DAVAO CITY— After a three-month workshop, foreign and local artists in Davao City showcase their works in an exhibit at the Matina Town Square.
The exhibit entitled, “Painting from the Inner Spirit,” allows the artists to express themselves freely, according to Ega Carreon, the workshop facilitator.
The exhibit shows the paintings of guest artists and first-time painters who attended Carreon’s painting workshop at Via’s cafe from February to May of this year. They included budding artists Cam Arcena, Gerardo Aquino, Meng Avila, Bina Balchand, Eugene Canadilla, Roa Malubay, Aicee Mendoza, Aidal Mohammad, Baerbel Roth, Heike Staff, Letlet Simpol, Erika Sotto, Cora Santos-Tuason, Lorraine Gallegos-Ugsang, Jing Cosio, Marion Descallar, Bai Manginsay and Rafael Manginsay.
“They can paint anything as long as it comes from their hearts,” says Carreon.
An artist life is not an easy life, says awardwinning artist Ega Carreon during the opening of the exhibit. (davaotoday.com photo)
Carreon, who is one of Davao’s finest painters and an internationally recognized artist, said the greatest fear of first time painters and even by those who are already painting for a long time is the canvas and what to put there. He said this “fear” should be overcome.
“The artist fears that he or she would commit mistakes on the canvas,” he said. “We should not fear committing mistakes because that is how we learn.”
Once the artist is given the freedom, he or she can easily find subjects for his painting. The subject can start from the painter’s personality or from anything he can see outside his house.
During the workshop, Carreon taught his students the technique called “glazing, ” which is an overlapping of paints “to create a transparent or translucent effect of colors.” Through glazing, he said, one learns about colors.
Lorraine Gallegos-Ugsang (right), a workshop participant, and her paintings, “The stars, the moon and the stories in between” and “Silhouette”. (davaotoday.com photo)
Carreon has also encouraged his students to use cheap materials because buying expensive ones are not practical.
“If you are creative, you are resourceful,” he said. Participants in his workshop used Boysen latex paints on their paintings. He also encouraged his students to not just rely on brushes but also use their hands as the medium in painting.
Lorraine Gallegos-Ugsang, one of the workshop participants, said Carreon first asked them their favorite color and told them to begin painting with that particular color.
“Maybe it was a way to start liking what to paint,” she said.
Carreon just let them paint on their own, teaching them afterward how to achieve what they want in their painting.
“Malakas at Maganda” painting by Bai Manginsay. (davaotoday.com photo)
Ugsang, who is used to sketching cartoons for school papers, said she joined the workshop to learn how to paint. But there, they also learned how to stretch and prime a canvas.
Ugsang’s two paintings entitled “The sun, the moon and the stories in between” and “Silouhette” were at the exhibit.
Bai Manginsay, a guest artist in the workshop and a Fine Arts graduate who has also been painting for 37 years, said Carreon encouraged him to go back to painting as a therapy. Manginsay has stopped painting only last year after he was diagnosed with kidney problems.
“Ega told me I needed a break. He said, ‘Bai, you should paint,'” Manginsay said. Mangunsay recalled that he only happened to pass by the Via’s Cafe during the workshop because of his friend whose sister was one of the participants.
He saw Carreon there and asked him if there was any art school in Davao.
” Sa taas (upstairs),” Carreon told Manginsay pointing to the cafe’s second floor where the workshop was held.
Manginsay said that after a three-hour painting, Carreon would do an acupuncture on his face. As a guest artist, Manginsay also shared his ideas about art whenever the participants asked him. Manginsay said that the workshop also helped him interact with other artists.
“It was refreshing for me because I used to paint alone,” he said.
The exhibit opened on May 27 and will run until June 21. Carreon said he was proud of the participants’ works.
“There is an artist in every one of us who needs to be awakened,” he said. (Grace S. Uddin/davaotoday.com)
