My artist sister
“Endless Possibilities III” features about 17 paintings by Naomi Banal, with sizes ranging from 20” x 24” to 72” x 48”. The exhibit opens today, May 20, at the Rojo Galerie, Robins Design Center, Meralco Avenue in Pasig City.
First, full disclosure: I’m a fan-sister of the artist.
Naomi is the youngest in our brood of nine. To us, she is “Honey” and we’ve often treated her as such. Even at our ages now, we remain doting and protective of her.
She has always been artistic and creative. She took up ballet at a young age but didn’t pursue it beyond one summer. After high school, she decided on an arts degree in college. This was at a time when children from middle-class families were encouraged to pursue studies that would lead to stable jobs.
In hindsight, her decision to pursue arts was really smart because an AB course did not prevent her from landing a job with established retailing companies anyway. Maybe that exposure to the various facets of a business eventually inspired her to launch her own with her husband.
Naomi is a can-do type of woman. I’ve always suspected she has superpowers. At any rate, she has super energy. She wakes up very early to start painting or drawing, then moves on to doing chores to keep her house in order. Her husband and children are well fed, cared for and loved. I don’t think she ever indulges in a lot of idle breaks. To fill the gaps in her daytime, she cultivates ornamental plants.
She is one of those driven hyphenated women, i.e., artist-homemaker-entrepreneur-philanthropist-believer, who finds joy in being busy and involved. She is always ready to lend a helping hand to a sibling, a relative, a neighbor, or even a stranger. She knows how to mobilize assistance where it is needed. She does everything with genuine dedication.
Their family business that ran for about two decades provided her a creative outlet, which might partly be the reason why her art took a backseat. Yet even during those years, Honey was able to produce artworks for family and good friends.
I was one of the first patrons of her pieces. I love the still life with a “batibot” chair she made for me because she customized it by asking my youngest child to draw on the completed canvas like she was drawing on a wall.
I bought her bougainvillea and other flower pieces, too. My last acquisitions were her huge, abstract flower paintings and something from her recent collections. All are proudly displayed in our residence. I had vowed early on that I would collect work only by artists whom I personally know and love. This is why only Daniela Go and Naomi Banal paintings are on display at home.
Naomi’s work brings forth lightness and gratefulness in me because (1) I am so proud of her, (2) she has come into her own style/identity as an artist (gauging from the response of her patrons), and (3) I genuinely like her art.
The colors are vivid yet harmonious. They flow and merge seamlessly. There are no sharp contrasts. I like seeing the brushstrokes, which give the painting texture. The flower pieces I have are not bound by well-defined lines and are captured at a close angle. While I may not have a sophisticated approach to art appreciation, I’m fine with that. I collect for enjoyment, not investment. And Honey’s paintings do that for me, and more.
When asked what she likes about her art at this point, Naomi says, “There is beauty in imperfections. At my age, I embrace them completely. If you look at my pieces, I particularly like all the drips, the crooked lines and the organic shapes. I work on each one with a heart full of gratitude and unspeakable joy. I hope these are evident when people look at my art.”
There was a time when she doubted her place in the art world, when she felt her work was not really seen or appreciated. I’m glad she persevered and surrounded herself with family, friends, and co-artists who drowned out the critical voices in her head. More importantly, she remained true to her faith, holding on to the promise that He will bless the work of her hands.
Endless Possibilities III, her third solo exhibit of abstract paintings, will feature diptychs and triptychs, in addition to good-sized individual canvases. According to Naomi, she created each piece instinctively, with a lot of improvisation. She paid more attention to the combination of colors, in relation to the non-white background.
There is no better time to let my sister know what her art means to me than now as she exhibits, in her third solo show, the endless possibilities for sheer exuberance and unspeakable joy in her art.
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Endless Possibilities III will run until June 10 at the Rojo Galerie, Robins Design Center, Meralco Avenue in Pasig City.