This Glamor, That Glamor

SENORA BABOO, AS MY DAD HAD NAMED HER, sits behind me daily as I work on my computer, on the right-most corner of the dining table which has become my permanent office since moving to Barcelona. We are alike, she and I, having a penchant for dolling up and dressing up, though in my case, I'd need to wear more than just a necklace over my nudity.

Unlike Señora Baboo, however, who is picture perfect day in and day out, my daily appearance has not been as manicured as usual. Where I used to work best in high heels and lined eyes, I now bask in the glow of my laptop screen wearing whatever I woke up in, or whatever I am about to sleep in. Footwear? Just my bedroom slippers. Makeup? Call it a natural "sheen".

And my office pals? Two hairy gals -one gold, one grey- that need walking and feeding, and minding when they're bored. It's not the most glamorous of setups. But at any given time of the day, I can throw on a dress and some concealer, traipse over to the corner bar for vino or vermut, stroll down Diagonal or Passeig de Gracia for a quick shop, see some Gaudì and pick up some pan integral on the way home. Or I can stay in and savor being home with sunlight, plants and pets, watch a movie, whip up a salad or do some gardening over breaks, like I never quite had a chance to since I started working six years ago.

Glamor is more than what goes on your face and adorns your body. And it must definitely be more than what fills your surroundings. It is, by definition, "the attractive or exciting quality that makes certain people or things seem appealing or special." Archaically, it is magic. Enchantment. You can feel glamorous in a corner office overlooking the ocean and just the same feel glamorous in bed, with messy hair, a laptop and a puppy. It's really up to you.

And so. Señora Baboo, I am still more glamorous than you.

Señora Baboo, oil on canvas by Rudy San Pedro. www.rudysanpedroart.com

That Man With A Mo

FOR AS LONG AS I'VE KNOWN HIM, my dad had always sported a moustache, now grown salt-and-pepper-ry sparse as he turns a glorious 66!

The photo above is of him in his youth, already moustached, and displaying that grin he puts on when being mischievous with work. Why is there a pot-bellied, toothless man in this storyboard frame? Or a bird doing a poo-poo in our dining room mural? Or a leaf of another plant growing from this painted branch? Thing is, you'd never even notice until he points them out to you. And he does so to have a laugh, pleased with his artistic prankishness.

While I inherited much of his temper and some of his artistic capabilities, I don't think I quite took after Daddy with regards to having a sense of humor. Maybe I need to grow a moustache for that.

Happy Birthday Daddy! Stay happy!

Rudy San Pedro, 1970.

Those Paintings in Waiting

AN END IN SIGHT FOR A NIGHT OF BEGINNINGS. I am so not good at this whole events business and really it was ambitious for us to take on it ourselves, along with everything else needed to launch an exhibit. Not to mention flaring and flailing tempers between family members. Hey, it's bound to happen at some point.

Nonetheless tonight is the night and I wish I could say -and do- relax after all of this is done. But it's really just another check in the long list that is January and I'm surprised to be reminded it's only been ten days since the year began.

Music, check. Thank You cards, check. Dress, check. Now what to do about my neglected toes?

Genesis pre-show at ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum. www.rudysanpedroart.com Photos by Lady San Pedro.

These Beginnings

TEN DAYS TO GO! Keeping me busy all month, employing every bit of my not-so-free time off employment, the show has required me to be writer, designer, coordinator, runner, promoter, web designer and consultant, all while being daughter to an artist and artist's wife.

A month well spent, a month well done.

Genesis is my father's second one-man-show since retirement, an aggressive and remarkable leap I believe from his more subtle first exhibit in 2009.

The show re-imagines the Hebrew story of creation, depicting the narrative through a gradual transition from abstract to fully realistic. Expect the first few creation days of light, space, sea and sky in abstract, then the succeeding formations of land, beasts and sea creatures in an increasingly almost-photographic rendition.

Genesis marks beginnings for me too, happening just before Jaime, the pets and I are set to end this chapter lived in our bright, white Manila home to begin a new one somewhere beyond the sea. In leaving Manila, I had also left advertising -possibly momentarily, but who knows- in a charmed career that has defined me for the past five years.

What now? Do I paint and take after my father? Do I attempt to rekindle my love for theater? Do I do nothing and for once just gallivant, flounder, leave it be and live?

It's not easy to wait and see. But when you've lived all your life as if you were running out of time, maybe it's good to pause and realize that a break is not necessarily a waste. There's plenty of time and plenty more opportunities. After all, Julia Child didn't discover her French culinary calling until she was almost 50. That gives me 23 years.

Here's to beginnings!

Genesis runs from January 10-22 at ArtistSpace, Ayala Museum, Makati Avenue corner De la Rosa Street, Makati, Metro Manila. www.rudysanpedroart.com Photos by Lady San Pedro.

That Green House

VISITING MY PARENTS RECENTLY left me surprised with all the changes that's taken place back home in just a few months' time. In the same way my mother had shrunken to an outrageous size 2, after about twenty years of putting on the mommy pounds, the house too felt like it had grown even smaller with an overgrowth of considerably large canvases featuring the richest color and detail.

I'm dying to upload images for the January exhibit. Except, they aren't my works and my dad would be thoroughly upset to have his paintings exposed in any way before the actual opening night. Nonetheless, the works he's done on the side are plenty to feast on.

And more and more it is becoming clear to me how there's no pulling the man away from nature. It is after all, where we truly belong.

Various paintings by Rudy San Pedro, www.rudysanpedroart.com Photos by Lady San Pedro.

That Spring Awakening

THERE IS SUCH A NATURAL CONNECTION between my dad and the subject matter of flora that makes his ability to paint them as effortless as they appear.

I think I want it!

Untitled painting by Rudy San Pedro.

Those White Wings

MAY 2011 SEE YOUR SPIRITS SOAR over any adversity and may you live happy, peaceful and free.

Happy New Year!

White Wings by Rudy San Pedro.

That Emergence

MY DAD MADE THIS AMAZING MULTI-LAYER ABSTRACT some time ago on a canvas which I had tried and erred to paint something -anything- on.

So with that unfortunate lack of any clear subject matter to make an artwork of, I sent my confused disaster of a canvas over to him and a day later I got it back looking nothing short of amazing.

Aside from being prominently displayed at our home reception, this painting now also serves as the inspiration for my dad's new painting exhibit which he had officially started work on. It will be a seven-painting series about, well, I can't really say.

What this means for me? Gallery hunting, guest-list making and canapé and wine selecting.

Exciting things to come!

Emerge by Rudy San Pedro, www.rudysanpedroart.com

That New Leaf

WHAT BETTER WAY TO START THIS BLOG than to post works by the man who introduced me to art and everything under its scope: my daddy.

From the very first moment I opened my eyes I had looked up at his creations dangling above my crib and since then, I had, under his early influence, spent my years pursuing aesthetic pleasure in every aspect of my life.

Here are some of his oil paintings from "A New Leaf", his most recent show and his first in over thirty years.

Oil paintings from Rudy San Pedro's A New Leaf exhibit, April 2009.

For more art, visit www.bluecanvas.com/sanpedroart