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Lola, translated to Grandmother in Tagalog, is a painting inspired by The Lacemaker by Vermeer. The composition of my painting is the same as The Lacemaker. I used my Grandmother as the figure in the painting; She quietly sews a barong, a traditional filipino garment. I wanted to capture the quiet but hard working nature of the Lacemaker.

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Carabao, is a painting in which I use a water buffalo to symbolize mental health in Filipino culture. Carabaos are gentle, hardworking animals you can find in the Philippines. They work all day and expect nothing but shelter and food. At first glance you see people gather around the animal trying to get it up. The Carabao lays, unmoving, despite their efforts. Everyone has their own reaction; One person tries to entice it with food, two fight as one tries hurting it in an effort to get it up, and the last stands and watches. I create this world in order to show a reliable character falling and peoples reactions to it. In the Filipino community, there is an expectation to be okay all the time. When you fall short you must get up and keep going, however life is not always that easy. Mental health is often looked down upon and dismissed in my culture. With this painting I create dialogue about this issue and bring awareness to it.

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A painting talking about mental health in the filipino community 

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A painting talking about mental health in the filipino community 

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It's not really talked about

Even looked down upon

There is some kind of expectation to seem happy all the time

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How Art Opens Doors to the Reclusive Filipino Mental Health Issue

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How Art Opens Doors to the Reclusive Filipino Mental Health Issue

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“We grow up in a society that shines negative light to the people who go through some form of anxiety or depression.  In fact, while we belong to a community-based society where individuals come from large families who are viewed to have strong emotional support, more often than not, it is the very relatives or family members who would quickly dismiss thoughts or opportunities of discussion about mental disorders.”

“Growing up in an Asian household, we have to constantly prove our worth”

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How Art Opens Doors to the Reclusive Filipino Mental Health Issue - Thrive Global

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“I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about me,” a good friend of mine shared to me. This was the response I got from a friend who shared to me about her sudden emotional outbursts because of fear from losing her job. She is one of the many Filipinos who belong to the ’no work, … Continued

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"proves worth" by physically carrying the weight of family

Carabao is moved in the direction that the family wants it to go

"It is quite prevalent, up until now, within Filipino context that asking for help might bring shame to the family once the community finds out about a family member being ‘broken’.  Family pride supersedes any member’s mental disorder."

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philippines palawan province people riding on

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Philippines- Palawan Province, People Riding On A Cart Pulled By A Carabao, Or Water Buffalo Stock Photo - Alamy

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Download this stock image: Philippines- Palawan Province, People Riding On A Cart Pulled By A Carabao, Or Water Buffalo - D2CAMH from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors.

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24.5 cm × 21 cm (9.6 in × 8.3 in)

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Lacemaker - Vermeer

Painting has intense intimacy

Small format

Central framing of figure

Natural optical deformations of the human eye

Several depths of field

Instead of painting everything with the same sharpness, he leaves things slightly blurred

Controlled light by softening edges in some areas and sharpening details in others

Light

Areas of harsh light: right side of her face and her hands

Areas of softness/blurriness: left side of her face and foreground

Center of attention = lacemakers hand (painstaking work)

Shown in great detail and in sharp focus (fine white thread)

Paradoxically, foreground becomes blurred

White and red threads coming out of pillow are almost abstract

“Yet, despite the illusion of immediate proximity with the lacemaker, we cannot really penetrate her universe. The forms of the tapestry, sewing cushion and small table come between us and her, and her work is hidden in her right hand.”

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My grandma as the lacemaker

Sewing childhood pillow she made me

Use close intimacy like lacemaker to show her dedication and hard work for her family

Hand Sewing (Painstaking work)

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Your image of the carabou called to mind this painting by Diego Rivera - Carador de Flores from 1935. The idea of a crushing burden is the same in both, and the irony of a man being crushed by flowers has always haunted me...I hope you find inspiration in this image.

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In 1935, Diego Rivera masterfully created The Flower Carrier (known in its original language as Cargador de Flores). Like many of Rivera’s paintings, The Flower Carrier imparts simplicity, yet exudes much symbolism and meaning. The paint was rubbed into the masonite, the most common method for painting on hard surfaces. The vibrant colors evoke one of Diego Rivera’s favorite artist Vincent van Gogh.

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I first sketched out the figure and then added a light yellow wash over it. Then i slowly built up the values by adding white. Then i pushed the shadows by adding cooler and warmer tones.

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Great drawings of animals...

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Drawing is the basis of observation, but not with scientific detachment. Instead, drawing connects the artist intensely with the seen. As Cezanne said, “The landscape speaks to me.&#…

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There is a painting by Daumier that i thought might help you with the comlpex story of the carabao painting you're working on. It's called Third Class Carriage and it was mare in 1862. You can find an.image of it and a reflection about it at this link.

I suggest it to you partly because of how Daumierixes drawing and painting in its making, but also because he has such obvious compassion for the woman in the foreground and more complicated (possibly contemptuous) feeling for the welthier passengers in the front of the omnibus. He seems to strike this difficult, almost allegorical tone that you might be after...will keep thinking about this...

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The witty caricatures of Honoré Daumier made him one of the most widely recognized social and political commentators of his day.

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As you wrestle with trying to connect your life to the image made by another artist, i thought you might be interested in these analysis of the painting that inspired you.

It's interesting to note how many people write about intimacy, and the role of scale in creating it. Another theme is utility, which i feel you're also involed with...

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Understanding The Lacemaker by Johannes Vermeer

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critical assements of The Lacemaker by Johannes Vermeer

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A little more context on contemporary Filipino art

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A little more context on contemporary Filipino art

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I wanted to be sure you knew about this exhibit of work by Risa Puno, which occurred last summer, at the Fabric Workshop and Museum. The show was very firmly centered on ideas about community and family and addressed issues like how care is given and taken in family and clinical settings. Though not a painter, I think a lot of Puno's work is worth thinking about as you consider issues of identity and well-being...

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Need a warm Filipino group hug? Visit this immersive museum

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Step inside a tequila sunrise at this immersive museum “Group Hug” in Philly, all set up by Fil-Am artist Risa Puno.

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Here is the video I mentioned in class - I think parts of it may be useful. And like I said, it seems like there are a ton of these types of videos out there

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How to Paint Tattoos (For Miniatures) - HC 396

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Here is a short video about the life of Max Beckamann. We talked about a painting called 'Night' that I will post in a moment, but this one focuses on another painting called 'Departure' which is an astounding painting - and one that, if you listen to the narrative - you realize is deeply ambiguous in a way that I think might appeal to you...

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Max Beckmann - A Close Look at His Work | Arts 21

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It kills me that this painting is more than 100 years old. It feels like Beckmann is talking about the same sort of people who are in power now, flagrantly disregarding the basic rights of others to advance their own agendas.

We discussed the way Beckmann nods to theatre in this painting, keeping the space shallow and not letting us feel much air in the painting. We discussed how he focuses on hands. feet and faces as powerful tools for eliciting responses from viewers (in The Departure, which I posted a moment ago, animals are present...mostly fish...).

It's worth looking at Beckmann's drawings, too. Here is a link to a study he made after the painting...it is apparently part of a series, called Hell. The notes reveal how much Beckmann was thinking about the theater in his composition:

“For the world is Hell”, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer – whose works Beckmann devoured – had concluded in 1851, “and men are on the one hand the tormented souls and on the other the devils in it.” [...] The Hell Beckmann portrays is like Schopenhauer’s in that there is no escaping it. His cycle depicts human drama as “scene[s] in the theatre of the eternal”

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This project is made up of 2 prompts: Privileged Information and This is my ideal. 

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This project is made up of 2 prompts: Privileged Information and This is my ideal. 

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This prompt encouraged me to explore the use of codes and symbols in my artwork. It also led me to research various artists and artworks that incorporate symbolic elements. As a result, I developed a deeper understanding of contextual meaning in painting and learned how to use subtle symbolism more intentionally.

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This prompt required me to research different artist and paintings that use composition as a driving factor in their work. I analyzed and interpreted paintings that used size, context, and symbolism as groundwork for my own painting. Through this process, I learned how to fully utilize the canvas to create a self-contained world within it.