Tuesday, September 23, 2008 Wild wonders By Ritchie Landis Doner quijano
WE don’t see a keen interest among Cebuano artists to do biological studies (i.e. a quick painting done to capture the essence of a subject or scene, or a painting done to try out a composition).
That’s because what we have are landscapes that artists like to paint on their canvas or watercolor paper again and again.
However, there are works that sometimes feature wildlife but in most cases, they depict the domesticated kind, usually grazing.
I have yet to see a local artist do a painting of say, a black shama bird.
Cebuanos are so unlike the rest in the archipelago. We gravitate around the thought that whatever we already have is ordinary while the things that we scarcely find in the island are thought of as interesting and exotic.
Artists in other regions are proud of what they have; thus they showcase them in their paintings.
Most often these subjects are wonders of the environment and nature, wildlife included. The Boholanos are so fond of their Chocolate Hills and tarsiers, so paintings abound on the theme.
Those from Davao can’t be called true-bloodied artists if they haven’t painted yet symbols of their identity and landmarks, like the Philippine eagle, waling-waling orchid or majestic slopes of Mount Apo.
The same with artists from other islands. Their pride of place is so evident in their works. But the Cebuanos just prefer to do landscapes and the occasional baroque churches. It could be that it’s all they’re good at.
The subject of biology is tricky and most difficult to master because wildlife, like human figure, has anatomical measurements to follow.
Colors are just a “façade” (like icing on the cake) and the hard part is in shaping the form so that it is well-proportioned.
Flora or plants tend to be less limiting because their structure and form are randomly arranged.
The three paintings featured on this page are samples of biological paintings by Arthur dela Cruz, a painter from Davao whose body of works preserve the living nature endemic to the environment.
For a place like Davao, which is richly endowed with beauty, artists will never ran out of inspiration and subjects to paint.
Nature’s beauty is timeless. A lifetime isn’t enough to paint every beautiful sight.
