Pinto Art Museum

I've heard a lot about Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo but I never found the time to visit it. So, when Joaqui's mom invited me to go with his sister to shoot, I couldn't let the opportunity pass. As soon as you step foot inside Pinto, you'd be welcomed with such lush greenery and a relieving landscape. Mere photos of the landscape wouldn't give justice to how much of a beaut the place is.

Not only is it picturesque on the outside but Pinto houses the some of the most thought-provoking artworks that I've seen as most pieces tackle social reality. The collaborative mural entitled Karnabal is a piece done by 16 artists collectively known as the Salingpusa art group. As the piece dates back to the Post-EDSA Revolution era, it tackles the state of Filipino culture and society then. Interestingly, you could interpret the piece as if it could still be relevant today.

The Hollow Man. As the artist states, the piece is “nothing but a suggestion of probable continuity.” There's this certain contrast about this photo that I really like. It's as if the piece and Joaqui were juxtaposed to mean something more. But then, there's Joaqui who's just 100% game to pose even if I just bicker at him once he's in front of the camera.

We Are The Kids Your Parents Warned You About. It honestly felt like I've seen Pinto Art Museum through my social media platforms. Even if it was my first time visiting the gallery, it was as if I've seen it all already. Still, it's still very different from just plainly viewing it from a screen than seeing it in real life. Upon seeing this popular piece, I seriously thought of what my parents warned me of when I was young(er). I don't know about you but my parents told me never to talk to strangers since they would offer you candy and kidnap you if you took it.

Thread on Silkscreen. One of my favorite pieces. It took me back to the time waaaay back in high school when I tried to sell T-Shirts which I silk-screened myself. Then, you have this piece which turned the simple tool into such beautiful art. Imagine having to embroider such a delicate piece of cloth.

The last gallery was my favorite as it had various social-realist pieces which Tita Anne and I discussed briefly. She told me how cynical certain works were and how people could possibly be disadvantaged from the cynicism.

Since Julia is still learning the basics of Photography, I made her do the A-Z Project that my Photography professor also made me do. We tried looking for the alphabet in the most random of things from the floor to the ceiling (We literally have a photo of a lighting fixture for the letter J). The lighting in Pinto gave us the perfect conditions to shoot from low-light to direct sunlight. The weather even cooperated with us as it started to drizzle right after we finished our drinks at the cafe.

At the end of the day, I was bummed over not taking enough photos but I'm pretty sure this wouldn't be the last time I'll set foot in Pinto. I realized that I didn't take enough photos because I had to balance interpreting pieces and taking photos. I highly recommend that people visit Pinto Art Museum not for the Instagram opportunity but also to appreciate the art (A tour guide would be of great help!) 

19 Thousand Year Old Soul

Last September 5, I had to go off the grid and avoid any form of media for 24 hours as an assignment for my MASSCOM class. Since staying home would expose me to temptation, my family and I planned to go to Alabang for the voter registration. I purposely left my phone at home just so I could focus!

By the time we got to the venue, it was packed with people and we had run out of slots already. As if by reflex, I took my phone out only to remember that I was fasting. My thoughts were there but I just lacked the outlet. I would have tweeted instantly and mindlessly complained but I realized it would be better to keep the negative thoughts to myself. I thought about how negative my newsfeed was most of the time and that I didn’t really have to add up to all the negativity. Read on to see how the rest of my day went :)

Oh Brighter Days!

Yesterday, I got the chance to shoot the Oh Brighter Days! collection for Heima designed by Googly Gooeys. I just couldn't pass up the invitation to shoot. Everything inside Heima was so picturesque! Plus, most of my idols were in the event. I kind of hoped they painted on the spot just so we could see some art in action!

I'm so down for more shoots like this! In case you want to do a shoot, just hit me up on any of my social media sites (@AldeaAllana) or through aldeaallana@gmail.com. Also, I'm finally on Bloglovin'!

Fairly Local

Week 28 was pretty dreary. I spent too much time at home but I realized it was the perfect warm-up for the hectic week coming up. I’m bidding goodbye to the wonderful age of 18 and saying hello to my last teen year! I’m old!!!!!

After eating a really good serving of Pad Thai, I fearlessly held my phone out the window to capture Kapitolyo before a rain shower. I spent the afternoon tutoring but the most valuable lesson I learned was never to run around the condo with my socks on because I slipped and imagined my self falling out of the window.

Starry Night

"I've loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."

I came across this quote on Instagram and it pretty much summed up my last few weekends in Bacolod. We went from camping, to a family dinner, to a crazily funny night. The sky's just too pretty to stay indoors! (which is basically why we were roaming around the streets of Lacson way past our curfew #badass)

I've been home for a day and this is pretty much the only thing I've done. I have a few more posts under my sleeve!

Bad Blood

The title is totally irrelevant but it was playing during a 30-minute drive to a little pottery stand by the road in Panuolan, San Carlos. The very interesting trip gave me a chance to witness how pots and jars come to be from a little slab of clay.

Screaming Color

Lately, I found myself lurking art blogs (1 2 3) out of my spare time because I’m in need of inspiration but I came to realize I’m surrounded with so much. Now, I’m climbing up to my house’s roof deck to paint the afternoon away! (I kind of regret not bringing a sketchpad to the province. I’m stuck with a not-so-watercolor friendly notebook and my Moleskine.)

These are just a few of what’s inside my planner. After discovering what brush lettering is, it got me hooked! I pretty much just doodle whatever’s playing or where I’ve been. I’m still on the road to learning more techniques and tricks with watercolor. I’ve been using the same watercolor set (Prang, 8-color palette) I’ve owned since 2011 and I still have so much paint left. I honestly don’t know what I did to make it last that long!

Surviving a Zombie Attack

The challenge: Create a movie poster out of a book you've read/your favorite book for my GIFT Class. This serves as an entry to a contest at my school's library as well.

The outcome (after 8 hours of sitting down and clicking and moving anchor points):

I based my poster on Max Brooks' The Zombie Survival Guide and used Garrett Nickelsen as my muse. Thank God my Photoshop didn't crash or lag at all while I was making my poster. (Everything is of original artwork minus the zombie motifs at the side, the little zombie replacing the "o", and that gun.) Finally getting the hang of using vectors!