Rock Art rocks!

Our first rock art products" "Star Face" by Julia & "Lady Bug" by Andy

Apple gave a set of acrylic paint and a canvas to me encouraging me to start painting on my birthday last year but I found no time and inspiration. My cousin, Ramil, brought a half sack of rocks supposedly for Apple for our garden. While browsing at Book Sale, I found a book on "Rock Art!" and I was inspired to try this craft. So this summer break, Julia and I tried rock art using the rocks in our garden and the unused acrylic paints. Rock art is fun and keeps you busy. However, it requires patience and some basic skills especially when you need to draw circles and fine lines. Painting with acrylic is not a problem since you can always repeat the process by overlaying to improve the design. What's nice with rock art is that your product can be good souvenirs to give away or even sell. Rock art really rocks! :-)

Painting "Fishy"

Painting "My Yellow Sub"

Julia painting her "Star Face" rock

My rock art#1 - "Lady Bug"

My rock art#2 - "Fishy"

My rock art#3 - "Stuart - the minion"

My rock art#4 - "My yellow sub" = a birthday gift to retired US navy, Matt Lutao

Rock art rocks!

Imagine the floor if painted with various colorful designs! Awesome!

Art In Island: Interactive Art Museum

Balancing act!

Prepare your cameras and smart phones. Be ready to act in front of a painting. You may act happy, afraid or angry. This is what you do at the Art in Island, an interactive art museum at 15th Avenue, Cubao, QC. The entrance fee (quite expensive but worth it because it's one of a kind in the Philippines) is P500 for adults and P400 for students with ID. Shoes are not allowed inside so you have to deposit your shoes or sandals at the entrance. The fully-airconditioned museum is huge with awesome copied paintings of the masters. You will need about two hours in the museum to be able to capture the various 3D paintings and illusions. Welcome to the Art in Island.

I'm Andres and "undressing an angel" is my hobby!

You want this ball? Take it!

Geof is a cover boy!

Julia applies make-up to Mona Lisa

Surfing is fun!

Snow boarding!

Daddy's an angel!

Little Mermaid, Julia!

Open your mouth!

Feeding the tiger.

Wet and Wild!

Scary!

Our "Cherry Blossom @ 17" Painting

February 27, 2016 - It's our 17th wedding anniversary! To celebrate this special day, Apple and I engaged in a painting bonding at Sip and Gogh, Ayala Estates, Capitol Hills, QC. The theme of our painting is cherry blossom. It's symbolic since the sakura flowers blooming from the tree represents our memorable experiences both happy and sad which strengthen our relationship. The tree continues to grow and bloom beautiful flowers every year. The cherry blossom also reminds us Japan - we had  trip together in Tokyo and nearby places when we were newly married, although Apple has not yet experience the season of cherry blossom viewing. Apple did most of the painting - she was good with the background , branches and flowers. I drew the big trunk and helped fill-up the canvass with the flowers and green leaves. After a one-and-a-half hour session, we produced our souvenir of our wedding anniversary - "Cherry Blossom @ 17." 

The Making of a Master Piece

Painting and Bonding Time at Sip & Gogh!

Geof & Julia display their masterpieces

If you want to spend two hours of your time with your partner, kids or friends to relieve yourself of stress, then Sip & Gogh at Capitol Hills, QC is the place for you. Last summer 2015, we brought the kids there to experience painting in pastel. You pay the minimum fee and you will be provided with the art materials - canvass and paint and a teacher will guide from sketching to the final painting. While you're busy painting your masterpiece, you will be served with refreshments - wine and cold cuts for the adults, juice, fruits and biscuits for the kids. After the two hour session, you have your own masterpiece which you can display in your home or office.

Refreshments at Sip & Gogh

Comics with Bitstrips

I love to create comics. But I have no talent in drawing comic characters. Comics drawing is really a talent that some people possess like my Nagoya U colleague, Jerry V. or even my son who can easily draw his favorite lego characters. I drew comics when I was a kid but they were not that good. I like comics which are simple and neat like Snoopy, Dilbert and Piled Higher and Deeper (PHD). I also like Baltic and Co. and Pugad Baboy. The key to comics making is not only how nice the drawings are but the intelligent humor presented.

So when Eric, a colleague at UP, introduced me to Bitstrips in Facebook, I got excited. Eric posted several Bistrips comics of himself and I got intrigued. So I tried Bitstrips. First, you decide on your avatar - choose the shape of the face, eyes, nose, ears and hair. And then you choose the body and the attire. With a few clicks, wholla! You have a character of yourself. You are now ready to create Bitsrips comics. Finally, I found a venue for creating comics even if I don't know how to draw. After several trials, the Eric & Andy (The Dynamic Duo) Bitstrips was born. Comics making is fun. It is a venue to share your ideas and humor. When you have fun, You feel happy. And when you feel happy, your friends will also feel happy. This is a lesson I learned from Gretchen Rubin, author of "The Happiness Project." She also wrote " Do good, feel good. Feel good, do good." Enjoy the slide show of the Bitstrips introducing Eric & Andy. Smile!
:-)

Introducing Eric & Andy (The Dynamic Duo) Bitstrips from andyoreta

Eric & Andy Bitstrips - Dream Vacation (Batanes) from andyoreta

Easy Art Lessons by Fernando Sena

Geof and his art work (top, right), "Fruit Stand"

Fernando Sena delivers his lessons at UP Vargas Museum

Graduation Picture of UP Vargas Participants - June 2, 2013

 Fernando Sena is a known painter who conducts art workshops. Lola Cons was one of his students. This summer, Geoffrey enrolled at one of the summer workshops of F.Sena Easy Art Lessons held at UP Vargas Museum. Attending his workshop is really informative - he really presents step by step the art of painting from drawing simple shapes and objects, to shading and then using color like pentel pen, pastel and water color. I am not a participant but with the short period I was observing the lessons, I also learned  a lot and tried to follow his drawing tips and techniques.

Geof loves sketching specially technical objects like airplanes, tanks and warships. Now with the lessons from Prof. Sena, he learned to draw and paint other shapes like flowers, fruits, simple objects and even faces. The art workshop consists of eight sessions plus a team session where the participants are grouped into ten members and they create a group painting. After the tedious and creative sessions, they had their graduation at the Philippine Heart Center last June 2, 2013. The students from five years old to senior citizens received a certificate and medals for their outstanding work during the workshop. For only P4,000.00 for eight sessions, you will learn the basics and with patience and practice, you will become a successful artist.

Thank you Fernando Sena for your untiring dedication to promote painting to all.

Geof and Julia with the Group Painting, "School Scene."

Geof's Grade for the Homeworks

Geof's message to Prof. Sena

Pencil Drawings of Geof

Pastel Art by Geof

The group art work - June 1, 2013

Kids at Art

Julia with her painting on exhibit

Kids at Art is a summer workshop where kids explore their artistic skills and creativity. It's not really an art class like the ones being conducted by UP Professor Sena but it's more of an activity art session where the kids are instructed to create their artwork following a theme and using a specific medium. We enrolled Geoffrey when he was seven (7) yrs old. This summer, Julia at eight (8) yrs old took the same workshop at Celebrity Plaza. After eight sessions, they had an exhibit at the Robinson's Magnolia. Compare the artworks of the kids. Geof's images are more of technology - cars, submarines. Julia's drawings are more of cute girls, insects and pets.

Playful Animals by Julia 2013

Underwater Animals by Geof  2007