JOSELTP'S ART & ARTNOT

the Google Art Project

joseltp — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:37:11 +0000

I just want to share with you Google’s new project that was released this week. It is called the Google Art Project and it aims to “make art more accessible online” by enabling anyone interested to “explore hundreds of artworks from 17 of the world’s most acclaimed art museums in extraordinary levels of detail, as well as take 360 degree tours of the museums using Street View technology.” Here is the main link to this project, and another link to this site which serves as the portal to the respective YouTube channels of some of the world’s finest art museums that participated in this remarkable undertaking. To an art lover, this effort by a group of avid Googlers and the company (and its museum partners) to make art– great works of art– more accessible online is nothing short of spectacular! I myself personally feel it is one of Google’s most monumental projects to date! Imagine feeling awed as if you were in front of the actual artwork and inspecting its fine details yourself; with Google’s Street View technology (which they put to excellent use here), this simulation becomes an astounding and enriching experience– all without leaving your place and having to fly to a museum located halfway around the world! But of course, I am not one to say that this achievement takes the place of actually seeing the artwork in its tangible reality because, as the Google project leader, Amit Sood, said: “Nothing beats the first-person experience.”

As a source of inspiration and audio/video/information-referencing tool, Google remains unmatched. This recent project clearly shows why. Sometimes, all it takes to be inspired is one idea. But oftentimes though, even a mere picture (of a painting or any artwork) can deeply touch one’s emotions and move him/her to ennoble other people’s lives.

Kudos and gratitude to the group of art-loving, passionate Googlers who spearheaded this campaign (and, of course, many thanks to all the museums that took part in this awe-inspiring, truly worthwhile project)!

some drawings

joseltp — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 14:58:56 +0000

These are some drawings that I did from way back, with subjects and themes ranging from plain silliness to, well, more silliness. I did all these drawings in good fun. Not unlike a music student finding himself/herself tinkering with a keyboard for some made-up melody, or strumming some chords on a guitar, I, in a similar manner, would find myself drawing whatever came to mind. I enjoy whiling the hours away this way, most of the time while listening to music.

mr. super, 12"x9", bamboo barbecue skewer and ink on Bienfang 70-lb white paper

destruction and misery, 12"x9", pen and ink on Bienfang 70-lb white paper

nyc (not your cup) of tea, 12"x9", pen and ink (Rapidograph) on Bienfang 70-lb white paper

sad profile, 12"x9", pen and ink on Bienfang 70-lb white paper

attagirl, 12"x9", pen and ink (Rapidograph) on Bienfang 70-lb white paper

happy without a clue, 12"x9", pen and ink (Rapidograph) and graphite on Bienfang 70-lb white paper

plant herbivore, 12"x9", ink and acrylic on Bienfang 70-lb white paper

the joker, 12"x9", Rapidograph and color pencil on Bienfang 70-lb white paper

lovely high

joseltp — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:03:40 +0000

faces&facadesoflove, 14"x11", graphite and pastel on Strathmore Drawing 400-series, 80-lb paper

This is my most favorite Stevie Wonder song! I first heard it almost a lifetime ago, when I was still in my elementary years. I had no idea then what the song was really all about. But its bittersweet, poignant melody, evoking melancholy, was what caught the interest of my impressionable, young ears.

Fast forward to the present time and now my adult mind could somehow understand already what Stevie was trying to say with his song. In my opinion, he’s just simply stating the obvious that when one falls in love, that person can either gain someone’s unconditional devotion or lose his/her very own heart altogether. Fate visits every single soul– sometimes, befalling even the best of us with misfortune while at the same time even showering the unheralded ones with blessings.

Yes, people do a lot of crazy things in the name of love. Some defy their relatives to be with the ones they love. And some even renounce their personal beliefs to marry the persons their hearts desire. Still, some will go to great lengths to keep the ones they love from leaving the bond, even if there was infidelity involved. Whatever the case may be, love is so powerful that one will do anything just to make it last. In more ways than one, this proves the scientific studies that have already been done about, and related to, this subject: that love, indeed, can be addicting like a drug. As such, it can cause obsession and depression in some people, especially when it concerns unrequited love. A study by Dr. Helen Fisher from Rutgers University has shown that by using a combination of MRI scans and other tests, the connection between love and addiction is evident through analyses of changes in brain activity while in the state of feeling love. It confirms the fact that love can be classified as an addiction because “the same chemical changes occur in the brain with love as they do with drug use.” Furthermore, during the first stages of love, risk-taking is heightened as a result of a “high” brought about by euphoria which, in turn, overpowers the two individuals involved as they are completely absorbed in each other. This behavior is the result of the brain’s limbic system affecting the neurotransmitter levels. Under ideal conditions, this part of the brain helps control behavior by preventing obsession and impulses. And yet, as stated earlier, the overpowering drive of love can easily alter this normal behavior. As one can see, love has the power to control reason. It can be a most majestic feeling that is worth experiencing and fighting for. However, the reality of losing it, sadly, is also just as real. As Stevie sang it, “All is fair in love…”

The irony about love is not in its shortcoming when two people fall out of it, for love is inherently good. The failing lies in the couple partaking it. In short, one of them (or both) failed to live up to love’s biblical promises as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13 and Mark 10:8-9. I believe that when these sacrosanct verses are practiced, no pride or temptation or wickedness can overpower the love shared by every couple.

u 'n' i, 11"x8.5", graphite, pastel and crayon on Winsor & Newton 65-lb paper

“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.” –Author unknown.

:(

joseltp — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:32:13 +0000

fcuk it! fcuk sadness! 12"x9", ink, acrylic, and colored pencil on Canson 70-lb white Drawing paper

Everyone feels sad from time to time, I understand that. I just hope, for everybody’s sake, that it never gets to being hopelessly sad. As for myself, whenever I’m feeling down, I just listen to music. And if that still wouldn’t clear up my mind, then I’d sleep it off. Anything worse than that, I’d need to find an outlet for– like drawing. If it’s the worst kind, like the grief brought by the loss of a loved one, then I’m afraid I’ll be so devastated that the only thing that’s going to lift me up is the mercy of Christ.

Today, I’m feeling down. An unlikely Saturday kind of sadness. And so I find myself writing this post, while listening to Pandora radio, preset to one of my personal choices of station: Billy Joel’s. Right now, what’s playing is Five For Fighting’s “100 Years.” How fitting. Because it seems that even after all these years, I’m still caught up in some lamentable memories and worries of my life– causing me not to see my blessings, instead of realizing that each second that passes is an opportunity for gratitude.

Ahh, I need to find a way to look at the bright side…shake off this sorry feeling. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

imploding into zero, 12"x9", graphite, acrylic, and colored pencil on Canson 70-lb white Drawing paper

The future starts today

joseltp — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 18:02:50 +0000

“The future starts today, not tomorrow.” –Pope John Paul II (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005)

gotcha! the future is in my hands!, 12"x9", pen and ink on Strathmore 400-series, 60-lb Sketch paper

the man looks back at his life

examines it

and as if in disbelief wonders,

“was i born to live the life i have now?”

he ponders for so long

his eyes fixed to the ground,

after which he stares at the horizon ahead

still not knowing the answer to his question.

and then, even more perplexingly,

as though searching for a second opinion

asks himself sheepishly another question,

“why was i born?”

then he finds another person

who seems contented and happy about life

not far from where he stands.

he approaches this person, a woman,

and asks her the same first question

which he himself couldn’t answer with certainty.

and, lo and behold,

the woman answers readily

and willfully, so sure of herself,

that the reason she lives the life she has now

is because she was born!

her answer stunned him

for how can she be happy

while he is not!?

still astounded, he thanks her

and off she goes her way,

his eyes following her walk

her sure steps away from him.

then it dawned on him, as if an epiphany–

the answer he has been so keenly searching for all his life!

that the distance between him and her

is the difference between misery and joy,

the missing link between the “then” and “now”!

only then does he realize now

that the self-fulfillment or discontentment

a person experiences

is actually the “work-in-progress”

between the time this person was born

and this person’s present life.

now he feels enlightened

gathers himself,

looks up to the sky in gratitude and supplication

and walks further ahead

toward the horizon.

he assures himself

that he will rebuild his tomorrow

by working on his life today.

he feels reborn, elated and grateful

because now he truly believes it is never too late to change,

that today defines the future,

and that his very own future must start today.

forget it! don't stockpile for tomorrow by digging up the past today, 12"x9", pen and ink on Strathmore 400-series, 60-lb Sketch paper

A Blessed Happy Easter to all!!!

joseltp — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 10:58:23 +0000

Get your free E-Cards at http://www.dayspring.com/

GOD BLESS YOU ALL ALWAYS!!!

Miracle

joseltp — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:52:12 +0000

My girlfriend once asked me what, in my opinion, is the greatest miracle in my life. And, although I didn’t have an easy answer for her at that time, I knew in my heart that it’s got to be love. But which kind of love? Is it the kind of loving that I give to others– my family, in particular? Or the love that I receive from them and other people? I was inclined to reply with both kinds of love. But accepting that as it is somehow masks the meaning of miracle. The Free Dictionary defines miracle as “an event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to be supernatural in origin or an act of God.” The way I see it, I ought to receive love because I give love. Yes, it makes perfect sense, even though there’s hardly a miracle I’m seeing there. After all, it is The Golden Rule exemplified here, a realization of the causality relationship between cause and effect events. But since I also believe that it is already my Christian duty to love my fellowman, then loving, in this sense, must no longer be an inexplicable nor a supernatural act. Instead, it becomes an integral part of my nature, manifested without or with little difficulty into a course for expression. I should, therefore, not find it an impossible task anymore to love anyone. Suddenly, what seems like a miracle becomes an easily attainable regularity. All things considered, an even more baffling reality would be one’s inability to love and, yet, still be loved! Reflecting on this gave me the answer I was searching for– that the greatest miracle in my life is that someone still loves me, in spite of who I am! Because, whether I know how to love or not, the fact that a person loves me proves the truth that love, once it wells up, can flow freely from one’s heart into my own– abundantly! And it doesn’t expect anything in return! That is where the greatness of this miracle exists– that it is true and it is happening, despite my mind saying otherwise! This I understood even better when I realized that God loves me unconditionally even if I don’t love Him back enough!
Truly, when one believes in God, a miracle always happens! Even when it feels like the whole world is on your shoulder, when everyone seems to hate you, there is always someone who surely still loves you without fail and without equal: God! And He will never leave you nor forsake you! Now, if that isn’t the greatest miracle in one’s life, I don’t know what is!

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10 (NIV)

old sketches

joseltp — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:33:43 +0000

Here are some old sketches that I did way back in the ’90s. They are all sketches from pictures that I found interesting in whatever magazines or newspapers I could lay my hands on at that time. Being self-taught, that was how I practiced my eye-hand coordination skills– by copying from pictures and judging how closely I could get a likeness by using as few strokes as possible. My reasoning was, if I could nail a convincingly pretty close copy by accurately drawing the contours of the major facial features (like the correct placement and shapes of eyes, nose, mouth, etc.), then the rendering or dimensional shaping and forming of the drawing by way of shadings, shadows and highlights would easily follow. (all drawings were done on regular 11″x8.5″ copy paper using charcoal and graphite.)

Alberto Breccia

artists all

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey

Holly Golightly

Audrey Hepburn

Wes Studi

love evolves

joseltp — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:27:12 +0000

love evolves as eros errs

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life…You give them a piece of you. They didn’t ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn’t your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like ‘maybe we should be just friends’ turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It’s a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love.”

Above is a Neil Gaiman quote that I found on the web. And though it’s about the painful side of loving, I agree with it nonetheless and personally feel that it’s true because I had experienced the same kind of pain before. More so, the eros kind of love that seems to always expect something in return is a very fickle and insecure emotion. Even then, people still fall right into it. Ahh, but what can humans do about it? After all, it’s an alluring way to experience and appreciate the challenges in life as one grows and matures with time. Besides, feeling the hurt in a relationship may just teach one to learn by heart the selfless-giving kind of Christian love which is agape. In this kind of love, one offers his or her whole self unconditionally to others, exactly as Christ had done for humankind! If one can give till it hurts, then that person is just a heartbeat away from this ultimate, self-sacrificing kind of love! Yes, it’s attainable, of course! One only needs to live faithfully like so until he/she passes away from this world and into eternal life. Because in the end, this person would have proven well enough that the moment he/she decided to live like Christ, his/her life in effect became just one longer deed of Christian love– however trying along the way it might have been– and culminating with self-offering at the moment he/she returns to his/her Maker!
And in both retrospect and foresight, I somehow empathize with those who have experienced some terrible hurt caused by betrayal from their self-centered partners. Because only from these emotionally draining pains can one be tempered to forge ahead into becoming more resilient against the blows that invariably lie ahead! These are the kind of people who are capable of loving anyone selflessly! GOD Bless them all always!!!

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” –John 15:12-13 (New International Version)

love is laying down your life for others

i l♥ve y♥u !!!

joseltp — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:52:26 +0000

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