Tales of a Paintbrush

It started with a brush, and a story was created.

That’s all it takes for students of the College of Fine Arts (FA) to paint a picture on the infamous, much visited and truly extraordinary piece of work – the art wall.

There were images of creatures with interesting facial expressions, colorful doodles which bring life to common drawings, animals in varied colors and sizes that add a different flavor to the wall and everyday pictures with twists – all of these symbolize the diversity yet individuality of each of the students who have painted a part of themselves on the art wall.

The free-for -all painting within the college started during the Fine Arts week on Feb. 19 this year. It was called “FA Unbound” because it became a venue for the students to express themselves through what else, but art.

Andy Lopez, a 4th year visual communication student, was one of the contributors to the masterpiece. “Yung akin doodle lang ‘yun! Di ko naman pinagisipan, basta may paint lang ako, nagdrawing na ako (Mine was just doodle! I didn’t think; with paint (and brush) on hand, I just drew),” she said.

Most of the students who painted on the art wall just drew without consciously thinking of what to actually draw. Thinking is not so much the thing of students in the fine arts. It’s about letting loose, being in touch of what you feel at the moment and letting the paintbrush guide you as you make each stroke. That is the best way to make a kick-ass work of genius. An irony, isn’t it? But no matter how ironic it may seem, that’s how FA students are – creatively brilliant.

But not all them had that same story.

I caught sight of a seemingly love struck looking 2nd year visual communication student who was walking around the college, and true enough, his drawing on the wall proved that I was not wrong. Seije Blanko drew a “emo cartoon” with a small, red heart on the right side of its body which was the same image that his girlfriend drew for him. He was proud of what they have as lovers and thought that there’s nothing wrong in “putting a simple symbol of love on the art wall for everyone to see.” I, myself, agree. Indeed, he’s an epitome of an FA student deeply much inlove.

Unfortunately, not all FA students have happy love tales like Seije. “Yung first girlfriend ko nakipag-sex sa bestfriend ko (My first girlfriend had sex with my bestfriend),” Chalk Zaldivar, a good-looking lad sporting a Fedora hat, confessed.

His paintings, female faces one with curly, orange hair and the other like a character of Japanese animated film Spirited Away, represent women as being unpredictable and confusing. He said he can’t seem to fully understand women. “Akala mo sa una, okay, sa huli hindi pala (At first you thought, she was okay, the next thing you know she’s really not,” he said, referring to his past experience with his first girlfriend. Yes, even heartbreaks can be put to good use. And Chalk did exactly that.

So that you can understand a totally different story (enough about being love sick puppies) underlying Pat Garcia’s drawing, let me backtrack a bit about the art wall.

The current dean of the college, Florentina Colayco, banned political texts and images on the art wall. Some FA students said that this new regulation took away their freedom of expression. “Dati freedom wall ang tawag diyan, ngayon parang art wall nalang (That was called freedom wall before, now it’s just an art wall),” Joel Casimiro, a 4th year painting major student, said as he looked at the wall.

Hence, 4th year industrial design student Pat Garcia’s decided to draw his response to this on the wall, which in first glance may just be a simple whale, but in fact has something more to say.

A whale breathes through its blowhole above its head. And in Pat’s painting, the blowhole was covered in cork, making it unable to breathe. Freedom is like breathing for FA students. Without it, life in the college is dull and restrained. That’s how Pat felt. He felt that his college is not free, because like the cork, there’s something that prevents them from being so.

As I was gazing at the art wall for the last time, I saw a group of UP students not from FA using the wall for a photoshoot. Sure they admired the artwork, but did they understand the stories behind each face, doodle, creature, dot, line or stroke?

No matter what story the pictures on the art wall represent, it reflects the way the students of the college experience, think and feel. Now, I understand them better. And that I think, compared to the artwork itself, is the more valuable thing I took home with me.