To quemagazine

volume 2

After an amazing reception of the first issue of Toxique Magazine you may now finally enjoy the follow-up second issue with three new talented and varied artists

To all who have supported me during the difficult start-up phase of the magazine I thank all of you sincerely - and to all artists who have contacted me after reading the first issue of Toxique I am incredibly grateful The response has been overwhelming

Without the first four artists who transferred me pictures to use in the first issue and answered long and laborious interviews the first issue of the magazine would never had become a reality

Before publishing the first issue I had no hope that the magazine could gain support among several established art magazines and furthermore no special experience in dealing with designing a magazine but I had - and still have - a fervent belief that I in collaboration with artists from around the world can create a different magazine - an artistic platform for both established and upcoming artists like myself a brief refuge for art lovers in a hectic life Because of these believes I wanted the magazine to be free and additionally I chose to select a digital platform in order to create a both sustaniable and everlasting magazine with a life on its own

In this second issue Irsquom proud and honored to feature art of the beautiful artist poet model social debater and provocateur Anna Utopia Giordano Moreover you are able to enjoy a personal in-terview with one of Britainrsquos most interesting and regonized artists whose soft paintings capture the sensitivity of the female vulner-ability fragility and unique beauty Finally Toxique brings focus on an unreal and surreal photographic manipulated universe created by the master in Photoshop and digital artist Michael V Manalo

Once again welcome to Toxique Magazine

Editor and contemporary digital fine art photographer

Marie Wengler

wwwmariewenglercom

After an amazing reception of the first issue of Toxique Magazine you may now finally enjoy the follow-up second issue with three new talented and varied artists

To all who have supported me during the difficult start-up phase of the magazine I thank all of you sincerely - and to all artists who have contacted me after reading the first issue of Toxique I am incredibly grateful The response has been overwhelming

Without the first four artists who transferred me pictures to use in the first issue and answered long and laborious interviews the first issue of the magazine would never had become a reality

Before publishing the first issue I had no hope that the magazine could gain support among several established art magazines and furthermore no special experience in dealing with designing a magazine but I had - and still have - a fervent belief that I in collaboration with artists from around the world can create a different magazine - an artistic platform for both established and upcoming artists like myself a brief refuge for art lovers in a hectic life Because of these believes I wanted the magazine to be free and additionally I chose to select a digital platform in order to create a both sustaniable and everlasting magazine with a life on its own

In this second issue Irsquom proud and honored to feature art of the beautiful artist poet model social debater and provocateur Anna Utopia Giordano Moreover you are able to enjoy a personal in-terview with one of Britainrsquos most interesting and regonized artists whose soft paintings capture the sensitivity of the female vulner-ability fragility and unique beauty Finally Toxique brings focus on an unreal and surreal photographic manipulated universe created by the master in Photoshop and digital artist Michael V Manalo

Once again welcome to Toxique Magazine

Editor and contemporary digital fine art photographer

Marie Wengler

wwwmariewenglercom

Toxique Magazine

Marie Wengler

Caught In EternityArtist Marie Wengler

Q

Quote of the month

the world today doesnrsquot make sense so why should I paint pictures that do - Pablo Picasso

C

ConversatIons anna utopia Giordano p 8 - 51mark Demsteader p 52 - 86michael v manalo p 89 - 136

annautopiagiordano

VENUSPOPBOTTLESMY SOCIAL GENERATIONSELECTED RhAPSODIESThANATEROS

from the series of imagesPopBottles

Dear Anna I know you live in Naples and Milan at this moment that you have graduated with honors and attends Epistemology and Philosophy of Logic at the University of Milan - simultaneously you are a poet per-former model and extremely creative - and quite provocative towards society

But Irsquom curious to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art writing poetry performing as an actress and working as a (beautiful) model

a Visual philosopher

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoBotticelli lsquoLa nascita di VenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

i started writing poems when i was 12 years old at the same age I wrote my first screenplay which was chosen from hundreds as the plot for the school play I approached very early in high school in magic esotericism mythology and folklore tales But I always loved computer physics chemistry and mathematics I have a deep scientific background that often collides with the ldquomagicrdquo

My mother is a sociologist my attitude to ldquoreadrdquo the society we live in certainly comes from her My father has a more scientific mind However both have an artistic streak my mother is also a painter and my father is also a photographer but they are totally unrelated to the artistic circuit they are both per-sons who like to live for the most ldquoout of this worldrdquo

Irsquove always been very shy As a child I did not toler-ate people when friends of my parents came to visit I hid under the bed

I began to write on papers and notebook I remem-ber my first self-produced poetry collection entitled ldquoThe essential essence of being human beings - The unknownrsquos revelationrdquo There is only one copy writ-ten and bound by hand when I was 14-15 years approximately

Since 2004 I wrote both my poetry and my thoughts on my blog using it as a ldquonotebookrdquo always accessible Then something happened a few years ago in 2008 I was at a cultur-al event and one of my closest friends (b)ananartista recited 3 words from my poem while he was performing live the words were ldquoORISHA - FLOSGENICO - ECPIROSIrdquo the publicrsquos reaction to these words cryptic and hermetic was interesting So I started to read my poems at concerts exhibitions and cultural events It was something totally unexpected I never thought Irsquod be able to stand on stage

Regarding art people have started calling me ldquoartistrdquo but Irsquom not so sure of it I am more a visual philosopher

I began to pose as a model for a pure causality and I did it to move my energy concentrated mostly in the upper body even in the rest of my body When you pose for a photograph you have to control the whole body you must decide what position you want to give to the body and hold it for sev-eral seconds or even minutes You must also be able to reproduce a pose Modeling for me itrsquos almost like doing yoga By the way I often take care of the whole project (makeup styling and concept and also post-produc-tion) I love to choose and mix the elements and coordinate a teamv

Quote of the month

the world today doesnrsquot make sense so why should I paint pictures that do - Pablo Picasso

C

ConversatIons anna utopia Giordano p 8 - 51mark Demsteader p 52 - 86michael v manalo p 89 - 136

annautopiagiordano

VENUSPOPBOTTLESMY SOCIAL GENERATIONSELECTED RhAPSODIESThANATEROS

from the series of imagesPopBottles

Dear Anna I know you live in Naples and Milan at this moment that you have graduated with honors and attends Epistemology and Philosophy of Logic at the University of Milan - simultaneously you are a poet per-former model and extremely creative - and quite provocative towards society

But Irsquom curious to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art writing poetry performing as an actress and working as a (beautiful) model

a Visual philosopher

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoBotticelli lsquoLa nascita di VenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

i started writing poems when i was 12 years old at the same age I wrote my first screenplay which was chosen from hundreds as the plot for the school play I approached very early in high school in magic esotericism mythology and folklore tales But I always loved computer physics chemistry and mathematics I have a deep scientific background that often collides with the ldquomagicrdquo

My mother is a sociologist my attitude to ldquoreadrdquo the society we live in certainly comes from her My father has a more scientific mind However both have an artistic streak my mother is also a painter and my father is also a photographer but they are totally unrelated to the artistic circuit they are both per-sons who like to live for the most ldquoout of this worldrdquo

Irsquove always been very shy As a child I did not toler-ate people when friends of my parents came to visit I hid under the bed

I began to write on papers and notebook I remem-ber my first self-produced poetry collection entitled ldquoThe essential essence of being human beings - The unknownrsquos revelationrdquo There is only one copy writ-ten and bound by hand when I was 14-15 years approximately

Since 2004 I wrote both my poetry and my thoughts on my blog using it as a ldquonotebookrdquo always accessible Then something happened a few years ago in 2008 I was at a cultur-al event and one of my closest friends (b)ananartista recited 3 words from my poem while he was performing live the words were ldquoORISHA - FLOSGENICO - ECPIROSIrdquo the publicrsquos reaction to these words cryptic and hermetic was interesting So I started to read my poems at concerts exhibitions and cultural events It was something totally unexpected I never thought Irsquod be able to stand on stage

Regarding art people have started calling me ldquoartistrdquo but Irsquom not so sure of it I am more a visual philosopher

I began to pose as a model for a pure causality and I did it to move my energy concentrated mostly in the upper body even in the rest of my body When you pose for a photograph you have to control the whole body you must decide what position you want to give to the body and hold it for sev-eral seconds or even minutes You must also be able to reproduce a pose Modeling for me itrsquos almost like doing yoga By the way I often take care of the whole project (makeup styling and concept and also post-produc-tion) I love to choose and mix the elements and coordinate a teamv

C

ConversatIons anna utopia Giordano p 8 - 51mark Demsteader p 52 - 86michael v manalo p 89 - 136

annautopiagiordano

VENUSPOPBOTTLESMY SOCIAL GENERATIONSELECTED RhAPSODIESThANATEROS

from the series of imagesPopBottles

Dear Anna I know you live in Naples and Milan at this moment that you have graduated with honors and attends Epistemology and Philosophy of Logic at the University of Milan - simultaneously you are a poet per-former model and extremely creative - and quite provocative towards society

But Irsquom curious to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art writing poetry performing as an actress and working as a (beautiful) model

a Visual philosopher

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoBotticelli lsquoLa nascita di VenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

i started writing poems when i was 12 years old at the same age I wrote my first screenplay which was chosen from hundreds as the plot for the school play I approached very early in high school in magic esotericism mythology and folklore tales But I always loved computer physics chemistry and mathematics I have a deep scientific background that often collides with the ldquomagicrdquo

My mother is a sociologist my attitude to ldquoreadrdquo the society we live in certainly comes from her My father has a more scientific mind However both have an artistic streak my mother is also a painter and my father is also a photographer but they are totally unrelated to the artistic circuit they are both per-sons who like to live for the most ldquoout of this worldrdquo

Irsquove always been very shy As a child I did not toler-ate people when friends of my parents came to visit I hid under the bed

I began to write on papers and notebook I remem-ber my first self-produced poetry collection entitled ldquoThe essential essence of being human beings - The unknownrsquos revelationrdquo There is only one copy writ-ten and bound by hand when I was 14-15 years approximately

Since 2004 I wrote both my poetry and my thoughts on my blog using it as a ldquonotebookrdquo always accessible Then something happened a few years ago in 2008 I was at a cultur-al event and one of my closest friends (b)ananartista recited 3 words from my poem while he was performing live the words were ldquoORISHA - FLOSGENICO - ECPIROSIrdquo the publicrsquos reaction to these words cryptic and hermetic was interesting So I started to read my poems at concerts exhibitions and cultural events It was something totally unexpected I never thought Irsquod be able to stand on stage

Regarding art people have started calling me ldquoartistrdquo but Irsquom not so sure of it I am more a visual philosopher

I began to pose as a model for a pure causality and I did it to move my energy concentrated mostly in the upper body even in the rest of my body When you pose for a photograph you have to control the whole body you must decide what position you want to give to the body and hold it for sev-eral seconds or even minutes You must also be able to reproduce a pose Modeling for me itrsquos almost like doing yoga By the way I often take care of the whole project (makeup styling and concept and also post-produc-tion) I love to choose and mix the elements and coordinate a teamv

ConversatIons anna utopia Giordano p 8 - 51mark Demsteader p 52 - 86michael v manalo p 89 - 136

annautopiagiordano

VENUSPOPBOTTLESMY SOCIAL GENERATIONSELECTED RhAPSODIESThANATEROS

from the series of imagesPopBottles

Dear Anna I know you live in Naples and Milan at this moment that you have graduated with honors and attends Epistemology and Philosophy of Logic at the University of Milan - simultaneously you are a poet per-former model and extremely creative - and quite provocative towards society

But Irsquom curious to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art writing poetry performing as an actress and working as a (beautiful) model

a Visual philosopher

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoBotticelli lsquoLa nascita di VenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

i started writing poems when i was 12 years old at the same age I wrote my first screenplay which was chosen from hundreds as the plot for the school play I approached very early in high school in magic esotericism mythology and folklore tales But I always loved computer physics chemistry and mathematics I have a deep scientific background that often collides with the ldquomagicrdquo

My mother is a sociologist my attitude to ldquoreadrdquo the society we live in certainly comes from her My father has a more scientific mind However both have an artistic streak my mother is also a painter and my father is also a photographer but they are totally unrelated to the artistic circuit they are both per-sons who like to live for the most ldquoout of this worldrdquo

Irsquove always been very shy As a child I did not toler-ate people when friends of my parents came to visit I hid under the bed

I began to write on papers and notebook I remem-ber my first self-produced poetry collection entitled ldquoThe essential essence of being human beings - The unknownrsquos revelationrdquo There is only one copy writ-ten and bound by hand when I was 14-15 years approximately

Since 2004 I wrote both my poetry and my thoughts on my blog using it as a ldquonotebookrdquo always accessible Then something happened a few years ago in 2008 I was at a cultur-al event and one of my closest friends (b)ananartista recited 3 words from my poem while he was performing live the words were ldquoORISHA - FLOSGENICO - ECPIROSIrdquo the publicrsquos reaction to these words cryptic and hermetic was interesting So I started to read my poems at concerts exhibitions and cultural events It was something totally unexpected I never thought Irsquod be able to stand on stage

Regarding art people have started calling me ldquoartistrdquo but Irsquom not so sure of it I am more a visual philosopher

I began to pose as a model for a pure causality and I did it to move my energy concentrated mostly in the upper body even in the rest of my body When you pose for a photograph you have to control the whole body you must decide what position you want to give to the body and hold it for sev-eral seconds or even minutes You must also be able to reproduce a pose Modeling for me itrsquos almost like doing yoga By the way I often take care of the whole project (makeup styling and concept and also post-produc-tion) I love to choose and mix the elements and coordinate a teamv

annautopiagiordano

VENUSPOPBOTTLESMY SOCIAL GENERATIONSELECTED RhAPSODIESThANATEROS

from the series of imagesPopBottles

Dear Anna I know you live in Naples and Milan at this moment that you have graduated with honors and attends Epistemology and Philosophy of Logic at the University of Milan - simultaneously you are a poet per-former model and extremely creative - and quite provocative towards society

But Irsquom curious to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art writing poetry performing as an actress and working as a (beautiful) model

a Visual philosopher

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoBotticelli lsquoLa nascita di VenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

i started writing poems when i was 12 years old at the same age I wrote my first screenplay which was chosen from hundreds as the plot for the school play I approached very early in high school in magic esotericism mythology and folklore tales But I always loved computer physics chemistry and mathematics I have a deep scientific background that often collides with the ldquomagicrdquo

My mother is a sociologist my attitude to ldquoreadrdquo the society we live in certainly comes from her My father has a more scientific mind However both have an artistic streak my mother is also a painter and my father is also a photographer but they are totally unrelated to the artistic circuit they are both per-sons who like to live for the most ldquoout of this worldrdquo

Irsquove always been very shy As a child I did not toler-ate people when friends of my parents came to visit I hid under the bed

I began to write on papers and notebook I remem-ber my first self-produced poetry collection entitled ldquoThe essential essence of being human beings - The unknownrsquos revelationrdquo There is only one copy writ-ten and bound by hand when I was 14-15 years approximately

Since 2004 I wrote both my poetry and my thoughts on my blog using it as a ldquonotebookrdquo always accessible Then something happened a few years ago in 2008 I was at a cultur-al event and one of my closest friends (b)ananartista recited 3 words from my poem while he was performing live the words were ldquoORISHA - FLOSGENICO - ECPIROSIrdquo the publicrsquos reaction to these words cryptic and hermetic was interesting So I started to read my poems at concerts exhibitions and cultural events It was something totally unexpected I never thought Irsquod be able to stand on stage

Regarding art people have started calling me ldquoartistrdquo but Irsquom not so sure of it I am more a visual philosopher

I began to pose as a model for a pure causality and I did it to move my energy concentrated mostly in the upper body even in the rest of my body When you pose for a photograph you have to control the whole body you must decide what position you want to give to the body and hold it for sev-eral seconds or even minutes You must also be able to reproduce a pose Modeling for me itrsquos almost like doing yoga By the way I often take care of the whole project (makeup styling and concept and also post-produc-tion) I love to choose and mix the elements and coordinate a teamv

from the series of imagesPopBottles

Dear Anna I know you live in Naples and Milan at this moment that you have graduated with honors and attends Epistemology and Philosophy of Logic at the University of Milan - simultaneously you are a poet per-former model and extremely creative - and quite provocative towards society

But Irsquom curious to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art writing poetry performing as an actress and working as a (beautiful) model

a Visual philosopher

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoBotticelli lsquoLa nascita di VenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

i started writing poems when i was 12 years old at the same age I wrote my first screenplay which was chosen from hundreds as the plot for the school play I approached very early in high school in magic esotericism mythology and folklore tales But I always loved computer physics chemistry and mathematics I have a deep scientific background that often collides with the ldquomagicrdquo

My mother is a sociologist my attitude to ldquoreadrdquo the society we live in certainly comes from her My father has a more scientific mind However both have an artistic streak my mother is also a painter and my father is also a photographer but they are totally unrelated to the artistic circuit they are both per-sons who like to live for the most ldquoout of this worldrdquo

Irsquove always been very shy As a child I did not toler-ate people when friends of my parents came to visit I hid under the bed

I began to write on papers and notebook I remem-ber my first self-produced poetry collection entitled ldquoThe essential essence of being human beings - The unknownrsquos revelationrdquo There is only one copy writ-ten and bound by hand when I was 14-15 years approximately

Since 2004 I wrote both my poetry and my thoughts on my blog using it as a ldquonotebookrdquo always accessible Then something happened a few years ago in 2008 I was at a cultur-al event and one of my closest friends (b)ananartista recited 3 words from my poem while he was performing live the words were ldquoORISHA - FLOSGENICO - ECPIROSIrdquo the publicrsquos reaction to these words cryptic and hermetic was interesting So I started to read my poems at concerts exhibitions and cultural events It was something totally unexpected I never thought Irsquod be able to stand on stage

Regarding art people have started calling me ldquoartistrdquo but Irsquom not so sure of it I am more a visual philosopher

I began to pose as a model for a pure causality and I did it to move my energy concentrated mostly in the upper body even in the rest of my body When you pose for a photograph you have to control the whole body you must decide what position you want to give to the body and hold it for sev-eral seconds or even minutes You must also be able to reproduce a pose Modeling for me itrsquos almost like doing yoga By the way I often take care of the whole project (makeup styling and concept and also post-produc-tion) I love to choose and mix the elements and coordinate a teamv

Dear Anna I know you live in Naples and Milan at this moment that you have graduated with honors and attends Epistemology and Philosophy of Logic at the University of Milan - simultaneously you are a poet per-former model and extremely creative - and quite provocative towards society

But Irsquom curious to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art writing poetry performing as an actress and working as a (beautiful) model

a Visual philosopher

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoBotticelli lsquoLa nascita di VenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

i started writing poems when i was 12 years old at the same age I wrote my first screenplay which was chosen from hundreds as the plot for the school play I approached very early in high school in magic esotericism mythology and folklore tales But I always loved computer physics chemistry and mathematics I have a deep scientific background that often collides with the ldquomagicrdquo

My mother is a sociologist my attitude to ldquoreadrdquo the society we live in certainly comes from her My father has a more scientific mind However both have an artistic streak my mother is also a painter and my father is also a photographer but they are totally unrelated to the artistic circuit they are both per-sons who like to live for the most ldquoout of this worldrdquo

Irsquove always been very shy As a child I did not toler-ate people when friends of my parents came to visit I hid under the bed

I began to write on papers and notebook I remem-ber my first self-produced poetry collection entitled ldquoThe essential essence of being human beings - The unknownrsquos revelationrdquo There is only one copy writ-ten and bound by hand when I was 14-15 years approximately

Since 2004 I wrote both my poetry and my thoughts on my blog using it as a ldquonotebookrdquo always accessible Then something happened a few years ago in 2008 I was at a cultur-al event and one of my closest friends (b)ananartista recited 3 words from my poem while he was performing live the words were ldquoORISHA - FLOSGENICO - ECPIROSIrdquo the publicrsquos reaction to these words cryptic and hermetic was interesting So I started to read my poems at concerts exhibitions and cultural events It was something totally unexpected I never thought Irsquod be able to stand on stage

Regarding art people have started calling me ldquoartistrdquo but Irsquom not so sure of it I am more a visual philosopher

I began to pose as a model for a pure causality and I did it to move my energy concentrated mostly in the upper body even in the rest of my body When you pose for a photograph you have to control the whole body you must decide what position you want to give to the body and hold it for sev-eral seconds or even minutes You must also be able to reproduce a pose Modeling for me itrsquos almost like doing yoga By the way I often take care of the whole project (makeup styling and concept and also post-produc-tion) I love to choose and mix the elements and coordinate a teamv

i started writing poems when i was 12 years old at the same age I wrote my first screenplay which was chosen from hundreds as the plot for the school play I approached very early in high school in magic esotericism mythology and folklore tales But I always loved computer physics chemistry and mathematics I have a deep scientific background that often collides with the ldquomagicrdquo

My mother is a sociologist my attitude to ldquoreadrdquo the society we live in certainly comes from her My father has a more scientific mind However both have an artistic streak my mother is also a painter and my father is also a photographer but they are totally unrelated to the artistic circuit they are both per-sons who like to live for the most ldquoout of this worldrdquo

Irsquove always been very shy As a child I did not toler-ate people when friends of my parents came to visit I hid under the bed

I began to write on papers and notebook I remem-ber my first self-produced poetry collection entitled ldquoThe essential essence of being human beings - The unknownrsquos revelationrdquo There is only one copy writ-ten and bound by hand when I was 14-15 years approximately

Since 2004 I wrote both my poetry and my thoughts on my blog using it as a ldquonotebookrdquo always accessible Then something happened a few years ago in 2008 I was at a cultur-al event and one of my closest friends (b)ananartista recited 3 words from my poem while he was performing live the words were ldquoORISHA - FLOSGENICO - ECPIROSIrdquo the publicrsquos reaction to these words cryptic and hermetic was interesting So I started to read my poems at concerts exhibitions and cultural events It was something totally unexpected I never thought Irsquod be able to stand on stage

Regarding art people have started calling me ldquoartistrdquo but Irsquom not so sure of it I am more a visual philosopher

I began to pose as a model for a pure causality and I did it to move my energy concentrated mostly in the upper body even in the rest of my body When you pose for a photograph you have to control the whole body you must decide what position you want to give to the body and hold it for sev-eral seconds or even minutes You must also be able to reproduce a pose Modeling for me itrsquos almost like doing yoga By the way I often take care of the whole project (makeup styling and concept and also post-produc-tion) I love to choose and mix the elements and coordinate a teamv

Are you self-taught or have you completed specific courseseducational schools as regards art and poetry

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquo

Alexandre Cabanel lsquoThe Birth of Venusrsquo

Orginal (left)New version (right)

Totally self-taught When I am interested in a subject I want to know it in every details (un)for-tunately There are very delicate issues like the ones I am facing in this period which give me very strong anxiety and nausea The human mind is as beautiful as complex

Furthermore are your creativity influ-encedaffected by your choice of educational studies If yes how

In reality it is the choice of my educa-tional studies to have been influenced by my interests amp creativity I would like to follow some courses (and finish university) but I am in strong eco-nomic difficulty as most of the artists so it is not possible for now

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau lsquoThe Birth of VenusrsquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What or who inspires you when creating art and poetry Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

Most ideas come unexpectedly while Irsquom sleeping or Irsquom doing something complete-ly different I rarely stop to think about a specific topic with the aim of producing a new series of works there are some research topics to which I think a lot my mind incorporates data and then mix them together without my control then when I least expect it the idea comes into my head I have an active dialogue with some people (my mother some artist friends) but it is not strictly tied to crea-tive projects

Model Anna

Utopia Giordano

Photographic credit

Elia Vaccaro

Mua Annamaria

Sarpone

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (or a poem)

There is no standard workflow

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

Do you use any kind of software or special equipment when being creative

Regarding the work done digitally I use photo-editing video and graphic software (gimp photoshop and others) Since I do not have a flourishing eco-nomic situation I have learned to fend for Some projects are on stand-by because i want to have a very high image quality and I can not afford to buy a camera at the moment Canon If you can hear me please help me I guarantee a lot of publicity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

How much time do you spend cre-ating a series of images or a poem in average When and how do you know that a picture an artistic pro-ject or a poem is finished

It depends I can take 5 minutes or a month How do I know if a poem is fin-ished I donrsquot know how to explain i read it and simply it works

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquohayez lsquoVenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What has been the biggest chal-lenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The last expo at the Museum Het Valkhof I hold a conference about the project Venus and body perception it was a really interesting experience I am also satisfied with the last project ldquoLand of Edenrdquo at Edenlandia the his-torical theme park in Naples I am the creative director and model and I coor-dinated a team of excellent and creative The project supports Edenlandia (website + blog) and ZooWall

Furthermore are your creativity influ-encedaffected by your choice of educational studies If yes how

In reality it is the choice of my educa-tional studies to have been influenced by my interests amp creativity I would like to follow some courses (and finish university) but I am in strong eco-nomic difficulty as most of the artists so it is not possible for now

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau lsquoThe Birth of VenusrsquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What or who inspires you when creating art and poetry Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

Most ideas come unexpectedly while Irsquom sleeping or Irsquom doing something complete-ly different I rarely stop to think about a specific topic with the aim of producing a new series of works there are some research topics to which I think a lot my mind incorporates data and then mix them together without my control then when I least expect it the idea comes into my head I have an active dialogue with some people (my mother some artist friends) but it is not strictly tied to crea-tive projects

Model Anna

Utopia Giordano

Photographic credit

Elia Vaccaro

Mua Annamaria

Sarpone

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (or a poem)

There is no standard workflow

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

Do you use any kind of software or special equipment when being creative

Regarding the work done digitally I use photo-editing video and graphic software (gimp photoshop and others) Since I do not have a flourishing eco-nomic situation I have learned to fend for Some projects are on stand-by because i want to have a very high image quality and I can not afford to buy a camera at the moment Canon If you can hear me please help me I guarantee a lot of publicity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

How much time do you spend cre-ating a series of images or a poem in average When and how do you know that a picture an artistic pro-ject or a poem is finished

It depends I can take 5 minutes or a month How do I know if a poem is fin-ished I donrsquot know how to explain i read it and simply it works

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquohayez lsquoVenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What has been the biggest chal-lenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The last expo at the Museum Het Valkhof I hold a conference about the project Venus and body perception it was a really interesting experience I am also satisfied with the last project ldquoLand of Edenrdquo at Edenlandia the his-torical theme park in Naples I am the creative director and model and I coor-dinated a team of excellent and creative The project supports Edenlandia (website + blog) and ZooWall

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoWilliam-Adolphe Bouguereau lsquoThe Birth of VenusrsquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What or who inspires you when creating art and poetry Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

Most ideas come unexpectedly while Irsquom sleeping or Irsquom doing something complete-ly different I rarely stop to think about a specific topic with the aim of producing a new series of works there are some research topics to which I think a lot my mind incorporates data and then mix them together without my control then when I least expect it the idea comes into my head I have an active dialogue with some people (my mother some artist friends) but it is not strictly tied to crea-tive projects

Model Anna

Utopia Giordano

Photographic credit

Elia Vaccaro

Mua Annamaria

Sarpone

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (or a poem)

There is no standard workflow

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

Do you use any kind of software or special equipment when being creative

Regarding the work done digitally I use photo-editing video and graphic software (gimp photoshop and others) Since I do not have a flourishing eco-nomic situation I have learned to fend for Some projects are on stand-by because i want to have a very high image quality and I can not afford to buy a camera at the moment Canon If you can hear me please help me I guarantee a lot of publicity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

How much time do you spend cre-ating a series of images or a poem in average When and how do you know that a picture an artistic pro-ject or a poem is finished

It depends I can take 5 minutes or a month How do I know if a poem is fin-ished I donrsquot know how to explain i read it and simply it works

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquohayez lsquoVenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What has been the biggest chal-lenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The last expo at the Museum Het Valkhof I hold a conference about the project Venus and body perception it was a really interesting experience I am also satisfied with the last project ldquoLand of Edenrdquo at Edenlandia the his-torical theme park in Naples I am the creative director and model and I coor-dinated a team of excellent and creative The project supports Edenlandia (website + blog) and ZooWall

What or who inspires you when creating art and poetry Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

Most ideas come unexpectedly while Irsquom sleeping or Irsquom doing something complete-ly different I rarely stop to think about a specific topic with the aim of producing a new series of works there are some research topics to which I think a lot my mind incorporates data and then mix them together without my control then when I least expect it the idea comes into my head I have an active dialogue with some people (my mother some artist friends) but it is not strictly tied to crea-tive projects

Model Anna

Utopia Giordano

Photographic credit

Elia Vaccaro

Mua Annamaria

Sarpone

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (or a poem)

There is no standard workflow

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

Do you use any kind of software or special equipment when being creative

Regarding the work done digitally I use photo-editing video and graphic software (gimp photoshop and others) Since I do not have a flourishing eco-nomic situation I have learned to fend for Some projects are on stand-by because i want to have a very high image quality and I can not afford to buy a camera at the moment Canon If you can hear me please help me I guarantee a lot of publicity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

How much time do you spend cre-ating a series of images or a poem in average When and how do you know that a picture an artistic pro-ject or a poem is finished

It depends I can take 5 minutes or a month How do I know if a poem is fin-ished I donrsquot know how to explain i read it and simply it works

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquohayez lsquoVenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What has been the biggest chal-lenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The last expo at the Museum Het Valkhof I hold a conference about the project Venus and body perception it was a really interesting experience I am also satisfied with the last project ldquoLand of Edenrdquo at Edenlandia the his-torical theme park in Naples I am the creative director and model and I coor-dinated a team of excellent and creative The project supports Edenlandia (website + blog) and ZooWall

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (or a poem)

There is no standard workflow

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

Do you use any kind of software or special equipment when being creative

Regarding the work done digitally I use photo-editing video and graphic software (gimp photoshop and others) Since I do not have a flourishing eco-nomic situation I have learned to fend for Some projects are on stand-by because i want to have a very high image quality and I can not afford to buy a camera at the moment Canon If you can hear me please help me I guarantee a lot of publicity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

How much time do you spend cre-ating a series of images or a poem in average When and how do you know that a picture an artistic pro-ject or a poem is finished

It depends I can take 5 minutes or a month How do I know if a poem is fin-ished I donrsquot know how to explain i read it and simply it works

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquohayez lsquoVenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What has been the biggest chal-lenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The last expo at the Museum Het Valkhof I hold a conference about the project Venus and body perception it was a really interesting experience I am also satisfied with the last project ldquoLand of Edenrdquo at Edenlandia the his-torical theme park in Naples I am the creative director and model and I coor-dinated a team of excellent and creative The project supports Edenlandia (website + blog) and ZooWall

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photographic credit

Paolo Puopolo

How much time do you spend cre-ating a series of images or a poem in average When and how do you know that a picture an artistic pro-ject or a poem is finished

It depends I can take 5 minutes or a month How do I know if a poem is fin-ished I donrsquot know how to explain i read it and simply it works

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquohayez lsquoVenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What has been the biggest chal-lenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The last expo at the Museum Het Valkhof I hold a conference about the project Venus and body perception it was a really interesting experience I am also satisfied with the last project ldquoLand of Edenrdquo at Edenlandia the his-torical theme park in Naples I am the creative director and model and I coor-dinated a team of excellent and creative The project supports Edenlandia (website + blog) and ZooWall

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquohayez lsquoVenerersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

What has been the biggest chal-lenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The last expo at the Museum Het Valkhof I hold a conference about the project Venus and body perception it was a really interesting experience I am also satisfied with the last project ldquoLand of Edenrdquo at Edenlandia the his-torical theme park in Naples I am the creative director and model and I coor-dinated a team of excellent and creative The project supports Edenlandia (website + blog) and ZooWall

What has been the biggest chal-lenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The last expo at the Museum Het Valkhof I hold a conference about the project Venus and body perception it was a really interesting experience I am also satisfied with the last project ldquoLand of Edenrdquo at Edenlandia the his-torical theme park in Naples I am the creative director and model and I coor-dinated a team of excellent and creative The project supports Edenlandia (website + blog) and ZooWall

Do you have a favourite personal art piece

Irsquom most of all deeply tied with my poems Has just been published the e-poetry collection ldquoFotogrammi - Depictions Ideasrdquo (Ed Siska) in collaboration with Enrico santus aversano and the photographers Milo Alterio Lorenzo Brusadelli Frances-ca Cao Daniele Carfora Paolo Liggeri Alessandro DrsquoOnofrio Vincenzo Pagliuca Nicola Serra Un Artista Minimalista e Mar-co Ventimiglia

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquo

Artemisia GentileschilsquoThe Sleeping Venusrsquo

Orginal (left)New version (right)

| lapse |

benumbed sloughs canker vermeils

while chirping rasped quaveries twangs (sibilance)

seep abstracted amp flexed through amenhotepiacutes grave

dilation

+

silence

SELECTED rhapsodiesBY ANNA UTOPIA

giordano

leans intermittedwaiting for eruption

deserts rugged entitiesunivocal shellsand close to the chimeclaws the gouts

eventide phantasy

docosahexaenoic rondureselicited from airy melt

soar against swirly flued charnelsmaundering mildlyfleetting scraped

disruption

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoJean Auguste Dominique IngreslsquoVenus AnadyomaumlnersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

Maybe the next Irsquom going through a diffi-cult phase of research but I do not know if it will come or not a new project I think not being able to withstand the topics on which Irsquom reasoning I believe that this time I will be compelled to put everything in standby

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoVelazquez lsquoVenere e CupidorsquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

Do you have a new artistic projects in mind for the future

Irsquom working on an interesting music project with the artist IABO and some other col-laborations Regarding my own projects as I said they come unexpected I do not know when and if I will be producing a new series

Dear Anna I know you are the founder of the e-zine Glimpse

Do you want to give a brief description of the concept behind this e-zine

glimpse is an e-zine that collects visions shades and flashes of words amp images It was born in August 2010 the first 10 issues present a journey through the nuances of color The next issue number 8 is related to Brown

How long time have you been working with the magazine

Irsquom the founder and creative direc-tor Glimpse was born from my head during a warm summer afternoon

glimpse

leans intermittedwaiting for eruption

deserts rugged entitiesunivocal shellsand close to the chimeclaws the gouts

eventide phantasy

docosahexaenoic rondureselicited from airy melt

soar against swirly flued charnelsmaundering mildlyfleetting scraped

disruption

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoJean Auguste Dominique IngreslsquoVenus AnadyomaumlnersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

Maybe the next Irsquom going through a diffi-cult phase of research but I do not know if it will come or not a new project I think not being able to withstand the topics on which Irsquom reasoning I believe that this time I will be compelled to put everything in standby

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoVelazquez lsquoVenere e CupidorsquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

Do you have a new artistic projects in mind for the future

Irsquom working on an interesting music project with the artist IABO and some other col-laborations Regarding my own projects as I said they come unexpected I do not know when and if I will be producing a new series

Dear Anna I know you are the founder of the e-zine Glimpse

Do you want to give a brief description of the concept behind this e-zine

glimpse is an e-zine that collects visions shades and flashes of words amp images It was born in August 2010 the first 10 issues present a journey through the nuances of color The next issue number 8 is related to Brown

How long time have you been working with the magazine

Irsquom the founder and creative direc-tor Glimpse was born from my head during a warm summer afternoon

glimpse

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoJean Auguste Dominique IngreslsquoVenus AnadyomaumlnersquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

Maybe the next Irsquom going through a diffi-cult phase of research but I do not know if it will come or not a new project I think not being able to withstand the topics on which Irsquom reasoning I believe that this time I will be compelled to put everything in standby

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoVelazquez lsquoVenere e CupidorsquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

Do you have a new artistic projects in mind for the future

Irsquom working on an interesting music project with the artist IABO and some other col-laborations Regarding my own projects as I said they come unexpected I do not know when and if I will be producing a new series

Dear Anna I know you are the founder of the e-zine Glimpse

Do you want to give a brief description of the concept behind this e-zine

glimpse is an e-zine that collects visions shades and flashes of words amp images It was born in August 2010 the first 10 issues present a journey through the nuances of color The next issue number 8 is related to Brown

How long time have you been working with the magazine

Irsquom the founder and creative direc-tor Glimpse was born from my head during a warm summer afternoon

glimpse

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

Maybe the next Irsquom going through a diffi-cult phase of research but I do not know if it will come or not a new project I think not being able to withstand the topics on which Irsquom reasoning I believe that this time I will be compelled to put everything in standby

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquoVelazquez lsquoVenere e CupidorsquoOrginal (left)New version (right)

Do you have a new artistic projects in mind for the future

Irsquom working on an interesting music project with the artist IABO and some other col-laborations Regarding my own projects as I said they come unexpected I do not know when and if I will be producing a new series

Dear Anna I know you are the founder of the e-zine Glimpse

Do you want to give a brief description of the concept behind this e-zine

glimpse is an e-zine that collects visions shades and flashes of words amp images It was born in August 2010 the first 10 issues present a journey through the nuances of color The next issue number 8 is related to Brown

How long time have you been working with the magazine

Irsquom the founder and creative direc-tor Glimpse was born from my head during a warm summer afternoon

glimpse

Do you have a new artistic projects in mind for the future

Irsquom working on an interesting music project with the artist IABO and some other col-laborations Regarding my own projects as I said they come unexpected I do not know when and if I will be producing a new series

Dear Anna I know you are the founder of the e-zine Glimpse

Do you want to give a brief description of the concept behind this e-zine

glimpse is an e-zine that collects visions shades and flashes of words amp images It was born in August 2010 the first 10 issues present a journey through the nuances of color The next issue number 8 is related to Brown

How long time have you been working with the magazine

Irsquom the founder and creative direc-tor Glimpse was born from my head during a warm summer afternoon

glimpse

Dear Anna I know you are the founder of the e-zine Glimpse

Do you want to give a brief description of the concept behind this e-zine

glimpse is an e-zine that collects visions shades and flashes of words amp images It was born in August 2010 the first 10 issues present a journey through the nuances of color The next issue number 8 is related to Brown

How long time have you been working with the magazine

Irsquom the founder and creative direc-tor Glimpse was born from my head during a warm summer afternoon

glimpse

What is your goals with this e-zine

To give visibility to artists and poets without asking any-thing in return appearing in Glimpse is absolutely free and always will be clearly there is a selection among the many materials received and we can not guarantee to publish all Normally we publish 10 artists for each issue

Do you work on the e-zine by yourself or do you col-laborate with others

I collaborate with some artists and together we decide who and what to publish

From the series of images lsquoVenusrsquo

Westal RichardlsquoThe Power of Venusrsquo

Orginal (left)New version (right)

I understand that you are involved in the project Thanateros in collaboration with Luca Catellani and Andrea Ropes composing Rhapsodies

Can you tell me more about this project

Thanateros is a project related to the esoteric the passion the instinct and chaos magic Thanateros is a project born in col-laboration with Luca Catellani the photo-graphs are shot by him I wrote the Rhapso-dies During the exhibitions I often write and play the performances along with Andrea Ropes The performances are a mix of poetry theater and shibari and are based on the context in which we exhibit I have been a diva of the 50rsquos a vampire a goddess

Have you tried to participate in oth-er collaborative projects focusing on images as an artistic way to express yourself as an artist

I collaborated with several artists for video and photographic work those that I re-member with most love are certainly IABO (b)ananartista un artista minimalista

thanateros

I understand that you are involved in the project Thanateros in collaboration with Luca Catellani and Andrea Ropes composing Rhapsodies

Can you tell me more about this project

Thanateros is a project related to the esoteric the passion the instinct and chaos magic Thanateros is a project born in col-laboration with Luca Catellani the photo-graphs are shot by him I wrote the Rhapso-dies During the exhibitions I often write and play the performances along with Andrea Ropes The performances are a mix of poetry theater and shibari and are based on the context in which we exhibit I have been a diva of the 50rsquos a vampire a goddess

Have you tried to participate in oth-er collaborative projects focusing on images as an artistic way to express yourself as an artist

I collaborated with several artists for video and photographic work those that I re-member with most love are certainly IABO (b)ananartista un artista minimalista

thanateros

Scelsi di respirarepulsazioni - corde - schegge

de vuoti porosi

gluoni

schizzi

impressioni assordanti

fragili e feritifilamenti su occhi entimemici

nihil novi

metessi sfigmicae fogli di sileni irritati

nabissano martelli illesi

sorride

i suoi bottoni septici fiaccolano leccando

sorgenti omofonedi silenzio scissile

onde tattili puntiformi

I know you have had many exhibitions What memorable responses have you had to your work at the exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic genres before working with images and poetry as artistic expressions

During one of my rhapsodomancy perfor-mances a girl burst in tears Definitely one of the most emotional reactions Rhapsodoman-cy is a form of divination through poetry I present to the public hundreds of keychain (or other objects like a clothes peg) on which I write a single different verse for each keychan taken from my Rapsodies (the way I name my poems) I usually ask to all who are present during the performance to formulate a question in their minds close the eyes and choose only one keychain from the hundreds then they have to interpret the sentence (the answer to their question) written on it Itrsquos interesting because I use complicated language (technical terms of mathematics physics biology or the names of ancient deities unfamiliar) and people are initially quite embarrassed so I exhort them to look on the internet or open encyclopedias

My first approach to the ldquocreativity stuffrdquo was through colored gel pens I drew a lot At a certain point I eliminated the colors preferring only black so I started to use ink My drawings are very abstract and are composed of curved lines only and I am very precise then complete a single drawing is a long process I heard that someone has tattooed on his back one of my drawings toothe same time i also started to write po-ems So as I filed the drawing (removing the colors sharpening the line choosing to give forms to my creative flow) I have also begun to erode the words my poetic style has evolved a lot over the years Initially it was a more direct stream of consciousness then it has become ex-tremely tight and it is currently changing again

from the series of images

POPbottles

from the series of imagesPopBottels

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

I know you have created three aware-ness-rising (and quite provocative) projects called lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo lsquoVenusrsquo and lsquoPopBottlesrsquo They are all projects that relates to and question tendencies in society today Personally I think all of your projects are brilliant

In lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo you bring fo-cus on the way todayrsquos teens use social networks to experiment with themselves and their own identities The series of images lsquoVenusrsquo challenges our idea of the ideal of feminine beauty strongly affected by digital technologies today In this interview the series of images lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo will especially be in focus Irsquoll therefore ask you more closely about this project in particular

First of all I wonder how you came up with the ideas to all three of your artistic projects - especially regarding lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles comes from a dream I had on the night between 26 and 27 July 2011 I awoke the next morning and I worked on this project for a week

My Social Generation is a project born attending social networks and helping my cousins with their homework I had a long and distressing research on how population range between 11 and 16 years use the internet and their own bodies

Venus was born spontaneously while I was doing some graphics work

I have not premeditated none of these pro-jects and I do not even ldquosufferedrdquo in search of the ldquobest wayrdquo to express the concepts I just did it

Which topics do you try to bring focus on in the artistic project lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo and why

Why do you use the slogan lsquoParents please feed your kids responsiblyrsquo in connection with lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles is related first of all to consum-erism we live in a society where everything is sold even emotions and feelings Parents have a fundamental role in the growth of the child but they are too often replaced by toys television internet I think that this dynamic creates a deep emotional gap responsible for how kids manage their own bodies and their choices in adolescence I believe that among the causes there is certainly an affec-tive emptiness

Using the slogan ldquoplease parents feed you kids responsiblyrdquo I mean exactly that Give birth to a baby is a huge responsibility human beings are not toys Clearly the project also speaks of the other side of the coin that is the increasing abuse of alcohol in adolescence due perhaps also to the lack of parental figures in the growth phase

Irsquom not judging our society Irsquom not interested in it I just think it appropriate to reflect on some issues that often remain ldquobelow the surfacerdquo and with my visual work I hope to do this

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

I know you have had many exhibitions What memorable responses have you had to your work at the exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic genres before working with images and poetry as artistic expressions

During one of my rhapsodomancy perfor-mances a girl burst in tears Definitely one of the most emotional reactions Rhapsodoman-cy is a form of divination through poetry I present to the public hundreds of keychain (or other objects like a clothes peg) on which I write a single different verse for each keychan taken from my Rapsodies (the way I name my poems) I usually ask to all who are present during the performance to formulate a question in their minds close the eyes and choose only one keychain from the hundreds then they have to interpret the sentence (the answer to their question) written on it Itrsquos interesting because I use complicated language (technical terms of mathematics physics biology or the names of ancient deities unfamiliar) and people are initially quite embarrassed so I exhort them to look on the internet or open encyclopedias

My first approach to the ldquocreativity stuffrdquo was through colored gel pens I drew a lot At a certain point I eliminated the colors preferring only black so I started to use ink My drawings are very abstract and are composed of curved lines only and I am very precise then complete a single drawing is a long process I heard that someone has tattooed on his back one of my drawings toothe same time i also started to write po-ems So as I filed the drawing (removing the colors sharpening the line choosing to give forms to my creative flow) I have also begun to erode the words my poetic style has evolved a lot over the years Initially it was a more direct stream of consciousness then it has become ex-tremely tight and it is currently changing again

from the series of images

POPbottles

from the series of imagesPopBottels

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

I know you have created three aware-ness-rising (and quite provocative) projects called lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo lsquoVenusrsquo and lsquoPopBottlesrsquo They are all projects that relates to and question tendencies in society today Personally I think all of your projects are brilliant

In lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo you bring fo-cus on the way todayrsquos teens use social networks to experiment with themselves and their own identities The series of images lsquoVenusrsquo challenges our idea of the ideal of feminine beauty strongly affected by digital technologies today In this interview the series of images lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo will especially be in focus Irsquoll therefore ask you more closely about this project in particular

First of all I wonder how you came up with the ideas to all three of your artistic projects - especially regarding lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles comes from a dream I had on the night between 26 and 27 July 2011 I awoke the next morning and I worked on this project for a week

My Social Generation is a project born attending social networks and helping my cousins with their homework I had a long and distressing research on how population range between 11 and 16 years use the internet and their own bodies

Venus was born spontaneously while I was doing some graphics work

I have not premeditated none of these pro-jects and I do not even ldquosufferedrdquo in search of the ldquobest wayrdquo to express the concepts I just did it

Which topics do you try to bring focus on in the artistic project lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo and why

Why do you use the slogan lsquoParents please feed your kids responsiblyrsquo in connection with lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles is related first of all to consum-erism we live in a society where everything is sold even emotions and feelings Parents have a fundamental role in the growth of the child but they are too often replaced by toys television internet I think that this dynamic creates a deep emotional gap responsible for how kids manage their own bodies and their choices in adolescence I believe that among the causes there is certainly an affec-tive emptiness

Using the slogan ldquoplease parents feed you kids responsiblyrdquo I mean exactly that Give birth to a baby is a huge responsibility human beings are not toys Clearly the project also speaks of the other side of the coin that is the increasing abuse of alcohol in adolescence due perhaps also to the lack of parental figures in the growth phase

Irsquom not judging our society Irsquom not interested in it I just think it appropriate to reflect on some issues that often remain ldquobelow the surfacerdquo and with my visual work I hope to do this

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

from the series of imagesPopBottels

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

I know you have created three aware-ness-rising (and quite provocative) projects called lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo lsquoVenusrsquo and lsquoPopBottlesrsquo They are all projects that relates to and question tendencies in society today Personally I think all of your projects are brilliant

In lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo you bring fo-cus on the way todayrsquos teens use social networks to experiment with themselves and their own identities The series of images lsquoVenusrsquo challenges our idea of the ideal of feminine beauty strongly affected by digital technologies today In this interview the series of images lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo will especially be in focus Irsquoll therefore ask you more closely about this project in particular

First of all I wonder how you came up with the ideas to all three of your artistic projects - especially regarding lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles comes from a dream I had on the night between 26 and 27 July 2011 I awoke the next morning and I worked on this project for a week

My Social Generation is a project born attending social networks and helping my cousins with their homework I had a long and distressing research on how population range between 11 and 16 years use the internet and their own bodies

Venus was born spontaneously while I was doing some graphics work

I have not premeditated none of these pro-jects and I do not even ldquosufferedrdquo in search of the ldquobest wayrdquo to express the concepts I just did it

Which topics do you try to bring focus on in the artistic project lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo and why

Why do you use the slogan lsquoParents please feed your kids responsiblyrsquo in connection with lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles is related first of all to consum-erism we live in a society where everything is sold even emotions and feelings Parents have a fundamental role in the growth of the child but they are too often replaced by toys television internet I think that this dynamic creates a deep emotional gap responsible for how kids manage their own bodies and their choices in adolescence I believe that among the causes there is certainly an affec-tive emptiness

Using the slogan ldquoplease parents feed you kids responsiblyrdquo I mean exactly that Give birth to a baby is a huge responsibility human beings are not toys Clearly the project also speaks of the other side of the coin that is the increasing abuse of alcohol in adolescence due perhaps also to the lack of parental figures in the growth phase

Irsquom not judging our society Irsquom not interested in it I just think it appropriate to reflect on some issues that often remain ldquobelow the surfacerdquo and with my visual work I hope to do this

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

I know you have created three aware-ness-rising (and quite provocative) projects called lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo lsquoVenusrsquo and lsquoPopBottlesrsquo They are all projects that relates to and question tendencies in society today Personally I think all of your projects are brilliant

In lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo you bring fo-cus on the way todayrsquos teens use social networks to experiment with themselves and their own identities The series of images lsquoVenusrsquo challenges our idea of the ideal of feminine beauty strongly affected by digital technologies today In this interview the series of images lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo will especially be in focus Irsquoll therefore ask you more closely about this project in particular

First of all I wonder how you came up with the ideas to all three of your artistic projects - especially regarding lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles comes from a dream I had on the night between 26 and 27 July 2011 I awoke the next morning and I worked on this project for a week

My Social Generation is a project born attending social networks and helping my cousins with their homework I had a long and distressing research on how population range between 11 and 16 years use the internet and their own bodies

Venus was born spontaneously while I was doing some graphics work

I have not premeditated none of these pro-jects and I do not even ldquosufferedrdquo in search of the ldquobest wayrdquo to express the concepts I just did it

Which topics do you try to bring focus on in the artistic project lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo and why

Why do you use the slogan lsquoParents please feed your kids responsiblyrsquo in connection with lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles is related first of all to consum-erism we live in a society where everything is sold even emotions and feelings Parents have a fundamental role in the growth of the child but they are too often replaced by toys television internet I think that this dynamic creates a deep emotional gap responsible for how kids manage their own bodies and their choices in adolescence I believe that among the causes there is certainly an affec-tive emptiness

Using the slogan ldquoplease parents feed you kids responsiblyrdquo I mean exactly that Give birth to a baby is a huge responsibility human beings are not toys Clearly the project also speaks of the other side of the coin that is the increasing abuse of alcohol in adolescence due perhaps also to the lack of parental figures in the growth phase

Irsquom not judging our society Irsquom not interested in it I just think it appropriate to reflect on some issues that often remain ldquobelow the surfacerdquo and with my visual work I hope to do this

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

I know you have created three aware-ness-rising (and quite provocative) projects called lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo lsquoVenusrsquo and lsquoPopBottlesrsquo They are all projects that relates to and question tendencies in society today Personally I think all of your projects are brilliant

In lsquoMy Social Generationrsquo you bring fo-cus on the way todayrsquos teens use social networks to experiment with themselves and their own identities The series of images lsquoVenusrsquo challenges our idea of the ideal of feminine beauty strongly affected by digital technologies today In this interview the series of images lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo will especially be in focus Irsquoll therefore ask you more closely about this project in particular

First of all I wonder how you came up with the ideas to all three of your artistic projects - especially regarding lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles comes from a dream I had on the night between 26 and 27 July 2011 I awoke the next morning and I worked on this project for a week

My Social Generation is a project born attending social networks and helping my cousins with their homework I had a long and distressing research on how population range between 11 and 16 years use the internet and their own bodies

Venus was born spontaneously while I was doing some graphics work

I have not premeditated none of these pro-jects and I do not even ldquosufferedrdquo in search of the ldquobest wayrdquo to express the concepts I just did it

Which topics do you try to bring focus on in the artistic project lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo and why

Why do you use the slogan lsquoParents please feed your kids responsiblyrsquo in connection with lsquoPOPbottlesrsquo

POPbottles is related first of all to consum-erism we live in a society where everything is sold even emotions and feelings Parents have a fundamental role in the growth of the child but they are too often replaced by toys television internet I think that this dynamic creates a deep emotional gap responsible for how kids manage their own bodies and their choices in adolescence I believe that among the causes there is certainly an affec-tive emptiness

Using the slogan ldquoplease parents feed you kids responsiblyrdquo I mean exactly that Give birth to a baby is a huge responsibility human beings are not toys Clearly the project also speaks of the other side of the coin that is the increasing abuse of alcohol in adolescence due perhaps also to the lack of parental figures in the growth phase

Irsquom not judging our society Irsquom not interested in it I just think it appropriate to reflect on some issues that often remain ldquobelow the surfacerdquo and with my visual work I hope to do this

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

Anna you have chosen to use bottles with brands that are all very famous as a kind of universal symbolism that almost everyone at a certain age can relate to Your POPbottles combine childish innocence and adult serious-ness though the use of these different brands and logos

But I wonder how you have been able to judicially use the logos and brands for your artistic project

Ah This is a very good question The truth I was never authorized to use logos and brands It is a non-profit creative project there is no commercial intent I compared with my lawyer and other artists and they assured me that you can use logos and trademarks when the artistic purpose is stated and evi-dent the newspapers around the world have stated - with my big surprise - that the project is indeed art so everything went wellHonestly I was also contacted by one of the alcohol brands and I had an interesting ex-change of emails with their legal department itrsquos all finished well fortunately

from the series of images

POPbottles

I have a very special feeling when looking at your series of images lsquoPOP-bottlesrsquo because I really feel that I can relate to some of messages in this artis-tic project due to the fact that my own generation in Denmark - unfortunately - has the world record in consuming al-cohol (binge drinking) Even though the pictures are quite minimalistic in their expression the message is very strong and unmistakable - and more relevant than ever

But how have the responses to lsquoPOP-bottlesrsquo been How do people react on your indirect criticism and moralisation

I have read hundreds of threads on forums and blogs on Internet and the public has responded very well they all understood my provocation although in truth some reactions have been staggering I received lots of mail to buy the bottles (as mentioned above are not for sale original sculptures will be used for an upcoming show) and a few have been terrifying said ldquoHello Irsquod be glad to buy your Vodka-barbie feedbottles to use it for my son just born they are fantasticrdquo I initially thought it was a joke Instead I have received some other emails in which parents wanted to buy POPbottles for a gift to their children Irsquom still shockedhowever irsquom not interested in saying what is right or what is wrong I do not care to impose my point of view I simply show some dynamics to stimulate dialogue

from the series of images

POPbottles

from the series of images

POPbottles

Anna you live in both Naples and Mi-lan Italy - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I love Southern Europe How is the art scene in Italy (especially in the main city)

Art scene And Italy In Italy the art scene is very difficult I can tell you my experience Italian journalists were the last to contact me I had requests for inter-views from America all around Europe India China and the rest of the world and only after 2 months finally I was contacted by someone from my country Italy is very tied to art history hardly a gallery owner invests in young peo-ple as art collectors usually ask for paintings by well-known and established artists Buy and promote art for collectors and galleries is also an investment in this period of severe eco-nomic crisis maybe they prefer not to risk

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

How will you describe the po-litical incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Italia

I can not describe it because as far as I know does not exist If you know anything about that please let me know

Personally I have experienced that my own images have been analysed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your art that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

even ourselves are interpreted in a different way from others Everyone sees us in his own way we fit into his vision Obviously this happens also with creative works I am not surprised and I have no problem I often want to confuse deliberately the public by offering multifaceted works

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creat-ing a new piece of art Are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music are you listening to

Actually Irsquom in a period in which the sounds annoy me I need silence and a few stimulusMy favorite band is The Doors but I listen to all genres of music from rock to pop from heavy metal to EBM from classical music (I play the piano since I was a child) to rap

20 How do Italian culture poli-tics social environment religion etc affect your art if they do

I am not only influenced by Ital-ian culture but by the entire world society and history and more than ldquohowrdquo I can tell you ldquohow muchrdquo totally because Irsquom a human being and when I was born I have been overwhelmed by the whole history of humanity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photograhpic credit Franky

How do your family and close friends relate to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

I never chose to be or not to be an artist Irsquom just following a path Par-ents and friends do not judge me they let me do I do not exclude the possibility that someday will close my website I will stop writing and I will dedicate myself to something else It can happen

What role does an artist and art in general have in society according to you

They do not have a specific role maybe they all have the ability to capture the spirit of the time (in one or more contexts) and express it in different forms

Dear Anna where do you hope to see yourself in the future

In the near future alone on a beach stopping the thoughts for at least 7 days

Any words of advice for aspir-ing artists

Irsquom not the best person to give advice I can tell you what I always say to myself be yourself

I have a very special feeling when looking at your series of images lsquoPOP-bottlesrsquo because I really feel that I can relate to some of messages in this artis-tic project due to the fact that my own generation in Denmark - unfortunately - has the world record in consuming al-cohol (binge drinking) Even though the pictures are quite minimalistic in their expression the message is very strong and unmistakable - and more relevant than ever

But how have the responses to lsquoPOP-bottlesrsquo been How do people react on your indirect criticism and moralisation

I have read hundreds of threads on forums and blogs on Internet and the public has responded very well they all understood my provocation although in truth some reactions have been staggering I received lots of mail to buy the bottles (as mentioned above are not for sale original sculptures will be used for an upcoming show) and a few have been terrifying said ldquoHello Irsquod be glad to buy your Vodka-barbie feedbottles to use it for my son just born they are fantasticrdquo I initially thought it was a joke Instead I have received some other emails in which parents wanted to buy POPbottles for a gift to their children Irsquom still shockedhowever irsquom not interested in saying what is right or what is wrong I do not care to impose my point of view I simply show some dynamics to stimulate dialogue

from the series of images

POPbottles

from the series of images

POPbottles

Anna you live in both Naples and Mi-lan Italy - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I love Southern Europe How is the art scene in Italy (especially in the main city)

Art scene And Italy In Italy the art scene is very difficult I can tell you my experience Italian journalists were the last to contact me I had requests for inter-views from America all around Europe India China and the rest of the world and only after 2 months finally I was contacted by someone from my country Italy is very tied to art history hardly a gallery owner invests in young peo-ple as art collectors usually ask for paintings by well-known and established artists Buy and promote art for collectors and galleries is also an investment in this period of severe eco-nomic crisis maybe they prefer not to risk

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

How will you describe the po-litical incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Italia

I can not describe it because as far as I know does not exist If you know anything about that please let me know

Personally I have experienced that my own images have been analysed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your art that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

even ourselves are interpreted in a different way from others Everyone sees us in his own way we fit into his vision Obviously this happens also with creative works I am not surprised and I have no problem I often want to confuse deliberately the public by offering multifaceted works

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creat-ing a new piece of art Are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music are you listening to

Actually Irsquom in a period in which the sounds annoy me I need silence and a few stimulusMy favorite band is The Doors but I listen to all genres of music from rock to pop from heavy metal to EBM from classical music (I play the piano since I was a child) to rap

20 How do Italian culture poli-tics social environment religion etc affect your art if they do

I am not only influenced by Ital-ian culture but by the entire world society and history and more than ldquohowrdquo I can tell you ldquohow muchrdquo totally because Irsquom a human being and when I was born I have been overwhelmed by the whole history of humanity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photograhpic credit Franky

How do your family and close friends relate to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

I never chose to be or not to be an artist Irsquom just following a path Par-ents and friends do not judge me they let me do I do not exclude the possibility that someday will close my website I will stop writing and I will dedicate myself to something else It can happen

What role does an artist and art in general have in society according to you

They do not have a specific role maybe they all have the ability to capture the spirit of the time (in one or more contexts) and express it in different forms

Dear Anna where do you hope to see yourself in the future

In the near future alone on a beach stopping the thoughts for at least 7 days

Any words of advice for aspir-ing artists

Irsquom not the best person to give advice I can tell you what I always say to myself be yourself

from the series of images

POPbottles

Anna you live in both Naples and Mi-lan Italy - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I love Southern Europe How is the art scene in Italy (especially in the main city)

Art scene And Italy In Italy the art scene is very difficult I can tell you my experience Italian journalists were the last to contact me I had requests for inter-views from America all around Europe India China and the rest of the world and only after 2 months finally I was contacted by someone from my country Italy is very tied to art history hardly a gallery owner invests in young peo-ple as art collectors usually ask for paintings by well-known and established artists Buy and promote art for collectors and galleries is also an investment in this period of severe eco-nomic crisis maybe they prefer not to risk

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

How will you describe the po-litical incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Italia

I can not describe it because as far as I know does not exist If you know anything about that please let me know

Personally I have experienced that my own images have been analysed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your art that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

even ourselves are interpreted in a different way from others Everyone sees us in his own way we fit into his vision Obviously this happens also with creative works I am not surprised and I have no problem I often want to confuse deliberately the public by offering multifaceted works

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creat-ing a new piece of art Are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music are you listening to

Actually Irsquom in a period in which the sounds annoy me I need silence and a few stimulusMy favorite band is The Doors but I listen to all genres of music from rock to pop from heavy metal to EBM from classical music (I play the piano since I was a child) to rap

20 How do Italian culture poli-tics social environment religion etc affect your art if they do

I am not only influenced by Ital-ian culture but by the entire world society and history and more than ldquohowrdquo I can tell you ldquohow muchrdquo totally because Irsquom a human being and when I was born I have been overwhelmed by the whole history of humanity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photograhpic credit Franky

How do your family and close friends relate to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

I never chose to be or not to be an artist Irsquom just following a path Par-ents and friends do not judge me they let me do I do not exclude the possibility that someday will close my website I will stop writing and I will dedicate myself to something else It can happen

What role does an artist and art in general have in society according to you

They do not have a specific role maybe they all have the ability to capture the spirit of the time (in one or more contexts) and express it in different forms

Dear Anna where do you hope to see yourself in the future

In the near future alone on a beach stopping the thoughts for at least 7 days

Any words of advice for aspir-ing artists

Irsquom not the best person to give advice I can tell you what I always say to myself be yourself

from the series of imagesPOPbottles

How will you describe the po-litical incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Italia

I can not describe it because as far as I know does not exist If you know anything about that please let me know

Personally I have experienced that my own images have been analysed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your art that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

even ourselves are interpreted in a different way from others Everyone sees us in his own way we fit into his vision Obviously this happens also with creative works I am not surprised and I have no problem I often want to confuse deliberately the public by offering multifaceted works

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creat-ing a new piece of art Are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music are you listening to

Actually Irsquom in a period in which the sounds annoy me I need silence and a few stimulusMy favorite band is The Doors but I listen to all genres of music from rock to pop from heavy metal to EBM from classical music (I play the piano since I was a child) to rap

20 How do Italian culture poli-tics social environment religion etc affect your art if they do

I am not only influenced by Ital-ian culture but by the entire world society and history and more than ldquohowrdquo I can tell you ldquohow muchrdquo totally because Irsquom a human being and when I was born I have been overwhelmed by the whole history of humanity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photograhpic credit Franky

How do your family and close friends relate to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

I never chose to be or not to be an artist Irsquom just following a path Par-ents and friends do not judge me they let me do I do not exclude the possibility that someday will close my website I will stop writing and I will dedicate myself to something else It can happen

What role does an artist and art in general have in society according to you

They do not have a specific role maybe they all have the ability to capture the spirit of the time (in one or more contexts) and express it in different forms

Dear Anna where do you hope to see yourself in the future

In the near future alone on a beach stopping the thoughts for at least 7 days

Any words of advice for aspir-ing artists

Irsquom not the best person to give advice I can tell you what I always say to myself be yourself

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creat-ing a new piece of art Are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music are you listening to

Actually Irsquom in a period in which the sounds annoy me I need silence and a few stimulusMy favorite band is The Doors but I listen to all genres of music from rock to pop from heavy metal to EBM from classical music (I play the piano since I was a child) to rap

20 How do Italian culture poli-tics social environment religion etc affect your art if they do

I am not only influenced by Ital-ian culture but by the entire world society and history and more than ldquohowrdquo I can tell you ldquohow muchrdquo totally because Irsquom a human being and when I was born I have been overwhelmed by the whole history of humanity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photograhpic credit Franky

How do your family and close friends relate to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

I never chose to be or not to be an artist Irsquom just following a path Par-ents and friends do not judge me they let me do I do not exclude the possibility that someday will close my website I will stop writing and I will dedicate myself to something else It can happen

What role does an artist and art in general have in society according to you

They do not have a specific role maybe they all have the ability to capture the spirit of the time (in one or more contexts) and express it in different forms

Dear Anna where do you hope to see yourself in the future

In the near future alone on a beach stopping the thoughts for at least 7 days

Any words of advice for aspir-ing artists

Irsquom not the best person to give advice I can tell you what I always say to myself be yourself

20 How do Italian culture poli-tics social environment religion etc affect your art if they do

I am not only influenced by Ital-ian culture but by the entire world society and history and more than ldquohowrdquo I can tell you ldquohow muchrdquo totally because Irsquom a human being and when I was born I have been overwhelmed by the whole history of humanity

Model Anna Utopia

Giordano

Photograhpic credit Franky

How do your family and close friends relate to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

I never chose to be or not to be an artist Irsquom just following a path Par-ents and friends do not judge me they let me do I do not exclude the possibility that someday will close my website I will stop writing and I will dedicate myself to something else It can happen

What role does an artist and art in general have in society according to you

They do not have a specific role maybe they all have the ability to capture the spirit of the time (in one or more contexts) and express it in different forms

Dear Anna where do you hope to see yourself in the future

In the near future alone on a beach stopping the thoughts for at least 7 days

Any words of advice for aspir-ing artists

Irsquom not the best person to give advice I can tell you what I always say to myself be yourself

DemsteaDer MARK

Erin in blue Oil on canvas 39ins x 52ins pound22000

Furthermore how come you had to re-turn to the butchery as a teenager after finishing artistic foundation courses in Oldham and Rochdale Colleges of Art instead of continuing pursuing your ca-reer as a (very talented) artist Is it per-haps because of tendencies in art during this historical period or because of the contents of the artistic educations

On reflection I think it was probably this experience which helped more than any degree as i made me realise I had to do it myself if I wanted to become an artist it also made me realise that a degree or other qualification wasn`t as important as determination

Dear Mark I know that you are born in Man-chester in 1963 and has accompanied your father in a family butchery and meat-packing business during your childhood and later as a teenager after finishing two artistic foundation courses in Oldham and Rochdale Colleges of Art

How has the work at the butchery - where you have learned how to deal with flesh bones and structures of sinew - influenced on your crea-tivity if it has had any influence

I did go into the family business from school but always wanted to do art so i lef t and did a foundation course in Oldham and one in Roch-dale I was then going to do a degree but had no means to support this so ended up back in the meat market The work was very tough and we started at 4am and worked right through until about 2pm

How when and why did you start creat-ing art - as a completely contrast to the hard work at the butchery and the meat marked in Manchester Have you always been drawingpaint-ing

At the time all i wanted to do was get out of there so i went to life drawing classes every week to keep my interest in art up and also to keep sane

Colour study I Oil on board 22ins x 14ins pound4500

Shadowlands no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Shadowlands no1 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

I have read in an article by The Daily Telegraph that you are considered to be one of Britianrsquos best selling figurative painters today

Are you therefore able to live solely from your art or do you have a profes-sion besides being an artist

I have been a full time artist for around 12 years now and make my living at it

And has the financial crisis affected the sale of art in the UK (both as regards your art works and art in general)

I think the financial situation is now starting to bite a lot of artists and collec-tors there isn`t the confidence around for people to spend money on art

In Denmark many galleries bankrupt at this moment and are cheating their artists This situation creates insecurity and instability for the artists who are therefore anxious about tying them-selves to a specific gallery Have you ever had negative experiences with galleries and how is the situation with the survival of the galleries in the UK at this moment

I have had exhibitions with galleries who suddenly go bankrupt and it`s a tough job to get any money back as its usually all gone before they let you know unfortu-nately that`s how things go sometimes but it`s useful to remember a gallery is usually just a rented room with nothing in it so when they do get into difficulties there is usually nothing lef t

Colour study II Oil on board 22ins x 14ins pound4500

Mark in the 1990s your life changed Can you describe to me what happened

After 15 years of toil in the meat markets and also doing the life classes the meat business finally closed I then got a job as an art technition in a school basically cleaning the art room setting out paints etc This allowed me time to get my port folio of life drawings together and I then went down to London and walked around the galleries asking if they were interested in looking at my work

When how and by whom where you lsquodiscoveredrsquo as an artist and included in a gallery

I finally got a gallery to put some work in a show after about 3 years of trying

Standing study 1Oil on board 36ins x 22ins pound8000 2

At this point Irsquom completely self-taught as an artist myself and Irsquom therefore very impressed and inspired by your life story as a brilliant self-taught artist

But Irsquom curious to know whether it has been difficult for you to gain respect in the artistic world in the beginning of your relatively self-taught career as an artist

Furthermore why did you choose largely to remain self-taught rather than pursuing further educational studies

I think being self taught has it`s advantag-es I found art school to be very formulaic and they weren`t interested in what i want-ed to do but more interested in what they wanted me to do

You became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group in the late 90s

Can you maybe explain more detailed what the goal of this art group was and what impact the membership has had on you

I was contacted by Guy Denning about it many years ago it was refreshing to see that a figurative based group were getting tired of the constant emptiness of con-ceptualism

Dear Mark you have had many solo and group exhibi-tions What memorable re-sponses have you had to your work at these exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The reactions to my shows have been very encouraging although you can`t please everyone it`s always helps to get a good response

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic gen-res before drawing and paint-ing or have you always been confidence with your artistic expression

I have tried every genre there is i am constantly experimenting with things but I remain figura-tively based as it`s my vehicle for expressing

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Furthermore how come you had to re-turn to the butchery as a teenager after finishing artistic foundation courses in Oldham and Rochdale Colleges of Art instead of continuing pursuing your ca-reer as a (very talented) artist Is it per-haps because of tendencies in art during this historical period or because of the contents of the artistic educations

On reflection I think it was probably this experience which helped more than any degree as i made me realise I had to do it myself if I wanted to become an artist it also made me realise that a degree or other qualification wasn`t as important as determination

Dear Mark I know that you are born in Man-chester in 1963 and has accompanied your father in a family butchery and meat-packing business during your childhood and later as a teenager after finishing two artistic foundation courses in Oldham and Rochdale Colleges of Art

How has the work at the butchery - where you have learned how to deal with flesh bones and structures of sinew - influenced on your crea-tivity if it has had any influence

I did go into the family business from school but always wanted to do art so i lef t and did a foundation course in Oldham and one in Roch-dale I was then going to do a degree but had no means to support this so ended up back in the meat market The work was very tough and we started at 4am and worked right through until about 2pm

How when and why did you start creat-ing art - as a completely contrast to the hard work at the butchery and the meat marked in Manchester Have you always been drawingpaint-ing

At the time all i wanted to do was get out of there so i went to life drawing classes every week to keep my interest in art up and also to keep sane

Colour study I Oil on board 22ins x 14ins pound4500

Shadowlands no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Shadowlands no1 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

I have read in an article by The Daily Telegraph that you are considered to be one of Britianrsquos best selling figurative painters today

Are you therefore able to live solely from your art or do you have a profes-sion besides being an artist

I have been a full time artist for around 12 years now and make my living at it

And has the financial crisis affected the sale of art in the UK (both as regards your art works and art in general)

I think the financial situation is now starting to bite a lot of artists and collec-tors there isn`t the confidence around for people to spend money on art

In Denmark many galleries bankrupt at this moment and are cheating their artists This situation creates insecurity and instability for the artists who are therefore anxious about tying them-selves to a specific gallery Have you ever had negative experiences with galleries and how is the situation with the survival of the galleries in the UK at this moment

I have had exhibitions with galleries who suddenly go bankrupt and it`s a tough job to get any money back as its usually all gone before they let you know unfortu-nately that`s how things go sometimes but it`s useful to remember a gallery is usually just a rented room with nothing in it so when they do get into difficulties there is usually nothing lef t

Colour study II Oil on board 22ins x 14ins pound4500

Mark in the 1990s your life changed Can you describe to me what happened

After 15 years of toil in the meat markets and also doing the life classes the meat business finally closed I then got a job as an art technition in a school basically cleaning the art room setting out paints etc This allowed me time to get my port folio of life drawings together and I then went down to London and walked around the galleries asking if they were interested in looking at my work

When how and by whom where you lsquodiscoveredrsquo as an artist and included in a gallery

I finally got a gallery to put some work in a show after about 3 years of trying

Standing study 1Oil on board 36ins x 22ins pound8000 2

At this point Irsquom completely self-taught as an artist myself and Irsquom therefore very impressed and inspired by your life story as a brilliant self-taught artist

But Irsquom curious to know whether it has been difficult for you to gain respect in the artistic world in the beginning of your relatively self-taught career as an artist

Furthermore why did you choose largely to remain self-taught rather than pursuing further educational studies

I think being self taught has it`s advantag-es I found art school to be very formulaic and they weren`t interested in what i want-ed to do but more interested in what they wanted me to do

You became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group in the late 90s

Can you maybe explain more detailed what the goal of this art group was and what impact the membership has had on you

I was contacted by Guy Denning about it many years ago it was refreshing to see that a figurative based group were getting tired of the constant emptiness of con-ceptualism

Dear Mark you have had many solo and group exhibi-tions What memorable re-sponses have you had to your work at these exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The reactions to my shows have been very encouraging although you can`t please everyone it`s always helps to get a good response

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic gen-res before drawing and paint-ing or have you always been confidence with your artistic expression

I have tried every genre there is i am constantly experimenting with things but I remain figura-tively based as it`s my vehicle for expressing

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Shadowlands no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Shadowlands no1 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

I have read in an article by The Daily Telegraph that you are considered to be one of Britianrsquos best selling figurative painters today

Are you therefore able to live solely from your art or do you have a profes-sion besides being an artist

I have been a full time artist for around 12 years now and make my living at it

And has the financial crisis affected the sale of art in the UK (both as regards your art works and art in general)

I think the financial situation is now starting to bite a lot of artists and collec-tors there isn`t the confidence around for people to spend money on art

In Denmark many galleries bankrupt at this moment and are cheating their artists This situation creates insecurity and instability for the artists who are therefore anxious about tying them-selves to a specific gallery Have you ever had negative experiences with galleries and how is the situation with the survival of the galleries in the UK at this moment

I have had exhibitions with galleries who suddenly go bankrupt and it`s a tough job to get any money back as its usually all gone before they let you know unfortu-nately that`s how things go sometimes but it`s useful to remember a gallery is usually just a rented room with nothing in it so when they do get into difficulties there is usually nothing lef t

Colour study II Oil on board 22ins x 14ins pound4500

Mark in the 1990s your life changed Can you describe to me what happened

After 15 years of toil in the meat markets and also doing the life classes the meat business finally closed I then got a job as an art technition in a school basically cleaning the art room setting out paints etc This allowed me time to get my port folio of life drawings together and I then went down to London and walked around the galleries asking if they were interested in looking at my work

When how and by whom where you lsquodiscoveredrsquo as an artist and included in a gallery

I finally got a gallery to put some work in a show after about 3 years of trying

Standing study 1Oil on board 36ins x 22ins pound8000 2

At this point Irsquom completely self-taught as an artist myself and Irsquom therefore very impressed and inspired by your life story as a brilliant self-taught artist

But Irsquom curious to know whether it has been difficult for you to gain respect in the artistic world in the beginning of your relatively self-taught career as an artist

Furthermore why did you choose largely to remain self-taught rather than pursuing further educational studies

I think being self taught has it`s advantag-es I found art school to be very formulaic and they weren`t interested in what i want-ed to do but more interested in what they wanted me to do

You became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group in the late 90s

Can you maybe explain more detailed what the goal of this art group was and what impact the membership has had on you

I was contacted by Guy Denning about it many years ago it was refreshing to see that a figurative based group were getting tired of the constant emptiness of con-ceptualism

Dear Mark you have had many solo and group exhibi-tions What memorable re-sponses have you had to your work at these exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The reactions to my shows have been very encouraging although you can`t please everyone it`s always helps to get a good response

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic gen-res before drawing and paint-ing or have you always been confidence with your artistic expression

I have tried every genre there is i am constantly experimenting with things but I remain figura-tively based as it`s my vehicle for expressing

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Shadowlands no1 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

I have read in an article by The Daily Telegraph that you are considered to be one of Britianrsquos best selling figurative painters today

Are you therefore able to live solely from your art or do you have a profes-sion besides being an artist

I have been a full time artist for around 12 years now and make my living at it

And has the financial crisis affected the sale of art in the UK (both as regards your art works and art in general)

I think the financial situation is now starting to bite a lot of artists and collec-tors there isn`t the confidence around for people to spend money on art

In Denmark many galleries bankrupt at this moment and are cheating their artists This situation creates insecurity and instability for the artists who are therefore anxious about tying them-selves to a specific gallery Have you ever had negative experiences with galleries and how is the situation with the survival of the galleries in the UK at this moment

I have had exhibitions with galleries who suddenly go bankrupt and it`s a tough job to get any money back as its usually all gone before they let you know unfortu-nately that`s how things go sometimes but it`s useful to remember a gallery is usually just a rented room with nothing in it so when they do get into difficulties there is usually nothing lef t

Colour study II Oil on board 22ins x 14ins pound4500

Mark in the 1990s your life changed Can you describe to me what happened

After 15 years of toil in the meat markets and also doing the life classes the meat business finally closed I then got a job as an art technition in a school basically cleaning the art room setting out paints etc This allowed me time to get my port folio of life drawings together and I then went down to London and walked around the galleries asking if they were interested in looking at my work

When how and by whom where you lsquodiscoveredrsquo as an artist and included in a gallery

I finally got a gallery to put some work in a show after about 3 years of trying

Standing study 1Oil on board 36ins x 22ins pound8000 2

At this point Irsquom completely self-taught as an artist myself and Irsquom therefore very impressed and inspired by your life story as a brilliant self-taught artist

But Irsquom curious to know whether it has been difficult for you to gain respect in the artistic world in the beginning of your relatively self-taught career as an artist

Furthermore why did you choose largely to remain self-taught rather than pursuing further educational studies

I think being self taught has it`s advantag-es I found art school to be very formulaic and they weren`t interested in what i want-ed to do but more interested in what they wanted me to do

You became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group in the late 90s

Can you maybe explain more detailed what the goal of this art group was and what impact the membership has had on you

I was contacted by Guy Denning about it many years ago it was refreshing to see that a figurative based group were getting tired of the constant emptiness of con-ceptualism

Dear Mark you have had many solo and group exhibi-tions What memorable re-sponses have you had to your work at these exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The reactions to my shows have been very encouraging although you can`t please everyone it`s always helps to get a good response

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic gen-res before drawing and paint-ing or have you always been confidence with your artistic expression

I have tried every genre there is i am constantly experimenting with things but I remain figura-tively based as it`s my vehicle for expressing

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

I have read in an article by The Daily Telegraph that you are considered to be one of Britianrsquos best selling figurative painters today

Are you therefore able to live solely from your art or do you have a profes-sion besides being an artist

I have been a full time artist for around 12 years now and make my living at it

And has the financial crisis affected the sale of art in the UK (both as regards your art works and art in general)

I think the financial situation is now starting to bite a lot of artists and collec-tors there isn`t the confidence around for people to spend money on art

In Denmark many galleries bankrupt at this moment and are cheating their artists This situation creates insecurity and instability for the artists who are therefore anxious about tying them-selves to a specific gallery Have you ever had negative experiences with galleries and how is the situation with the survival of the galleries in the UK at this moment

I have had exhibitions with galleries who suddenly go bankrupt and it`s a tough job to get any money back as its usually all gone before they let you know unfortu-nately that`s how things go sometimes but it`s useful to remember a gallery is usually just a rented room with nothing in it so when they do get into difficulties there is usually nothing lef t

Colour study II Oil on board 22ins x 14ins pound4500

Mark in the 1990s your life changed Can you describe to me what happened

After 15 years of toil in the meat markets and also doing the life classes the meat business finally closed I then got a job as an art technition in a school basically cleaning the art room setting out paints etc This allowed me time to get my port folio of life drawings together and I then went down to London and walked around the galleries asking if they were interested in looking at my work

When how and by whom where you lsquodiscoveredrsquo as an artist and included in a gallery

I finally got a gallery to put some work in a show after about 3 years of trying

Standing study 1Oil on board 36ins x 22ins pound8000 2

At this point Irsquom completely self-taught as an artist myself and Irsquom therefore very impressed and inspired by your life story as a brilliant self-taught artist

But Irsquom curious to know whether it has been difficult for you to gain respect in the artistic world in the beginning of your relatively self-taught career as an artist

Furthermore why did you choose largely to remain self-taught rather than pursuing further educational studies

I think being self taught has it`s advantag-es I found art school to be very formulaic and they weren`t interested in what i want-ed to do but more interested in what they wanted me to do

You became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group in the late 90s

Can you maybe explain more detailed what the goal of this art group was and what impact the membership has had on you

I was contacted by Guy Denning about it many years ago it was refreshing to see that a figurative based group were getting tired of the constant emptiness of con-ceptualism

Dear Mark you have had many solo and group exhibi-tions What memorable re-sponses have you had to your work at these exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The reactions to my shows have been very encouraging although you can`t please everyone it`s always helps to get a good response

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic gen-res before drawing and paint-ing or have you always been confidence with your artistic expression

I have tried every genre there is i am constantly experimenting with things but I remain figura-tively based as it`s my vehicle for expressing

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Mark in the 1990s your life changed Can you describe to me what happened

After 15 years of toil in the meat markets and also doing the life classes the meat business finally closed I then got a job as an art technition in a school basically cleaning the art room setting out paints etc This allowed me time to get my port folio of life drawings together and I then went down to London and walked around the galleries asking if they were interested in looking at my work

When how and by whom where you lsquodiscoveredrsquo as an artist and included in a gallery

I finally got a gallery to put some work in a show after about 3 years of trying

Standing study 1Oil on board 36ins x 22ins pound8000 2

At this point Irsquom completely self-taught as an artist myself and Irsquom therefore very impressed and inspired by your life story as a brilliant self-taught artist

But Irsquom curious to know whether it has been difficult for you to gain respect in the artistic world in the beginning of your relatively self-taught career as an artist

Furthermore why did you choose largely to remain self-taught rather than pursuing further educational studies

I think being self taught has it`s advantag-es I found art school to be very formulaic and they weren`t interested in what i want-ed to do but more interested in what they wanted me to do

You became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group in the late 90s

Can you maybe explain more detailed what the goal of this art group was and what impact the membership has had on you

I was contacted by Guy Denning about it many years ago it was refreshing to see that a figurative based group were getting tired of the constant emptiness of con-ceptualism

Dear Mark you have had many solo and group exhibi-tions What memorable re-sponses have you had to your work at these exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The reactions to my shows have been very encouraging although you can`t please everyone it`s always helps to get a good response

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic gen-res before drawing and paint-ing or have you always been confidence with your artistic expression

I have tried every genre there is i am constantly experimenting with things but I remain figura-tively based as it`s my vehicle for expressing

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

At this point Irsquom completely self-taught as an artist myself and Irsquom therefore very impressed and inspired by your life story as a brilliant self-taught artist

But Irsquom curious to know whether it has been difficult for you to gain respect in the artistic world in the beginning of your relatively self-taught career as an artist

Furthermore why did you choose largely to remain self-taught rather than pursuing further educational studies

I think being self taught has it`s advantag-es I found art school to be very formulaic and they weren`t interested in what i want-ed to do but more interested in what they wanted me to do

You became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group in the late 90s

Can you maybe explain more detailed what the goal of this art group was and what impact the membership has had on you

I was contacted by Guy Denning about it many years ago it was refreshing to see that a figurative based group were getting tired of the constant emptiness of con-ceptualism

Dear Mark you have had many solo and group exhibi-tions What memorable re-sponses have you had to your work at these exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The reactions to my shows have been very encouraging although you can`t please everyone it`s always helps to get a good response

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic gen-res before drawing and paint-ing or have you always been confidence with your artistic expression

I have tried every genre there is i am constantly experimenting with things but I remain figura-tively based as it`s my vehicle for expressing

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

You became a founder member of the Neomodern Art Group in the late 90s

Can you maybe explain more detailed what the goal of this art group was and what impact the membership has had on you

I was contacted by Guy Denning about it many years ago it was refreshing to see that a figurative based group were getting tired of the constant emptiness of con-ceptualism

Dear Mark you have had many solo and group exhibi-tions What memorable re-sponses have you had to your work at these exhibitions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The reactions to my shows have been very encouraging although you can`t please everyone it`s always helps to get a good response

Have you ever experimented with other forms of artistic gen-res before drawing and paint-ing or have you always been confidence with your artistic expression

I have tried every genre there is i am constantly experimenting with things but I remain figura-tively based as it`s my vehicle for expressing

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge is to keep going and the best experience is to get up each day with the thought this might be the day you do something special

Amy standing Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Study for siren Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Will you reveal what pictur-esque equipment you normal-ly use when creating art

I have done many demonstra-tions in schools and my equip-ment is fairly basic (it fits in my shoulder bag)

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experiment with new artistic ideas

I am influenced by many art-ists alive and from art history I think that it`s more about constant experimenting with materials which is where I usually find my answers I work alone and don`t have any other artists around me

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece Do you carefully plan each paintingdrawing or do you have a gener-al idea from which you work from

I just fire away and don`t give too much thought the drawings are mainly studies for lighting and poses and the painting develop once I start so I don`t have a fixed finishing point but stop when I think it`s done

Ciprana head study 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

How much time do you spend creating an art piece in average When and how do you know that a picture is finished

I work on numerous pieces at once so i will usually have about 10 drawings on the go and the same amount of paintings it stops me overworking any par-ticular one

How do you select models for your paintingsdrawings Are you using the same models repeatedly and do you know your models in advance

Why are you only using young girlswomen

Moreover how do you make your models perform the posi-tions that you have in mind

My friend is a photographer and was the only person I knew who hired models so I asked if any would sit for me and that`s how I started I have also used many male figures as well but in the paintings I find the female form more subtle and I can also incorporate the dress and other elements in there

Ciprana head study 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Dear Mark when I look at your stunning art I get an association to major artists such as Egon Schiele Degas and Rembrandt I feel that your works emphasizes the feelings of loneliness vulnerability and fragility Your works seem timeless and sometimes a bit sombre But Mark do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Which emotions or moods do you try to bring out in your pieces

I do seem to return to the same themes through my work and there is an element of isolation in them don`t really know why but i suppose like most people it`s always there

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on the viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I originally had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis of your works that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

I do find people have there own ideas of what i do I don`t really mind what they say but occasion-ally they may take what someone else has writ ten and critcise me for something I haven`t said - but that`s life

Study for flow Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

You have created a series of beautiful paintings of the actress Emma Watson How did you get in contact with miss Watson How has it been to work with the actress and paint her Did miss Watson had any influence on the expression in the paintings How has miss Watsonrsquos reaction to the paintings been Why did you choose specific to use this actress as a model

Emma was interested in buying a piece for herself and I asked her if she would sit for an exhibition of works I wanted to try and draw her as a person rather than a celebrity so that was what I was aiming for

I think she liked the work and we also raised a good amount of money for the charity Camfed which helps educate young girls in Africa

Natalie looking down no2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

I don`t have a favourite art piece

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

The most difficult piece to do is al-ways the next one

Do you have new art pieces in mind for the future

Yes i`m currently working on some new ideas based on classical im-agery it`s currently whirling around inside my head and when the times right i`ll get it down on canvas

Hav you ever tried to work togeth-er with other artists and create a collaborative art project

No never worked with other artists

Natalie seated 2 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Mark you live in the UK How would you describe the art scene and the political in-citement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in the UK

The UK is pretty poor at any support structure for artist`s art is seen as something as either a hobby or so way out it becomes irrelevant Unfortunately they tend to miss out the fact that it is about human expression and if young-sters could express themselves through art music film we may be better of f

In Denmark where I live I often find that galleries and art institutions only want to exhibit the already established artists or artists with the right CV How is this situation in the UK

Galleries are there primarily to make money a lot of good young artist`s get overlooked as they scramble to get the big names although i think in the future artists putting on their own shows will be the way to go

Natalie seated 1 Pastel amp collage 32ins x 46ins pound4500

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

How has your family and close friends re-lated to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

It just seems to be what I do and we don`t mention it much I tend not to walk around with a floppy hat and walking stick but pre-fer to go to the pub like everyone else

Which interests do you have besides art

I like music and play guitar i played in a lot of bands in Manchester in the 80`s when it was buzzing Mani from the stone roses is an old friend and we played in a few bands together

What role does an artist and art in gener-al have in society according to you

It`s very hard to make a role out for artists as it`s deemed largely unnecessary by politicians and the education system I try to go into schools whenever I can and do workshops which is great as the kids get really enthused by it

The main problem is that conceptual fine art has become the establishment and it would be difficult for anyone to make a case for it`s importance

Having said that art has many forms so music film fashion design photogra-phy etc the list is endless but in this world of multi media and visual imagery it is fast becoming an important subject again

Moorland no2 Oil on canvas 46ins x 32ins pound12000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

Dear Mark where do you hope to see yourself in the future

Hopefully still alive and painting

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

The only advice for young aspiring artists is to work hard there is no other way Also don`t take rejection as a negative but use it as a tool for getting angry and pushing yourself on even harder

Into the river Oil on canvas 39ins x 51ins pound22000

To quemagazine

Want to have your works

featured in Toxique Magazine

Send

an em

ail to

toxiqu

emag

gm

ailco

m

Want to have your works

featured in Toxique Magazine

Send

an em

ail to

toxiqu

emag

gm

ailco

m

michael

V

manalo

Memories from a Nightmare

Dear Michael I know that you are a talent-ed self taught digital mixed media artist but Irsquom curious to get to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art - in specific digi-tal photographic manipulated art

I was born in manila in 1986 Irsquom of a mixed heritage ndash american filipino and spanish my family they are artists from my mother who is a singer a talented dancer my sister who is a ballerina and my brother who is a 3d animator at Weta Digital in new Zealand I used to make a lot of drawings when I was younger I was very inspired by medieval fantasy especially wizards nightmarish creatures to magical animals When I got my first guitar when I was 17 I became addicted to creating music I formed a band and we used to make punk covers and sometimes we made our own music

I got my first DSLR when I was 21 I was very excited about this because a year before this happened I wished so bad to buy a DSLR but I never had the money I got it as a gift and since then Irsquove been trying to learn and educate myself in photography a few months later I saw for the first-time a photo-manipulation on the internet I got so inspired that I decided to learn this so I looked up some tutorials on the internet and practiced and practiced Back then I used to have a 9-5 job english teaching job and when I get home I made some photo-manipulations every night and I started applying to open calls from around the world and then I started sending applications to galleries to my country I gave up my job and focused my time on marketing myself and applying to open calls and also on finding freelance jobs

The Earth room

Are you able to live solely from your art or do you have a pro-fession besides being an artist

For the past 2 years Irsquove been living solely from my art I free-lance as a graphic designer I usually do album covers and book covers and sometimes I write Photoshop tutorials

Dear Mael you have had many solo and group exhibitions Are you there-fore assigned to a specific gallery at this moment or do you participate in different exhibitions at various galler-ies without an assignment to only one gallery

I participate in different exhibitions at various galleries with this I get more exposure

Furthermore what memorable responses have you had to your work at the exhibi-tions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The best so far was at the my recent at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi Geor-gia there were several students and people who came to me and whispered that my art is the best from the rest of the other works

In Accommodating Parallel Cultures

The Unending Harbor of the Spiritualist

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

manalo

Memories from a Nightmare

Dear Michael I know that you are a talent-ed self taught digital mixed media artist but Irsquom curious to get to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art - in specific digi-tal photographic manipulated art

I was born in manila in 1986 Irsquom of a mixed heritage ndash american filipino and spanish my family they are artists from my mother who is a singer a talented dancer my sister who is a ballerina and my brother who is a 3d animator at Weta Digital in new Zealand I used to make a lot of drawings when I was younger I was very inspired by medieval fantasy especially wizards nightmarish creatures to magical animals When I got my first guitar when I was 17 I became addicted to creating music I formed a band and we used to make punk covers and sometimes we made our own music

I got my first DSLR when I was 21 I was very excited about this because a year before this happened I wished so bad to buy a DSLR but I never had the money I got it as a gift and since then Irsquove been trying to learn and educate myself in photography a few months later I saw for the first-time a photo-manipulation on the internet I got so inspired that I decided to learn this so I looked up some tutorials on the internet and practiced and practiced Back then I used to have a 9-5 job english teaching job and when I get home I made some photo-manipulations every night and I started applying to open calls from around the world and then I started sending applications to galleries to my country I gave up my job and focused my time on marketing myself and applying to open calls and also on finding freelance jobs

The Earth room

Are you able to live solely from your art or do you have a pro-fession besides being an artist

For the past 2 years Irsquove been living solely from my art I free-lance as a graphic designer I usually do album covers and book covers and sometimes I write Photoshop tutorials

Dear Mael you have had many solo and group exhibitions Are you there-fore assigned to a specific gallery at this moment or do you participate in different exhibitions at various galler-ies without an assignment to only one gallery

I participate in different exhibitions at various galleries with this I get more exposure

Furthermore what memorable responses have you had to your work at the exhibi-tions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The best so far was at the my recent at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi Geor-gia there were several students and people who came to me and whispered that my art is the best from the rest of the other works

In Accommodating Parallel Cultures

The Unending Harbor of the Spiritualist

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Memories from a Nightmare

Dear Michael I know that you are a talent-ed self taught digital mixed media artist but Irsquom curious to get to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art - in specific digi-tal photographic manipulated art

I was born in manila in 1986 Irsquom of a mixed heritage ndash american filipino and spanish my family they are artists from my mother who is a singer a talented dancer my sister who is a ballerina and my brother who is a 3d animator at Weta Digital in new Zealand I used to make a lot of drawings when I was younger I was very inspired by medieval fantasy especially wizards nightmarish creatures to magical animals When I got my first guitar when I was 17 I became addicted to creating music I formed a band and we used to make punk covers and sometimes we made our own music

I got my first DSLR when I was 21 I was very excited about this because a year before this happened I wished so bad to buy a DSLR but I never had the money I got it as a gift and since then Irsquove been trying to learn and educate myself in photography a few months later I saw for the first-time a photo-manipulation on the internet I got so inspired that I decided to learn this so I looked up some tutorials on the internet and practiced and practiced Back then I used to have a 9-5 job english teaching job and when I get home I made some photo-manipulations every night and I started applying to open calls from around the world and then I started sending applications to galleries to my country I gave up my job and focused my time on marketing myself and applying to open calls and also on finding freelance jobs

The Earth room

Are you able to live solely from your art or do you have a pro-fession besides being an artist

For the past 2 years Irsquove been living solely from my art I free-lance as a graphic designer I usually do album covers and book covers and sometimes I write Photoshop tutorials

Dear Mael you have had many solo and group exhibitions Are you there-fore assigned to a specific gallery at this moment or do you participate in different exhibitions at various galler-ies without an assignment to only one gallery

I participate in different exhibitions at various galleries with this I get more exposure

Furthermore what memorable responses have you had to your work at the exhibi-tions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The best so far was at the my recent at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi Geor-gia there were several students and people who came to me and whispered that my art is the best from the rest of the other works

In Accommodating Parallel Cultures

The Unending Harbor of the Spiritualist

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Dear Michael I know that you are a talent-ed self taught digital mixed media artist but Irsquom curious to get to know more about your background and moreover how when and why you started creating art - in specific digi-tal photographic manipulated art

I was born in manila in 1986 Irsquom of a mixed heritage ndash american filipino and spanish my family they are artists from my mother who is a singer a talented dancer my sister who is a ballerina and my brother who is a 3d animator at Weta Digital in new Zealand I used to make a lot of drawings when I was younger I was very inspired by medieval fantasy especially wizards nightmarish creatures to magical animals When I got my first guitar when I was 17 I became addicted to creating music I formed a band and we used to make punk covers and sometimes we made our own music

I got my first DSLR when I was 21 I was very excited about this because a year before this happened I wished so bad to buy a DSLR but I never had the money I got it as a gift and since then Irsquove been trying to learn and educate myself in photography a few months later I saw for the first-time a photo-manipulation on the internet I got so inspired that I decided to learn this so I looked up some tutorials on the internet and practiced and practiced Back then I used to have a 9-5 job english teaching job and when I get home I made some photo-manipulations every night and I started applying to open calls from around the world and then I started sending applications to galleries to my country I gave up my job and focused my time on marketing myself and applying to open calls and also on finding freelance jobs

The Earth room

Are you able to live solely from your art or do you have a pro-fession besides being an artist

For the past 2 years Irsquove been living solely from my art I free-lance as a graphic designer I usually do album covers and book covers and sometimes I write Photoshop tutorials

Dear Mael you have had many solo and group exhibitions Are you there-fore assigned to a specific gallery at this moment or do you participate in different exhibitions at various galler-ies without an assignment to only one gallery

I participate in different exhibitions at various galleries with this I get more exposure

Furthermore what memorable responses have you had to your work at the exhibi-tions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The best so far was at the my recent at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi Geor-gia there were several students and people who came to me and whispered that my art is the best from the rest of the other works

In Accommodating Parallel Cultures

The Unending Harbor of the Spiritualist

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

The Earth room

Are you able to live solely from your art or do you have a pro-fession besides being an artist

For the past 2 years Irsquove been living solely from my art I free-lance as a graphic designer I usually do album covers and book covers and sometimes I write Photoshop tutorials

Dear Mael you have had many solo and group exhibitions Are you there-fore assigned to a specific gallery at this moment or do you participate in different exhibitions at various galler-ies without an assignment to only one gallery

I participate in different exhibitions at various galleries with this I get more exposure

Furthermore what memorable responses have you had to your work at the exhibi-tions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The best so far was at the my recent at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi Geor-gia there were several students and people who came to me and whispered that my art is the best from the rest of the other works

In Accommodating Parallel Cultures

The Unending Harbor of the Spiritualist

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Are you able to live solely from your art or do you have a pro-fession besides being an artist

For the past 2 years Irsquove been living solely from my art I free-lance as a graphic designer I usually do album covers and book covers and sometimes I write Photoshop tutorials

Dear Mael you have had many solo and group exhibitions Are you there-fore assigned to a specific gallery at this moment or do you participate in different exhibitions at various galler-ies without an assignment to only one gallery

I participate in different exhibitions at various galleries with this I get more exposure

Furthermore what memorable responses have you had to your work at the exhibi-tions What has the publics reaction to your work been

The best so far was at the my recent at the Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi Geor-gia there were several students and people who came to me and whispered that my art is the best from the rest of the other works

In Accommodating Parallel Cultures

The Unending Harbor of the Spiritualist

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

In Accommodating Parallel Cultures

The Unending Harbor of the Spiritualist

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

The Unending Harbor of the Spiritualist

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

You have experimented with other forms of artistic genres before using the photographic medium to express yourself artistically

Has your artistic expression always been the same regardless of the artistic medium used or has your artistic expression and style changed too over the years as part of your experimental process

Marie I think that my artistic expression has been circling around similar themes for the past few years but when it comes to my style especially in photo-manipulation I believe that it has changed dramatically since I started I constantly try to evolve and be better in my medium

A Time Travelerrsquos Dream

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

There are a lot of digital art on the market these days Therefore what do you do in order to differentiate yours from the rest

Yes there are so much amazing digital art out there and some just leaves me mind-blown So in order to differentiate my works from the rest I stick to my own style by expressing the emotions and thoughts that I really want to express

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

The Antennas to Heaven

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

What has been the biggest challenge and best experience in your artistic career so far

The biggest challenge I had to undergo in my artistic career is getting funds for travelling to the various artist residences and major exhibitions that I have attended The best experience so far is to be actually in the artist-in-residences and to the exhibitions and get much praise and warmth from people around the world

When using Photoshop what are your favorite features in the program and which version of Photoshop do you use

Well I love the Lasso Tools and the Light-ing Effects Render Tool

Which photographic equipment do you use

For 2 years I used the Canon EOS 300d but now I upgrad-ed to a Canon EOS 500d because I want to make finer pictures I want it to be easier and I wanted to start making video art as well I also have an RC for the 500d a tripod and a Nissin flash In Under-

standing the Relevance II

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Intimate Delusions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Do you solely use your own images in your cre-ative process or do you also use stock pictures bought from the Internet - or perhaps a combi-nation

Marie I use a combination the reason why is for example a client wants me to use a beautiful blonde Caucasian woman for their image and I am staying in Manila so I think it is impossible to find this kind of woman P So I resort to stock images for this situation but most of the time I use combination

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

While you were smiling

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

What or who inspires you when creating art Are there other artists you relate to or consult with in your creative process when you experi-ment with new artistic ideas

My main inspiration in making art is emotions music also plays a big role because the emo-tions differ from each track I listen to I usually bounce ideas and ask criticisms on my art from a good friend of mine ndash Izabela Oldak

What is your creative workflow when creating a piece (do you make any kind of research sketches drawings etc before creating your art Do you carefully plan each image before a photo shootstart working in Photoshop with an image or do you have a general idea that you work from)

I have made images by doing some research and then sketch some ideas but sometimes I just sit in front of my computer after a good meal and start making art from my own and the stock photos in my computer Most of the time I have music onuse combination

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

I could not imagine a life without music because it can evoke various and contrasting emotions and I therefore always listen to music when Irsquom creating a new piece of art I already know that you are very inspired by emotional differences in life - but are you too inspired by and listening to music when you are creative If yes what type of music

Aha Yes indeed Marie I listen to a lot of types of music I would listen to genres from trip-hop to indie post-rock to world music house to lounge to dark techno

How long time do you spend to create an art piece in average

It varies sometimes it takes like 6 hours sometimes it would take days

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

The Dream Walker

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Your works are very surreal and remind me of an unreal dream Sometimes your pictures are very simple - almost minimalistic - in their composition other times they contains several details Some of your art works emphasize the feel-ing of obscurity loneliness and eternity while others give associations to happiness and carelessness Your pictures vary immensely which therefore makes them even more interesting for the viewer to study closely But Michael do you have certain themes and ideas that you pursue in your art Do your art works contain specific symbols (I have noticed that specific objects are used repeatedly in your works) What is your goal when creating art

Yes I have certain themes that I repeatedly pursue and that is the search of happiness freedom as well as the dilemmas we have to go through in the journey Most of the objects I use repeatedly are representations of the emotions and sentiments I feel I may seem like a very melancholic person but Irsquom different in real I think I make these artworks because I love the feeling of melancholy and sentimental emotions It feels good My goal is sim-ply to create something thought provoking mind bending and something that once you stare at it will remain in your head for some time

The Boy Who Flew in a Boat

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

The Architect and the Engineer

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

The Fish Tales

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

How do you select models animals and objects for your images

Hmm how do I explain this I select them depending on the image quality the pose of the model (object or animal) and also sometimes the lighting on the image

Are you using the same models repeat-edly and do you know your models in advance before a photo shoot

Sometimes I repeat the same models I do try to talk to them first before doing a shoot

Do you maybe even use yourself as a model in your images - if yes why

I have never done that before but I think I would like to try it someday to use myself as the model

Furthermore how do you get your models to perform the positions that you have in mind

I make sketches of what I want to see in my image and then from there I demonstrate the pose to them

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

The Machinations of the Perturbed One

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Personally I have experience that my own images have been analyzed in very different ways depending on viewer - and a few times the analysis of my images do not correspond with the ideas I original-ly had with the pictures Have you ever experienced an analysis in an art review of your pictures that you couldnrsquot relate to - and do you even care about the various interpretations of your art

Yes I have a lot of these experiences as well and I get surprised sometimes that they had such views and analysis on my images I respect it though and I try to study my images according to their views and yes I think sometimes I see their point

Have you ever tried to work together with other artists and create collaborative art projects

Yes I have tried this before but most of the artists I want to collaborate with are not near my country and it has always been difficult

Do you have a new series of images in mind for the future

Therersquos none at the moment because at present Irsquom trying to put time in studying portrait photography and street photogra-phy which has been a huge interest for me lately

The First Day

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Do you have a favorite personal art piece

If the question means a favorite piece from my portfolio then I would say ldquoThe Story Tellerrdquo

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Which art piece has been the most difficult for you to create

I had difficulty in making the ldquoIn Undermining the Rising Cityrdquo image

Michael you live in Tbilisi Georgia - for me that sounds incredible fascinating because I have never been there myself How is the art scene in Geor-gia (especially in the main city) How will you de-scribe the political incitement for supporting artists - established as well as upcoming - in Georgia

I have been here for only a month and a half and Irsquove learned from a Georgian artist that most of the organizations that give fundsor support to the arts are much more likely to give funds to foreign artists collaborating with a Georgian artist If a Georgian artist tries to get funds for himself it would be quite difficult I think the government focuses mainly in promoting tourism in Georgia Most of the smaller galleries that I have been to shows amazing Georgian art (paintings in gener-al) but when it comes to digital art I believe that their first International Digital Art exhibition sur-faced last year

The big galleries and museums have been show-ing international artists and the past month there was a great interest in photography in most big galleries and museums

The Story Teller II

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

The Premonition

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

Dear Michael I know you have established an artist-in-res-idence program in March 2012 called Ang Bahay ng Sining or The House of Art for both national and international artists (lasting one month) based in Quezon City as the premier arts culture music and design hub in Metro Manila

How did you come up with the idea to this artist-in-residence program

I came up with this last August 2011 at my friendrsquos house in Po-land I was thinking then of making an artist-in-residence in the Philippines but then it was just a thought and there were some talks but it didnrsquot really materialize I came back to the Philip-pines met some old friends and talked about the same thing while on a picnic After that it then became serious because my other friend and I wanted to make some sort of movement since art isnrsquot that much appreciated in todayrsquos society So I decided to make my flat an artist-in-residence

A couple of weeks of advertising and I learned that the own-er of my flat wants to sell it so there was panic and dread that the Bahay ng Sining would not be happening I tried however to ask some of my friends if they could house some artists in exchange for international art then it was like a miracle One of my good friends said yes and since then they have been very supportive In a monthrsquos time the first artists for Bahay ng Sining would be coming You can check out the facebook page and website for Bahay ng Sining to get to know who our amazing artists would be

What is your future goal with Ang Bahay ng Sining

The main reason why I created this was to foster a movement in the Philippines where art will become integrated with society I intend to bring art closer to the Filipino masses by introducing the different mediums in the arts to develop appreciation and further the connectedness of Filipinos towards traditional and contemporary art and music There is this connotation in the Philippines where art is only for the rich and the wealthy so Bahay ng Sining also aims to remove that

The Wailing Calls of the Night Companions

What do you hope that each artist will be able to gain from the artist-in-residence

My vision is that the artists will have great opportunities in creating high quality artworks professional exchanges and exploration of a culture different from their own Aside from that I believe that they will have a lot of fun smiles and great moments in the residence as well in the city

What are the criteria when applying as an artist to the artist-in-residence program in Ang Bahay ng Sin-ing How do you select the artists to the program

The criteria are as follows

Emerging to mid-career and established artists must be active in the field of contemporary art with an interest in exploration and production of collaborative work during the residency period It is expected that the artists will be active in engaging with the dynamic environment of the city and use the opportunity to help inspire and contribute to the growth of the local art scene

Basically we select the artists depending on the qual-ity of their artwork and their proposal The proposal should be in line with our vision ndash community art

How many artists can participate in the artists-in-residence program

At present we can only accept two ndash four artists both in Bahay ng Sining and Balay Kalamragan

How has the response to Ang Bahay ng Sining been so far

So far wersquove had many appli-cations from emerging to es-tablished artists and just a few days ago we have already picked our two artists for our program on September

You describe on your website how one of your goals with Ang Bahay ng Sining is to remove the local popular connotation that art is only for the wealthy - how do you intend to do this in reality and why do you think this connotation of wealth and art has emerged in the first place

My plan is like this an Art Festival in the heart of my city every weekend where artists musicians and per-formance artists can either show or sell their work to the general public With this I believe that many minds and hearts will be opened they will also somehow be used to the fact that there is a weekly showing of artistic talent in the center of the city I tell you this can change the way people think just put in some good food and drinks and art will pave its way to the peo-plersquos minds and hearts I have proposed a project like this to the local government and in our city and it is currently in the works Aside from that the artist-in-res-idencies I have created will also help by introducing international contemporary art to the public through workshops lectures which involves the community art By taking art to the streets and showing it in public places we then could slowly remove the connotation that art is only for the rich

Besides the Ang Bahay ng Sining residence you also have the Balay Kalamragan (House of Enlightenment) as a special art-ist-in-residence program in San Miguel lasting 6 weeks from 1st of October to 15th of November What is special about this artist-in-residence program How far is the geometric distance from Ang Bahay ng Sining and how many artists can live in this residence at the same time

It is special because it is only for traditional artists and it is nes-tled in a deep lush region where a small community of farmers and their families live The Balay Kalamragan is also very near a waterfall which makes it almost like a spiritual dwelling place hence the name for it which means Enlightenment Artists can make anything from paintings to land art from sculptures to com-munity based art The distance from Bahay ng Sining to Balay Kalamragan is 5351 miles You can get here by plane which only takes an hour and from the airport you can rent a car which is a 2 hour drive from the airport 2-4 artists can live here at the same time

The Wreathed Nomad

Besides the Ang Bahay ng Sining residence you also have the Balay Kalamragan (House of Enlightenment) as a special art-ist-in-residence program in San Miguel lasting 6 weeks from 1st of October to 15th of November What is special about this artist-in-residence program How far is the geometric distance from Ang Bahay ng Sining and how many artists can live in this residence at the same time

It is special because it is only for traditional artists and it is nes-tled in a deep lush region where a small community of farmers and their families live The Balay Kalamragan is also very near a waterfall which makes it almost like a spiritual dwelling place hence the name for it which means Enlightenment Artists can make anything from paintings to land art from sculptures to com-munity based art The distance from Bahay ng Sining to Balay Kalamragan is 5351 miles You can get here by plane which only takes an hour and from the airport you can rent a car which is a 2 hour drive from the airport 2-4 artists can live here at the same time

The Wreathed Nomad

The Irregularites of Discernment

How do Filipino culture politics social environment religion etc affect your art if they do

I try to express an existing emotion within me at a given time the experiences I have from my culture the unsatisfactory thoughts of how the government runs the country the social environment I grew up with and the present environment that affects me plays a major role in the art that I make Most of what I do is universal in itself and the images that I make tend to have emotions that everyone can relate to

How do your family and close friends relate to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

I must say that they are proud of me and they have supported me all the way in my career there was no discouragement at all Irsquom really happy I have my family

What role does an artist and art in general have in society according to you

I think artists and art play a major role in society because it allows the stimulation of thoughts expe-riences and emotions of each individual which then creates an atmosphere of excitement and wonder As one artist said ldquoArts play a central role in the life of every vibrant cityrdquo

Dear Michael where do you hope to see yourself in the future

I hope to see myself living near a wide and picturesque lake with a great wife and nice kids This lake will not be too far from a city because I like cities too

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

Find yourself be yourself express your-self donrsquot stop dreaming donrsquot stop doing what you love to do and donrsquot stop even if yoursquove succeeded

The Secrets of Freemasonry

How do Filipino culture politics social environment religion etc affect your art if they do

I try to express an existing emotion within me at a given time the experiences I have from my culture the unsatisfactory thoughts of how the government runs the country the social environment I grew up with and the present environment that affects me plays a major role in the art that I make Most of what I do is universal in itself and the images that I make tend to have emotions that everyone can relate to

How do your family and close friends relate to your choice of career as an artist and to your art in general

I must say that they are proud of me and they have supported me all the way in my career there was no discouragement at all Irsquom really happy I have my family

What role does an artist and art in general have in society according to you

I think artists and art play a major role in society because it allows the stimulation of thoughts expe-riences and emotions of each individual which then creates an atmosphere of excitement and wonder As one artist said ldquoArts play a central role in the life of every vibrant cityrdquo

Dear Michael where do you hope to see yourself in the future

I hope to see myself living near a wide and picturesque lake with a great wife and nice kids This lake will not be too far from a city because I like cities too

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

Find yourself be yourself express your-self donrsquot stop dreaming donrsquot stop doing what you love to do and donrsquot stop even if yoursquove succeeded

The Secrets of Freemasonry

Dear Michael where do you hope to see yourself in the future

I hope to see myself living near a wide and picturesque lake with a great wife and nice kids This lake will not be too far from a city because I like cities too

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

Find yourself be yourself express your-self donrsquot stop dreaming donrsquot stop doing what you love to do and donrsquot stop even if yoursquove succeeded

The Secrets of Freemasonry

Any words of advice for aspiring artists

Find yourself be yourself express your-self donrsquot stop dreaming donrsquot stop doing what you love to do and donrsquot stop even if yoursquove succeeded

The Secrets of Freemasonry

A

ARt expLAIneD ImPressIonIsm

1867-1886

The impressionism was an art movement which stated in France in the 19th century The word im-pressionism was coined in 1874 after a hostile critic had looked at a picture entitled Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet (1840-1926) Even though the art movement was not well regarded within society at that time the impressionism marked a momentous break from tradition in Euro-pean painting

The break occurred as a result of a change in methodology The impressionists applied paint in small touches of pure colour rater than broader strokes compared to painters form previous art movements They studied the difference in colours of the shadows closely and in some cases used the photograph (which had just been invented) as a kind of assistivelsquosketchrsquo in order to capture a specific moment

The development of the photographic technology helped to remove the painting from the nat-uralistic idiom since the photographers took over one of the picturesque artistrsquos most important tasks the accurate recording of reality The painter was therefore able to experiment more freely with the picturesque idiom

In general politics and society were not important themes in the impressionistic paintings since the main purpose of the paintings were to capture a particular fleeting impression of colour light and mood whereby the impressionists often where painting out doors The images therefore often portrayed outdoor scenes such as landscapes the everyday life parks theaters music halls spas etc The motifs in themselves were not essentials but instead the motivesrsquo colors light and atmosphere determined the artisrsquos choice of motifs The movement and changeability were essential Moreover by choosing to paint the mentioned motives the Impressionists once again broke with the previous traditional rules for choosing subjects and motives for paintings

Furthermore the intent to capture the unique moment in a painting led to the fact that the pictures during this historical period were considered as unfinished badly painted sketches rather than actual finished works But the relatively vague outline of the motives and visible brush strokes were exactly the factors creating a dynamic and vibrant expression which today charac-terise the paintings form the impressionistic area Their pictures were very bright and vibrant The artists liked to capture their images without detail but with bold colors

Some of the greatest impressionist artists were Edouard Manet Camille Pissaro Edgar Degas Alfred Sisley Claude Monet Berthe Morisot and Pierre Auguste RenoirWhile the term Impressionist covers much of the art of this time there were smaller movements within it such as Pointillism Art Noveau and Fauvism

To quemagazine

ARt expLAIneD ImPressIonIsm

1867-1886

The impressionism was an art movement which stated in France in the 19th century The word im-pressionism was coined in 1874 after a hostile critic had looked at a picture entitled Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet (1840-1926) Even though the art movement was not well regarded within society at that time the impressionism marked a momentous break from tradition in Euro-pean painting

The break occurred as a result of a change in methodology The impressionists applied paint in small touches of pure colour rater than broader strokes compared to painters form previous art movements They studied the difference in colours of the shadows closely and in some cases used the photograph (which had just been invented) as a kind of assistivelsquosketchrsquo in order to capture a specific moment

The development of the photographic technology helped to remove the painting from the nat-uralistic idiom since the photographers took over one of the picturesque artistrsquos most important tasks the accurate recording of reality The painter was therefore able to experiment more freely with the picturesque idiom

In general politics and society were not important themes in the impressionistic paintings since the main purpose of the paintings were to capture a particular fleeting impression of colour light and mood whereby the impressionists often where painting out doors The images therefore often portrayed outdoor scenes such as landscapes the everyday life parks theaters music halls spas etc The motifs in themselves were not essentials but instead the motivesrsquo colors light and atmosphere determined the artisrsquos choice of motifs The movement and changeability were essential Moreover by choosing to paint the mentioned motives the Impressionists once again broke with the previous traditional rules for choosing subjects and motives for paintings

Furthermore the intent to capture the unique moment in a painting led to the fact that the pictures during this historical period were considered as unfinished badly painted sketches rather than actual finished works But the relatively vague outline of the motives and visible brush strokes were exactly the factors creating a dynamic and vibrant expression which today charac-terise the paintings form the impressionistic area Their pictures were very bright and vibrant The artists liked to capture their images without detail but with bold colors

Some of the greatest impressionist artists were Edouard Manet Camille Pissaro Edgar Degas Alfred Sisley Claude Monet Berthe Morisot and Pierre Auguste RenoirWhile the term Impressionist covers much of the art of this time there were smaller movements within it such as Pointillism Art Noveau and Fauvism

To quemagazine

To quemagazine

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ique M

agazine

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