Subtle Visions

WHAT does it take to convey a message without having to shake the world?

For visual artist Patricia Mendoza, “subtle choice of colors” would best answer this question. “Subtle” is also the name of her second solo painting exhibit, which was held at the Chiye Mori Library at the 856 G Gallery, AS Fortuna St. in June this year.

When asked about why she used this title, Mendoza, a teacher by profession, explained: “I want my colors to be just that: subtle. The subject matter can be only a micro expression or a gesture, things that don’t really shake the world.”

Mendoza is currently teaching animation and art courses in the University of Cebu while pursuing her love for painting.

Attended by her colleagues from the art industry and by aspiring young artists, “Subtle” gave viewers a glimpse into the artist’s train of thought. One of her former students from the University of Cebu, Farrah Tunacao, said, “Ms. Pat is an easy teacher to be with. When it comes to painting she’s good. She has her own signature strokes.”                                             

True enough, award-winning graphic designer Saul Sander Martinez also said the same thing. “There is an unusual colour combination which makes it all interesting. She has her own signature style, [and has] continuity.”

This professional artist, who graduated from the University of the Philippines–Cebu with a degree in fine arts, used acrylic for her medium. She had a neutral colour scheme such as brown, beige, peach, and powder blue.

“People tend to judge paintings by their colors,” Mendoza said. “For them, when it’s bright, it (brings with it) a heavy message; when it’s a bit cool, it’s laid back. My choice of using these colors is a form of establishing communication when they look at it.”

When asked about her best painting in the set, she pointed out two of them. One was titled “He Wants to be that Guy” and the other was “Landscapes.”

The first painting has for its subject a cousin of hers who screwed up his face, creating a facial expression hard to describe. Is it fear, disbelief, surprise, or disgust?

This work also speaks of life, when we don’t really know what to do, and there is no need for us to pretend we are someone else, or someone we want to be but never will.

The second one is a subtle reference to the female figure but it can also be seen as on the literal level, a picturesque scene, hence the name, landscape. It can even refer to Mother Nature.

There were other interesting paintings in the exhibit that were titled as simple nuggets of wisdom to life, such as “It’s not what it seems,” “You can’t bridge some gaps,” “Learn to deal with it,” and “Don’t be a jerk.”

Simple yet hard to grasp, and for the painter it took a couple of colors on each canvas to convey what her thoughts were.

It takes a viewer a few moments in front of each work to go beyond the paint, to understand the artist’s message. Beauty is truly more than skin deep. 

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on August 23, 2011.