Drawing: Expectations Versus Reality + Some INK Portraits

Drawing: Expectations Versus Reality

This is how I feel every time I draw and my mind won’t cooperate with my hand. Same goes for taking photos when I already have a composed image but I just can’t seem to let my camera to follow my brain! On the other hand, a day is awesome when the stuff that I’ve created is better than the picture in my head.

However, yesterday wasn’t one of those days. I felt like I was in some math class where all my classmates seem to have an easy time computing the equations inside their head while I’m struggling my lengthy solutions. So there I was inside one of the rooms in UP CFA surrounded by these awesome members of Ilustrador ng Kabataan (INK) [translation: “Children’s Book Illustrators”]. While everyone was chilling out and warming up for the portrait session, I felt like I was about to take an exam. I brought my camera because I knew I would be seeing (take note: not making but seeing) some cool stuff that day. The portrait session was in a speed dating format where everyone was given 5-10 minutes to do a portrait of each other. As soon as the time is up, everyone was expected to move one seat to the right and start drawing their new subject.

Above: A quick sketch by Natasha Ringor with brush pen & copic markers

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you know what I can offer. Aside from the Googly Gooeys, I can only draw these dudes or some variations of them. While everyone was seemingly fixated on perfecting their portrait’s faces, I was already busy with completing the details of their outfit, the print on their shirt…et cetera because I had such a crude drawing.

Above: Lance Yumul’s Colored Pencil 5-10 minute portrait!!

Simply intense!

As I mentioned, I was able to bring my camera but I didn’t know how I will document the whole thing because I was also one of the participants (although I actually really wanted to hide & run away just seeing everyone’s detailed outputs). Luckily, someone came in late and since we were an even bunch, they needed someone to give up his/her seat. I volunteered! *Ahahaha.*

Above: Maud Villanueva’s portrait of Angela Taguiang with a freshly drawn portrait from Iori Espiritu

Sometimes, I actually forget to click to take a picture and I end up watching through my lens because I was simply in awe! I discovered a lot of art instruments that I never knew existed. I also saw different ways of using art tools (and thinking how much fun I was missing out on for taking a business course back in college–still totally not an excuse for coming up with simple doodles)!

More awesome portraits by: Iori Espiritu (upper left), Kay Aranzanso (upper right & lower left) & Jamie Bauza (lower right)

While I was going around & taking pictures, a lot of artists were asking me if I was okay about giving up my seat and they actually felt sorry for me. Well, what they didn’t know was that I would have felt sorry for them if they saw the subpar portraits I was handing out to people prior to playing photographer! 😉

Above: Maud Villanueva’s finished portrait of Jamie Bauza

They told me that it was going to be a 5-minute thing so I thought everyone would only be able to draw outlines of each other but no-ho-ho-ho. As it turns out, most of the people there had superpowers. *Facepalm*

Above: Jason Sto. Domingo’s portrait of Isa Natividad

So, while everyone was really quiet and concentrating on their subject and budgeting their time, Jason was busy making everyone laugh–telling jokes now and then while effortlessly churning out realistic portraits. *Gahhh*