Process: Untitled, 2021
Early 2019, a former colleague who happens to be a fellow artist introduced me to the works of Unskilled Worker, a London based artist who was commissioned by Gucci.
In my opinion, the word ‘Unskilled’ if not unpleasant has a negative ring to it. “Who would hire someone unskilled to do their work?” one might ask. Well, Gucci did.
One thing that stood out to me while I was obsessively scrolling through her works and after seeing her grand exposure in Paris fashion week was the fact that her “lack of skill” or the absence of art education was not only used to her advantage, but it absolutely slammed the limitations that I share with her. In other words, like myself, she didn’t go to art school but somewhere, somehow, there are those who would love your work, regardless.
I was deeply inspired by her art and was curious about her composition, kitsch style and her aggressive approach to execution so I tried to take a similar path without staying too far from my own line. That was the birth of this untitled painting that took me almost three years to finish.
These studies were done in three different countries as I mostly travel in my previous job. To let you in on a secret, even at work, I could only think of the next painting I would work on in my hotel room. I used to pack my suitcase full of art materials and I was once stopped at Hongkong airport due to the “suspicious” belongings inside my suitcase. Luckily, acrylic paints are safe and non-flammable but the large volume of black paint I had packed almost gave me away. Ha!
On this day and age, emotions or “feelings” can be tacky when it comes to self-expression in art. The masters of the past have probably touched on the best and the worst of humanity in their creations but I believe that this shouldn’t stop us from learning about our consciousness in this world— starting with the person we are most familiar with: our selves.
My uncle was murdered in cold blood back in 2020— a tragedy that dramatically influenced my aesthetic and color scheme. Following this rough patch, my palette shifted from warm, vibrant colors to cold, dark and deep blue tones. This was a defining moment for my art as I have begun to establish a relationship between my emotions and colors: a redefined honesty and stronger connection to my foundation.
ON BLUE TONES AND SADNESS: I personally visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona back in 2020 and have seen the ‘Death of Carlo Casagemas’ and ‘The Tragedy’, both of which has themes of melancholy and death. Meanwhile, do I still have to speak about our dear Vincent Van Gogh?
Going back, I applied a mixture of Primary Blue with a bit of Burnt Umber for the majority of this painting to achieve deeper and darker yet subtle shades of blue. I also made use of this color in adding shadows and to darken some areas of the painting where needed— for example, the wooden floor, the foreground and the areas under the bed.
I had bouts of frustration in perfecting the skin tones considering my light source in this painting. As you can see, the insufficient light is coming from the fire on the background and I wanted to give the impression that everything else is in the dark if not dimly lit. As this is the first painting that I experimented on light source (and deliberately chose a dark setting), I was in for a challenge. The problem was eventually solved by— you guessed it— mixing Primary Blue with Titanium White applied in light strokes using dry brush to give that illuminating effect. Believe me, it’s a revelation!
I don’t know about you but there is something about her skin that makes me keep staring. Haha!
Up close: evident loose strokes and imperfect details.
I chose to leave this painting untitled because I believe that it took a different course on its own after those uneventful times. As hard as I try to stick to my former intentions (as early as the sketch or drafting phase), deep down I know that this painting means half of what I used to be and the remaining would be my fresh perspective shaped by the years that followed.
The final result:
Let me know what you think about this painting!
