The Los Angeles-Filipino Association of City Employees (LAFACE) in cooperation with the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs proudly present STROKES OF GENIUS: FILIPINO AMERICAN ARTISTS OF LOS ANGELES
June 10 รข€“ July 3, 2009Opening Reception: Wednesday, June 10, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Free Admission
LA City Hall Gallery (Main Rio Bridge)200 N. Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012Exhibit Hours: Mondays through Fridays, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Exhibiting Artists:
Ben S. LaoDon Magno
Eliseo Art Silva
Hector Flores
Jess Espanola
Papo de Asis
Rafael Maniago
Rodolfo Samonte
Salvador Arellano
Vics Magsaysay
Curator: Zen Lopez
Celebrating the superb talent, ingenuity and artistry of Filipino Americans and their valuable contribution to society. This is a project of the Los Angeles-Filipino Association of City Employees in celebration of the 111th Anniversary of Philippine Independence. This exhibit was made possible with the cooperation of Councilmember Wendy Greuel.
Zen Lopez
818.307.0177
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Wednesday, June 3, 2009
STROKES OF GENIUS: FILIPINO AMERICAN ARTISTS OF LOS ANGELES
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Indigenous Nature Art: My Forest Nook
Mixed Media: Indigenous Nature ArtOil Painting with Dried Plant Materials
My Forest Nook
In the middle of the journey of our life
I found myself within a dark forest
where the straight path was lost.”
Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy- Inferno, canto I Lines 1-3
I found this quote from Dante, in his book Divine Comedy. Somehow, I would say, likened to my artwork, there's this forest nook inside of us. Somewhere in time, the straight path may no longer be there, and looms the dark forest. But there's that nook, a resting place where we could stay. Even if we're lost, if we keep the faith and we believe, we will see the light, and find the straight path again.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
My Warm Greetings!
Thanks for dropping by. I read your messages in my inbox and they warm my heart. Do keep visiting.
My love,
Lepan
Saturday, June 14, 2008
SMUDGED
Stay in tune with God's will.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
DAWN HUNTER
Dawn Hunter
This is my first painting of a man and an animal. It is sheer exploration of how the brush works, and how colors blend together on canvas.
"Life without liberty is like a body without a spirit." 
I always get mystified with the music in the breeze as it sweeps the blades of grass. It transports me in another place in time.
Me, Lepan.
CELEBRATING ART AND CULTURE EXHIBIT SERIES 2004 Griffith's Theatre, Brent International School, Baguio City
MY SACRED SPACE
My Sacred Space
My personal world is just a quarter space and it is sacred to me.
Me, Lepan...
GIRL MICAH
Girl Micah
Micah is a pretty Igorot girl in Guam. I painted her, in the traditional Bontoc wrap-around skirt, right where she lived.
This is my experiment with mixed media, using moss, pebbles, sand, beads, certain kinds of commercial glittery paints, and dried flowers.
ESEK KABUNYAN
Esek Kabunyan
Esek Kabunyan means sown by God.
In 2003, I visited my mother's hometown in Soquib, Besao, in the Mountain Province, Philippines. It still looked very rustic, just as I had remembered from my childhood. In this place, time had stood still.The changes were apparent. The entrance to the community have gotten paved, sacrificing beautiful rice terraces. Still, I found the rice fields facing the old granary of my grandfather the most exquisite... just as they had always appeared in my dreams.
It was peaceful to find my grandfather's resting place, marked by fire.
As we passed through, our guide, who was a respected allapo of the place, pointed out to me the many pine trees planted by my grandfather.
Along the way, I noticed these odd looking pine trees, growing together, roots entwined, trunks fused at the base, branches spread out covering the whole plateau. They looked very old but exuded feelings of security and peace.
Our allapo told us that anybody could pinpoint what they had sowed, but not these trees, as they were there before anybody could remember. He said God had sowed them and these were revered trees, as they had sheltered women, children, and the weak during the war. Miraculously, the enemies had not seen them.
I painted the trees and all those growing and living around that hill as I had experienced them. The peace they give is immortalized on my canvas.
The place I call my never never land... a space in my canvas and sketch pad filled with thoughts and dreams, what is and what's not.
The unassuming gladiolas, the flowers of my childhood. 
Me, Lepan!
QUEST FOR SIBLAW TARAW
Quest for Siblaw Taraw
Siblaw Taraw is a forgotten lake somewhere in Barlig, Mountain Province, Philippines. It used to be a hunters' haven, as the lake turned into a trap for wild animals. The lake filled up with moss and rotten leaves. The deceptive lake ensnares anything and anybody who sets foot on its mushy surface, and they vanish without a trace.
It was so, as I was told.
Siblaw Taraw fits in with a folktale about a maiden star who flew down from the sky to take a dip in a beautiful lake. As the story goes, her wings got stolen and she could no longer fly back. She lived with the people on earth, but she longed for her home in the sky, so she had to find her wings. She then had to search for the place where she lost them.
That is her QUEST FOR SIBLAW TARAW.
Siblaw Taraw, in the native language, meant the plunge or bath of a star. I came upon the name of the lake as I researched to finish a storybook. I wrote an adaptation of a folktale and made illustrations. I climbed Mount Amuyao, a beautiful, mystical forest where I thought I could find the lake.
That is my QUEST FOR SIBLAW TARAW.
The painting was based on a snapshot of me walking the mossy forest at dawn. Sunlight started to stream through onto the canopy of vines and oak trees heavy with moss, orchids, ferns, and lichens. Dewdrops still clung on the leaves and branches and splattered as I passed by.
Taraw, the maiden star in this painting captures my own feelings as we both walk and wonder if we ever find the lake Siblaw Taraw.
I didn't.
You will have to read my book to find out if she did!
These are fragments of my etchings. I didn't learn how to formally paint. I did things on my own. I don't care much about techniques. I just wanted to visually present my thoughts on canvas.
They come as a dream. Images in colors drawn out from nothing.
They have their own life representations.
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."Les Brown
"The soul that is within me, no man can degrade."
Me, Lepan.
MOUNT PULAG SUNRISE
Mount Pulag Sunrise
Mount Pulag is the second highest mountain in the Philippines. Alpine grass covers the top of the mountain which is referred to as the "grassland". Viewed at the distance, Mount Pulag looks bald. It has a beautiful pine and mossy forest.
Mount Pulag is considered to be a sacred mountain. It is believed to be an abode of gods, goddesses, and spirits. I painfully and patiently trekked to the highest peak to witness a spectacular sunrise. It was like sitting right at the doors of heaven, amongst the clouds and with my head nearer the sky.
I painted not the view, but the calm and joy it evoked in me. I came to believe that after my lifetime, my spirit would visit the mountain and be with the gods and goddesses who have chosen to stay there.
"Silent and listen are spelled with the same letters." 
Me, Lepan!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
PINAGPAGAN
Pinagpagan
Pinagpagan is a prestige woven cloth in the Mountain Province, located in the Northern Philippines.
Pinagpagan computer variations
MOTHERS' DAY
Mothers' Day
I painted this on MOTHERS' DAY and it is my tribute to all happy mothers.
In the Cordilleras, eban is a blanket used to carry a child. Some are hand-woven cloth, handed down from generation to generation. It is to signify the tie that binds all offspring of the family.
Changes happen. Ways of living get mainstreamed. But family traditions will stay. The eban is a symbol of love, care, and security for the children. Nothing can equal the experience of holding a child in an eban.
Birds of paradise
"If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain."Anon
TAYAO
Tayao is a native ritual dance in Benguet Province located in the Northern Philippines. It is performed during community festivities called canao, or during the celebration of particular occassions such as weddings, wakes, and other rituals.The male dancer uses two blankets hanging loosely on both arms. The female dance wraps a blanket around her body called the chinde on top of her skirt and blouse, referred to as debit and shambra. The men are in their G-strings, called kubal.
The TAYAO is a ritual, thus this is regarded as a sacred performance. Those who are given the blanket are expected to dance. It is a gesture of humble acceptance and oneness with those performing the canao. An elder loudly chants a blessing called the da'tok, as the couple with the ritual blankets end the dance. In response, the crowd chants the owag in approval. The blanket are then offered to other couples.
The background is a glimpse of the Gran Cordillera Range, with its chain of mountains. This defines the character of the dance, which is performed in accordance with the nuances of colors, shapes, and sounds of the natural environment.
