paintings
i am fueled by my passion to express life’s challenges thru what comes out when i hold the brush and palette knife. sometimes i fear i would be lost in this imaginary world of color forever because the comfort it brings is insatiable. there is emptiness when i hold back and not paint. my incapacity to continue a style is evident in this body of work but i paint from the truth, from the heart and one’s heart always changes in mode, in feelings, in content. even fear and frustration is in color and texture, this work tells a story of my life’s journey… my growth… the love i gained and lost… and gained ones more…
1990
i did more at work as a little kid and as a teenager but these are the only ones i was able to document… they are all representative of conversations i had with my mother.
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a home is not a home
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mother child
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the cross
1996
this was the year before i immigrated to the US… early 1990’s was when i focused on pottery and ceramics and did not do a lot of paintings
this particular painting was done as an ode to someone special that time…
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the gecko
12" x 36" acrylic & metal dust on canvas
1997
this year was the year of my big move… big changes… it’s the year i got married to someone who pushed my creativity to the next level… it’s the year that started a 7 year turbulence of my life… a roller coaster of emotions… from ecstasy to a downward spiral…
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of thoughts and breakfast
20" x 30" acrylic, sunflower leaves, ground coffee, eggshell, rocks & metallic pigments on jute
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my own black hole
18” x 24” acrylic on jute
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irie
16" x 20" acrylic on canvas
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no man is an island
8" x 10" acrylic on canvas
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geometrically inclined
24" x 36" acrylic on canvas
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never simple
18" x 24" acrylic on mustin cloth
1998
this year was bittersweet for me… i am learning the ways of L.A. very quickly and very hard. it is the realization that i may have been a big fish in a small pond in Manila but in L.A…. I am no one. the gecko finds its way thru the sea of lost angels…
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escape of the gecko
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gecko love
16" diameter acrylic & twine on canvas
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the kiss
16" x 18" ellipse acrylic on canvas
1999
instead of a journal, i poured my heart out in color, in shapes on either paper or canvas… it brought my memories to life…
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coming out of the eggshell
48" x 48" acrylic on canvas
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guitars race cars and fish
11" x 14" acrylic on canvas
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red self
48” x 48” acrylic on canvas
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self portrait - staring at self on mirror
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
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swimming in maui
22" x 30" acrylic on recycled paper
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dragon leach
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
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slander
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
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its not that funny
11" x 15" acrylic & pastel on recycled paper
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being joan
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
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jhoiey
12" x 24" acrylic on canvas
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chi
12" x 24" acrylic on canvas
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jhosel
12" x 24" acrylic on canvas
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self portrait - lay on my side... wait
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
2000
a tumultuous year that induced a lot of pain and suffering… it was a challenge to convert all that into beautiful art that one can look at and see the positive in all the negative…
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he said she said, when the tongue is mightier than the mother fuckin' sword
22" x 30" acrylic on recycled paper
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3 flowers in a church picnic
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
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crash and burn
22" x 30" acrylic on recycled paper
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dolphins and what nots
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
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island dreams
48" x 48" acrylic & lava rocks on canvas
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red means stop, green means go, let me go but don't let go
48" x 48" acrylic on canvas
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breakin' up the nth time, battlefield of dagger-like tongues
22" x 30" acrylic on recycled paper
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why sister, why? did love serve its purpose?
22" x 30" acrylic on recycled paper
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wildflower too
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
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wildflowers
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
2001
a year when i went dark… not completely… i tried experimenting… i tried…
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ballerina (mckently sisters)
8" x 10" acrylic on canvas
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randomness
12" x 36" acrylic diluted in ocean water & sand on recycled paper
2002
a year of discovery… quiet discovery… an internal fight between what’s right and what’s wrong… a struggle to keep a sane surface while the deep is at boiling point…
the year i wanted to hide under a blanket…
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jazz & blues
11" x 15" acrylic on recycled paper
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one of the others
11" x 16" acrylic on canvas
2003
the year chromaflux was in existence… an experimental, cross media gallery for art, design, and music in Santa Monica… i was busy running a gallery than painting but nevertheless, produced some meaningful pieces…
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to all
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her invisible man
11" x 15" acrylic on paper
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to all the happy faces, to all the bleeding hearts...
18" x 48" acrylic on OSB
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alienation
24" x 24" acrylic & metal luster on canvas
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starred
24" x 24" acrylic & metal luster on canvas
2004
the year i made a big decision to make a huge change in my life after one final attempt to redemption… damned no more!
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girl with a dolphin tattoo
8" x 12" oil on canvas
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untitled
4" x 4" oil on canvas
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queen of the damned
36" x 60" acrylic on canvas
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jurassic dreams
12" x 30" acrylic, iron particles & rust on canvas
2005
sometimes with freedom comes an emptying of emotions…
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patty
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cuban chic(k)
18" x 24" acrylic on canvas
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missing half
18" x 24" acrylic on canvas
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triptych fun
12" x 30" acrylic on canvas
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pink bullseye 1
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pink bullseye 2
2006
the lack of emotions conjures a lack of imagination… i was a little lost.
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bubbling thoughts
8" x 12" oil on canvas
2007
i’m slowly knowing myself again… it’s a struggle to be free after knowing misery for so long… i almost did not know how to be happy again… i doubted everything… it’s a slow rebirth and a long process of rediscovery…
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body and soul
12" x 36" oil on canvas
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another trap?... split decision
12" x 36" oil on canvas
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quadruple eclipse
2008
i started a series and didn’t finish it… there was not enough in me to let the work see the light of day… someday…
exploring the world and rediscovering who you are as a person sometimes seem less inspired when looked at with the amount of work that was produced… but just like a tree who loses all its leaves in the winter… it will grow new ones with more abundance in the spring… my spring will come soon…
2009
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winter branches
12" x 36" oil & diluted metal on canvas
2010
a complete hiatus in terms of painting… it only means one thing…
something new and unexpected is coming… it’s coming soon…
it’s the year i decided that my freedom is what i have dreamt of during all those years of entrapment… and i am celebrating it with something so myself in a whole new form!
2011
this year is all about a new beginning… it jump started late last year as i took residency at beacon arts building in Inglewood with my very own art studio to boot. as the last few days of 2011 passed, we found a new home that provided a myriad of new subjects and inspiration as showcased on the first painting i started at the very beginning of 2012. the inspiration from my ever changing morning vista provided an instant backdrop for me to start with and take it from there. new works are in progress and new techniques are under experimentation.
a new maturity to my work evolves.