Gabi Man, May Araw Din

"Gabi Man, May Araw Din"

36" x 48"

Acrylic on Canvas

2023

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.” -Pema Chodron Home is not the physical structure but the people and the memories in it. LIVING in this comfort will provide you that warm and cozy feeling, yet there may be times that you feel empty inside. But, LEAVING home will allow you to experience life in a new, exciting, and unfamiliar environment. It can be fearsome to let go of the ‘old pieces of stuff’ to make room for new ones, but remember that if you hold on too tight, you are incapable of manifesting something better or equal. Some may think it is selfish but note that It’s never wrong to want to leave your hometown or choose yourself. Sometimes we need go to grow. All these memories you have amassed will always have a special place in your heart, and you will carry them as you go, and when you remember, it will draw a smile on your face even though you are having a rough day. To put it simply, it will give you the inspiration to move forward. This is what is represented through John Melvin’s artwork, a person with a house on the head signifying how you will carry the memories built upon your HOME as inspiration, and the LAMP embodies your burning PASSION and MOTIVATION to push through no matter the challenges come your way as you leave HOME.

To pay homage to nature is the subject of John Melvin Garcia's paintings. As the world is slowly wasting away due to the lack of regard, exploitation, and ill-use of the resources from nature, the artist want to use the platform to raise awareness on how to take care of our "tahanan." The artist seeks to show admiration for the earth's mother and appreciate how it sustains life and how we as humans should also do the same. People in his artworks are painted with closed eyes representing calmness and sincerity. Closing our eyes is our brain's way of blocking out visual stimuli. He designed the people in his artworks in such a way to show that if we only close our eyes, we can remove the distractions. Tune out the visual noise and realize what we are neglecting and how we as people of the world are taking for granted the lavish gifts of our dear mother earth. Close the eyes to see clearly and to show heartfelt sincerity. Working in acrylic on canvas, the artist uses brilliant colors representing nature to give his paintings a soft and sincere presence. To enhance the said presence, he focuses on the fluidity of his strokes that imitates the movement of the water and vines, spontaneous and unconstrained. The resulting work radiates "kalinga for kalikasan," which leaves the viewers asking, "mother nature has provided and cared for us for so long but we as humans, are we doing the same?".