Hawker 2 Brunei Acrylic on Canvas 60 x 48in 2011 penambang1 Water Taxi Brunei Acrylic on Canvas 2012 The Pandemic Mixed Media on Canvas 80 x 80cm 2021 The Ph Tricycle 2015 Acrylic on Canvas 90 x 90cm
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Floating Ride Acrylic on Canvas 80 x 80cm 2017Theb Green Zone Jakarta Acrylic on Canvas
My intention of capturing many movements of the people is to redesigned it again into another composed images that can become an art which I like. I will try to change the shapes, or switched to another area and become another interesting composition.
My habit of making initial sketches for an artwork based on the exploration of the power of lines, flexibility of shapes and the nature of forms contribute to the way my paintings is done. Sometimes I see no definite shapes to the objects. I simply capture the basic movement of the subject through the size of the brush. I just like to see the beauty of the brush strokes which create the desired forms of the subject.
2015
On the first hand, I don’t really set myself doing art based on any one subject. As I have the habit of making sketches about the environment and people, I used to be everywhere making sketches of what strikes my mind. Sometimes I stop and drew quick portraits of faces that I like, sometimes I capture groups of people eating, drink ing or talking.
OTHMANKHALID
These sketches are sometimes left unattended and sometimes developed into a more in depth study and become another idea for my next work. Most of my subjects are about people and their daily activities, their interaction within themselves. Seldom I try to connect the images that I draw to the social issues around but at times the issues emerged from the finished work. I did not put the issues first and find the right image.
Landscape oil painter Scott Christensen’s career exhibition list stands as an impressive testament to the success of his artistry. Vital relationships with the National Academy of Western Art, Prix de West Invitational and National Museum of Wildlife Art, to name just a few, have served to keep his work in the public eye. In 2018, he partnered with artist Quang Ho for the “East/West Visions” exhibition at the Booth Western Art Museum. This may seem like the culmination of 40 years at the canvas, but Christensen is never one to rest on his laurels. His studio bears witness to a work ethic that’s tireless and methodical, and to a discipline derived from a background in athletics and the rigorous training that’s associated with sports.
LEARNINGLIFELONGCURVE
Scott Christensen’s need to work outside his comfort zone keeps the canvas fresh. By : Jenn Rein
A
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October Green River, Wyoming by Scott Christensen, oil on canvas, 36×60
Christensen says the manner in which he observes the landscape develops continually and that finding ways to work outside his comfort zone is key to his continued growth as a painter. He’s a voracious learner who brings his life experience to the canvas as a matter of process. His long-held connection to nature as his subject doesn’t hamper his ability to see it continually through fresh eyes.
Study, Autumn Snow by Scott Christensen, gouache on watercolor paper, 9¼ x11½ Miles of Open Space by Scott Christensen oil on canvas, 36×96
Christensen started playing football as soon as he could walk. He draws a direct parallel from the foundational discipline he laid on the gridiron to his artistic practice, and credits his defensive position of safety to the develop ment of his visual acuity. As a safety, a football player must have a heightened sense of peripheral vision while at the same time reading depth of field in order to constantly anticipate movement. What we see in our periphery is primarily subconscious. Having the ability to see more, and do so consciously, is a specialized skill. By the time Christensen was playing safety at a collegiate level, he’d been nurturing a unique visual sense for 20 years. During his senior year of college, a spinal injury brought his time on the football field to an abrupt and devastating end. He moved into art for solace and took up fly fishing at almost the same time. With waders instead of cleats, he immersed himself in another environment rich in depth of movement. The added ingredient was the shifting light found only in nature. It wasn’t long before another visual evolution took hold. Now, even after 40 years working as an artist who’s an avid outdoorsman, his visual sense continues to develop.
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Just as established is the artist’s reputation as an instructor. The property on which Christensen Studio sits in Vic tor, Idaho, is a destination for artists who are seeking intense study. In a workshop model that allows for personal attention, this alpine setting is a dream come true for landscape artists.
DEVELOPING AN ARTIST'S EYE
CHOOSE YOUR DISCOMFORT LEVEL
South East Asian Artists Magazine “There’s a lot out there. You can’t paint every stick,” Christensen says of his keen prioritization of light and shape over detail. This is easily seen in the studies he executes in plein air. Used in the studio to inform his larger oil work, these visual notes, laid down in abstract shapes, are integral to his recall. “My brain doesn’t hold it all, so I have to take it in chunks as you would in writing,” says the artist. To a less developed eye, trying to choose where to begin and which details to eliminate may seem a crippling proposition. Christensen often uses a photographic illustration of crisp detail versus blurred mass as a tool to shape this concept for students, encouraging them to “unsee” in a more intelligent way.
In 2019, the artist moved toward using gouache rather than oil in his plein air studies. He did so on the advice of friend and artist Larry Moore, author of Fishing for Elephants: Insights and Exercises to Inspiring Authentic Creativ ity, but also because of John Singer Sargent. Christensen takes inspiration from many masters, but when it comes to Sargent, a particular kinship is Swissfelt. Trail by Scott Christensen, oil on canvas, 48×72
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Like most artists, Christensen knows artistic growth can be painful. “If you’re an artist, you should feel that way because you’re never going to feel like you have a grasp on something you can do better,” he says, “and by better, I don’t mean more detailed.”
Christensen encourages students to ask questions above all else. “It’s a feel that you’re looking for. What do you want out of it most? Constantly developing your perception is key,” he says, stressing that the transformation that results from living with discomfort is a pay-off every artist should be seeking.
Christensen is committed to his plein air studies and rarely uses photography to inform his studio work. For him, it’s all about truth in color, as a camera lens doesn’t perceive color with the same accuracy as the naked eye. A landscape artist must develop the ability to see further by identifying color without the aid of a camera and, at the same time, see less detail in order to get the job done.
In early 2020, Christensen began to use gouache studies to inform his large-scale oil work after hundreds of hours of collecting data in the field. “I was so used to painting in oils, it made me reframe my thinking and take a different approach. It’s starting to help me see differently again. I’m always pushing for that,” says the artist.
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“Sargent experimented and was doing what he loved. He loved being out there. You can tell, especially when it came to his watercolors, and that’s why I’ve been doing the gouache studies,” says Christensen. “I kept looking at these watercolors of Sargent’s and wondering how he got there. He did it with light. What I mean by this is that you can get body in your color so you can manage it and create a study in a different way. Sargent created studies in the middle values mostly. He stayed to middle values and would then increase darks and lights. The standard talk here is that oil painters paint from dark to light, and with watercolor you go from light to dark. Sargent stayed closer to the middle, most of the time.”
Mud Lake by the Cabin by Scott Christensen, oil on canvas 30×32 Moose Creek by Scott Christensen, oil on canvas, 12×16
“Some of the problems we don’t want to face are right in front of us. You don’t want to ask that question because you don’t want to face how to answer it,” he says. Pursuing the “why” behind the work is something Christensen encourages every artist to prioritize.
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What gets Christensen excited about his work now? “I look at any one thing in a work. I want to change the compo sition, the temperature, the light versus the shadow,” he says. “It just gets down to a whole bunch of questions— and good answers to tough questions is what I spend my time on. I’m way more excited about painting because of that. Just to have different answers to things.”
Study, Creek’s Edge by Scott Christensen, gouache on watercolor paper, 7½ x9½
IN PURSUIT OF WHY
Christensen is familiar with the depths of discouragement that can envelop an artist. “It’s a real feeling to ask, ‘What am I doing?’ to say, ‘This isn’t worth anything. It’s just a painting on the wall,’ yet those depths lend value to defining the why behind the artist’s own pursuit.” Without that clear definition, Christensen maintains that artists will continue to feel lost.
“I had to go through that whole study of ‘nothing is more useful than the useless,’ before I finally realized that what I want is to bring intrinsic value to what I’m trying to show you. I want to show you what’s aesthetic to me. I can’t care if you like it or not, because then I’d be chasing the wrong thing. You have to feel like I’ve been there. I want you to experience this.”
CHARACTERIZING THE WORK
Christensen constantly seeks to absorb many genres of art and leans on music as a core tenet of inspiration. He is in awe of the work that Johann Sebastian Bach put into translating so many of Vivaldi’s pieces to keyboard, which enabled Bach to think in more musical terms. This oil painter is an admirer of those who face their art as a manner of experimentation, if only to learn how to take it to new heights.
Study, Alpine by Scott Christensen, gouache on watercolor paper, 10½ x10½
In order to see properly, Christensen invests in the work first. He has made that investment the mark of his career. The benefit comes through not only on his canvases, but also in his aptitude for sharing what it’s like to grow deep ly while in the process of creating.
“I was teaching in Darby Canyon, in Teton Valley, Idaho, one day, and I flipped out over this Indian red. I hadn’t seen it in years. I’ve gone to the same place to paint for years in a row, and I missed it. Until I actually felt that con nectivity, I never saw it,” he says. “I know what happens to color when it goes through yellow to red to blue and is transitioning, but the transition in between—I had never seen this red inside of the whole connected thing. Indian red, Venetian red—I started introducing them into my palette. Until I see it, I don’t want it.”
This isn’t a surprise coming from an artist who possesses innate ability as a teacher and problem-solver, but listen ing to him explain the revelations that nature still provides to his trained eye tells a more colorful story.
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"Nestled inside the famous Blue Lagoon of Pagudpud, Ikani is a tropical surf resort that invites you to indulge in laid back accommodations perfect for escaping the hus tles and bustles of the city. Our minimalist-style tropical villas will surely provide our guest with their much needed rest and relaxation. Our restaurant, Zephyr Cafe, serves both western cafe and Filipino comfort food, and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The main activity in Ikani is surfing. Our resort has the perfect view of two of the best surf breaks in Pagudpud. "
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RESORTIKANI
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GUNITA
The UPCFA Studio Arts Degree Thesis Works of Batch 2022 Graduates
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The 2022 Studio Arts Degree Show is a celebration of the graduating class’ perseverance and academic life. The group exhibit is a welcome change to the isolating experience of creating art in a pandemic. After years of study and practice in their own chosen art forms, 17 artists created their thesis works not just a mark of their artistic prowess, but also a manifestation of their stories, personal experiences and beliefs. In a way, it is commemorating these things or “paggunita ng mga pangyayari o bagay.”
The University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts (UPCFA) is one of the oldest arts and design institution unit in the Philippines. Since 1908, it has produced premiere visual artists whose training and orientation is aligned with the state universities credo of honor, excellence, and service to the Filipino society. The College has provided its student constituents with a diversified atmosphere conducive to the spirit of creative inquiry which encompasses issues from the personal to the societal.
The UPCFA Bachelor of Arts graduates from Batch 2022 successfully hurdled the challenge of defending the required individual thesis projects in June 2022.
Entitled “Gunita”, the exhibit primarily explores themes of reflection and healing. The 17 artists developed their own theses separately but ended up traversing the same waters: Healing. Identity. Experience. The show is an invitation to listen to their stories, and dive deeper into their own unique topics such as: memory, experience, emo tions, anxiety, trauma, coping mechanism, reconciliation, gender theory, queer experience, diet culture, religion, politics, oppression, time, and transience.
As a way of imparting the knowledge and experience garnered from the year-long study, research, and execution of the creative works of art to the public, an online group art exhibition is held via the social platforms Facebook and Instagram in July 2022.
Dissonance and Resolution
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Margaux Stephon Genito’s Boxed In: An Autobiographical Visualization of Compartmentalization through a Metaphori cal Dollhouse (2) is an “allegorical work portraying compartmentalization as a psychological defense mechanism through a dollhouse-like structure. It addresses troublesome domestic situations from a young age.” Tamiya Dela Fuente’s Cutting the Calories: A Visual Narrative on Diet Culture and Its Impact on the Body (3) “describe the body issues one can experience due to what is consumed from the media in this day and age. It is an associative visual narrative of a doll not being able to fit into a keyhole due to being too fat with cake sculpted around it.” Asaliah Reiiel Reyes ‘ Tao Rin Ako (I am also a person): Experiencing the Trauma of Being Queer in a Postcolonial Filipino Society (4) concerns being a member of the LGBTQ community , identity struggle, and the trauma of being ‘cruci fied’ by the institution that preaches universal love and acceptance. His artwork The Abomination Shall Not Inherit the Kingdom of God is a graphic allegorical portrayal of the persecution suffered throughout his early years in life.
Several thesis topics addressed the concept of dissonance and resolution involving personal trauma and identity issues conflicting with societal and cultural expectations. Georgina Pomajeros’ Driven by Pain, Lifted by Hope: On the Therapeutic Role of Visual Metaphors (1) dealt with emotions felt upon the passing of a loved one. “The work is a manifestation of the artist’s own personal loss, having been able to process her bereavement through the aid of visual metaphors. It is inspired by memorial lantern and is about grief, resilience, and letting go.”
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Jea Gavina’s Kindness is Punk Rock: Self Care and Tenderness as Healing (5) is a “documentation of the artist’s personal healing throughout the years, as well as reflection of the necessary foundation of healing through painting, needle-punching, and crocheting.”
Inquiries about personal healing and reawakening to selfhood were also tackled by the student artists in their theses.
Nicole Bitas’ Mundane Encounters: Painting Emotions and the Pas sage of Time (6) are “inspired by the mundane scenes of everyday life during the pandemic. It explores time perception and recurring emotions such as anxiety and boredom caused by daily repetitive encounters within a domestic space.”
Isabella Salvador’s The People of Everywhere and Nowhere: Third Culture Kids (8) is about coming to terms with being a product of two cultures. “The thesis sheds light in third culture kids community as well as the struggles to form a connection and develop a sense of identity. It represents feelings, experiences, and memories associated with their culture.”
Justine Olmedo’s Trail of the Lone Firepecker: A Series of Narrative painting about Recovering from Isolation (7) “is a story of journeying away from a place of fiction, confronting personal struggle with isolation, and seeking true recovery back in reality. The character can return to reality and find hope in living with society.”
South East Asian Artists Magazine Collective Experience and State of Transience
marks are all provided by the student artists *link for Facebook and Instagram: @upcfagunita2022
A broader scope involving collective experience and the state of transience were explored in the theses of a num ber of student artists. Ilya Katrin Irasusta’s Wish-to-Cart: A Cardboard Installation and Video about Online Shop ping as a Form of Escapism (9) is about consumerism through the online platform. “Promoters of online shopping have become a viable option to promote materialism as a means of escape. The recycled cardboard boxes are a representation of suffocation from accumulations of impulsive purchases over time.” Gillian Aypa’s Metro Liminal: Painting Liminal Spaces to Resist Transience and Feelings of Surveillance (10) “explores painting liminal spaces that serve as comfort from the feeling of surveillance from dominant spaces and painting them to confront the transito ry nature of places of passage.” Sophia Sotolombo’s Reading Room (11) “explores the idea of utilizing space as a means of tstory-telling, derived from Lefebvre’s idea of space as a unity of physical, mental, and social space. “ The installation of cartographic mapping tracks her life experience of navigating the community she belongs with. King Tan Gana’s Kanlungan o Kulungan (sanctuary or prison): Domestic Space in Time of a Pandemic (12) “is a visual, sensorial, and metaphysical materialization of home quarantine during the pandemic. It implicates a correspon dence between the activity movement patterns of the quarantined inhabitants within the typified marginalized dwelling and provides a parametric translational interpretation using geometric architectural maquette structure and forms. Ding Royales’ Trip to Jerusalem: The Game of the Faithful, the Powerful, and the Damned (13) “shows the conflict between politics and religion and how the Filipinos cling to the leader who can fill their needs. The leaders of State and Church use the poor as their support in promoting their own agendas.” Andree Tiongson’s Kalma , Ako Lang ‘To (calm down, it’s just me): Mold as an Active Agent in Corrupting the Male Gaze and Reclaim ing the Female Form (14) “explores the materiality of molds ( a type of fungi) as a medium and destructive agent towards an art object, specifically a copy of Fernando Amorsolo’s Lavandera painting which represents the issue of male gaze and the idealization of the female form.”
Precious Tarun (15), Jom Aguirre (16), and Koullet AB (17) also presented their thesis and successfully defended their thesis works. The UPCFA BFA Studio Degree Batch 2022 were able to cultivate the cumulative years of artistic and critical training in their particular fields as showcased from their respective thesis works. It is their common goal to utilize such foundation as a take-off point in furthering a career in their chosen discipline and practice as oriented towards the development and upliftment of Filipino art and culture within the Philippines as well as in the global art *statementsscene.inquotation
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BANAAGMARANANANGELIE Eternity Acrylic on Canvas 18 x 24in 2021
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Ako na Muna Acrylic gold leaf on Canvas x 48in 2022
Angelie Maranan Banaag hails from Dingras, Ilocos Norte. She started to make her art when she was 13 years old and attended the workshop under Bel Arte School of Fine Arts in 2004. Pure passion in the arts running in her veins, so she continued to hone her skills in painting. Her first solo exhibit happened in 2015, “El Amor De Sen yora” at the La Tabacalera Lifestyle Center, Laoag City. Next came “Libnos” at Cafe France, Red Planet Hotel in Ortigas, Pasig City in 2017. Now, she has established herself as a full-time painter since 2016.Banaag is one of the two Filipino artists featured by Mozzaico. Her art piece “self-love” is now a tiled mosaic. She has had several international exhibits abroad-in Singapore, Malaysia and China. It is her vision that keeps Angelie focused in her art work. Gratefulness oozes in her ability to share her talent and craftsmanship to the world. For young and old alike, Angelie extends her knowledge and skills with the workshops she conducts. Women and beautiful patterns and prints are what can be seen in her works.
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She is one of the young entrepreneurs of Ilocos Norte and owner and founder of Artritos and Istariray. Aside from paintings and exhibits by the year 2018 she created her own unique product called "ARTRITOS" combination of art and aritos (earrings in iloko). One of a kind accessories a genuine handpainted earrings lightweight and pure handmade. She currently established her own Art business "Istariray" last February 2022. A clothing line which she put her art into fabric and turn into beautiful clothes. Feel free to follow and check her items on her account in instagram @artritos and @istariray.ph. As the pandemic hit our country, she continue joining exhibits both inter national and local online and physical. She was featured on Southeast Asian Artist magazine and "The Bridge" an International Contemporary Art book and several prestigious leading news papers.
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Our paintings will capture your attention quickly with their colors, and unconventional techniques used, to create hidden but meaningful messages that each painting carries.
The artists who have made all these artworks and this exhibition possible are the local as well as artists from around the world who have worked around the clock to bring you these amazing artworks. Our mission here at Be One Gallery is to provide good but affordable art to everyone, be it in Singapore or globally.
ART FOR EXHIBITIONLIFE Bloom by Barry Yeow
Be One Gallery is proud to be back with "ART FOR LIFE", an art exhibition solely dedicated to showcasing carefully curated paintings and ceramics by local and international artists at one of Singapore's finest and premier gallery "Visual Art Centre". Our ceramics are original and authentically 'made in Singapore'. Each piece of ceramic has peace and tranquility hidden deep inside it, from the beautiful blending of colors or the unique shape of the creation.
When you become the proud owner of one of our artworks and bring it home, it will adorn your home with a new amazing look and bring a whole new feeling to the atmosphere in your home.
Morning
55 South East Asian Artists Magazine still-life-le-anh-40x50_origsymbolofloveby Priyanka Bhandari stool-padder-pateo_orig
56 South East Asian Artists Magazine Venice during Lockdown by Paulynn Woodburn Wanodya Utama (Dream Woman) by Niluh Sudarti Tibetan Monks by Bhavana Kapur
of Life by
Ceramic Artworks by Pham Journey Shubha Balasubramanya
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Iris
Let’s bring those waves into our pools and experience a genuine splash while enjoying the ambiance of nature!
URBAN WAVE RESORT
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also has cottages you can rent during your stay. Cottage rentals are between PHP 350 and PHP 2,500. They also charge a fee for drinks/liquors brought into the resort depending on the type of drink/liquor. The resort also has a grilling station that you can use to cook your food. And for those who find it complicated to bring their own food, the place has recently opened Cafe Onda, a cafe-resto lo cated inside the resort that offers your favorite Filipino dishes while sipping into their signature hot and cold beverages!
The resort also offer ready-to-wear and swim wears may it be bikinis or trunks for sale or rentals. With these features and excellent services, the Resort was Awarded by Q Asia Magazine as BEST ACCOMMODATION RECREATIONAL WAVE RESORT IN REGION 1, during its first month of operation.
More than just providing excellent services, they are also commit ted in helping communities in need as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. In January 2020, they initiated a successful donation drive for the victims of Taal Volcano Eruption that has displaced thou sands of families. This was made possible with the help of our gener ous sponsors and partners. The resort also donated over a thousand faceshields and other medical equipment to frontliners during the Covid-19 Pandemic the same year. In November 2021, they part nered with the Philippine Red Cross to host a Bloodletting campaign to assist persons in need of blood transfusions during the pandemic. SInce then, this has become an annual resort activity.
And since then, droves of people have visited the place during the weekends, initially out of curiosity, and later to simply enjoy the won derPOOL waves. Its artificial waves are created by machines, replicating the waves in the ocean and come in 1 hour interval. Guests can expect the waves to come after a boat horn blares out a warning. When this happens, kids, teens and adults typically run out to meet the waves. The wave pool is big enough to accommodate around 300 people at the same Thetime.place
The resort is a complex of different type of pools and cottages, with Spanish-inspired hotel. Ilocos Urban Wave Resort first opened its doors to the public in Janu ary 2020, with its mission to provide and deliver outstanding services and experiences that creates exceptional value.
Yes, ILOCOS URBAN WAVE RESORT features something that you may not typically find in the province, a wave and raging river pool.
Apart from chasing waterfalls or enjoying beautiful beaches in the North, why not try something new? Let us step that up a notch!
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Features and Amenities: - Wave Pool - Raging River - Semi-olympic and Kiddie Pool - 8 Hotel Room Accommodations (Suite and Deluxe type) - Open Pavilion that can accommodate up to 200 pax for parties and celebrations like birthdays, debuts, weddings, team building, and others. - Cafe-Resto serving your favorite Filipino Classics - Wide Parking Area - 24 Hours Security
South
Getting
is located
Adding to their corporate mission and core values is their commitment to become socially responsible too. They also sponsor local and national pageants in partnership with Prime Event Production Philippines and Missos sology Philippines. Various celebrities and famous vloggers have also visited the resort to film a movie or just simply to spend leisure time with family and friends. There : From the City proper, you will have to hop a jeepney bound to Calayab (Paoay Road). The resort just behind Shell Gas Station, in front of the Our Lady of Fatima Church aka “Mangato Church”. If it is your first time, you may hire a tricycle which will direct you to the resort itself. Travel time from the City proper is approximately 10-15 minutes.
Nestled in one of the most peaceful beach front villages in Pagudpud near the northern tip of Luzon, Hakuna Matata owned by a young bachelor Mr Ben Manotok offers picturesque views of awe-inspiring sunsets, swaying green palms, and white sand beaches that stretch for miles. The beautiful property, aptly named after the Swahili phrase, is the perfect spot for travellers who want to experience island life tranquility. But this doesn’t mean that you will not have a window to the outside world as Hakuna Matata rooms have flat screen television sets fitted with Netflix and Youtube through a stable fiber optic Internet access.
HAKUNA MATATA
Hakuna Matata’s beach front is undisturbed and one could say that the property is what postcards are made of. Its pristine waters are a sight to see in the mornings when every shade of blue makes an appearance against bright skies. The stylish resort made sure that every room has a good view of it all because nature, after all, is its main attraction.
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While Pagudpud has gained street cred for its kitesurfing offerings, its beaches have mercifully remained quiet.
61 South East Asian Artists Magazine Peak Season Dates & Rates Holy Week, December 24 & 25, December 30, 31 and January 1. Addition Php 1,500 per room and extra person additional Php 1, Other000 Amenities • Wi-fi • Roof • Beach Bar • Outdoor Shower • Free Breakfast • Hammocks • On Call Manicure and Pedicure • Gated Free Parking • Swings • Direct Beach Front Access • Swing Daybed • Shaded Daybed • On Call Massage Service For Rent • Kayak • Stand Up Paddle board • Vest • Snorkel • Motorcycle • Kitesurfing Equipment • Foil board and wing • Windsurfing Equipment • Hobie CatKING ROOM Good For 2 Persons . inclusive of breakfast Room Rate: Php 5,000 Only Early Check In/Out: Php 400/Hr (Subject To Availability Of The Mini1.5491AmenitiesRoom)kingbedinchledtvhpairconKitchenWith: microwave, kettle, toaster, plates, utensils and fridge QUEEN ROOM 2 queen beds . inclusive of breakfast Extra Person php 800 inclusive of breakfast maximum of additional 2 pax only we do not provide extra beds/matress Room Rate: Php 5,000 Only Early Check In/Out: Php 400/Hr (Subject To Availability Of The mini1.5492AmenitiesRoom)queenbedsinchledtvhpairconfridge