22 July 2008

A Heart of Art





I'd still like to think of myself as an artist.


Sometime in 1988, I used to paint with watercolor as a medium. The three pictures I have posted here are my works. These were done almost 20 years ago, yet I have not painted since. A disclaimer, though: these are not my original subjects, I merely painted original works I found in books. I was once told that many artists started out by copying other people's works.

I once played drums for a living. In fact, one of my previous bands, Elizabeth Reed, launched an album entitled "The Dragons Cried Pearls" in 1996 under the J-Bird Record label run by Jay Barbieri. A sample of my work can be heard by clicking on the two sample music clips found on my sidebar. I also played session for other bands such as show bands, 60s bands, rock bands, etc. This was THE main source of livelihood for my family then. I had my hair almost to my waist, facial hair, colorful shirts, the works.

I still get to play the drums now and then, my last stint being around 2002, where I played for and shot a music video at the old and hostoric Manila Post Office with a band called Honeyrush. Now, its all limited to jamming in parties or the like.

I also ran a footwear manufacturing firm, where I would frequently involve myself in design, having had to source new raw materials and ideas, here and abroad.





These days, blogging has breathed new life in my body, withering from lack of artistic deliberations, fuddled by the rigors of work life as a consultant. I do notice, however, that there exists a fine line that separates creative and technical endeavors. Maybe it is an interplay between the two seemingly disparate hemispheres of the brain working in harmony. Think Leonardo Da Vinci.

I'm thinking of taking it yet a step further....... renew my artistic ties..... invigorate myself once more with the beauty of the world..... immerse myself in color and hue....... envelope the world in.....

..... I have no clue how to go about it anymore.

I think I am trapped in a completely different animal's body now.

*help*

06 July 2008

Our Gifts

There are people who are born fortunate. Some are born into wealth, some are phyically built well, some are gorgeous, some have the gift of gab, some a wonderful speaking voice and others simply exude that charisma that make their presence immediately felt upon entering a room.

All these people have one thing in common: They are attractive to others.

God gave each of us some form of talent, others more pronounced than others. Although some people's talents may seem mundane, all these were given to us to fulfill a certain purpose.

For the ones given the talent of attractiveness, or the power to allure people, their mission is to use these God-given attributes to help people increase their spirituality.

If you do not dig my reasoning, then tell me why are others more well endowed than the rest? Evolution? If it is by virtue of evolution alone, then shouldn't all children look better than their parents? Though flawed my logic may seem, one cannot deny the fact that in the larger scheme of things, there must be a reason for everything. Quantum physics now subscribes to the fact that order exists in chaos. Everything in the universe is deliberate, nothing is by chance alone.

The law of cyclic existence dictates what we become in each lifetime, and the qualities we possess. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Your gifts are yours for a reason. As the parable in the Holy Bible implies, you will be answerable for the fruits of these gifts.

And in the spirit and tradition of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), I therefore say: Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to find out what that mission is, and execute it to completion!