Travels on Paint and Paper

CEBU, Philippines - When travelling and you see a beautiful spot, a heartwarming scene, a funny tandem, or just about anything that catches your fancy, the tendency is that you would immediately grab your camera, or mobile phone, and start clicking.

It’s hard to miss an opportunity to record a scene that’s bound to be lost in one’s memory after a second or two.

Even painters have grown a liking to this handy little tool which they can carry around to capture an inspiration, to be put on canvass at a later time.

For Anthony Fermin, however, his camera is his handy watercolor palette which he carries around wherever he goes. And his canvas is just about anything that is available at the moment inspiration sparks.

Last January 9, Fermin opened an exhibit at, what better venue with such an apt name, the Canvas Bistro, Bar & Gallery at The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu owned by the charming Eya Shrimski and husband Stephen.

Mounted were en plein air works (literally means “in the open air”) done during his extensive travels, most especially during his frequent trips to his adopted city, Silay City in Negros Occidental; hometown of his wife, Evan, who has grown a liking to Cebu. And as these works were done on the spot, the exhibit was aptly called On-the-spot.

The subjects are mostly old houses, although there were also a few seascapes, including a boat that is about to leave the port. They were quite small, the size of the canvas on average would be at 2.5x3.5 inches, because, as Fermin said, this would allow him to quickly capture the subject before something would happen to change the perspective, like the boat leaving the port, perhaps.

Together with Fermin’s travel “pictures,” on display were two of his most recent studio works, in a style which he said his patrons and the art scene knows him for: Angular figures in vibrant colors that seem to be in constant motion.

Still the subjects had the mark of his travels, but together with that they also depicted the rustic life of rural Philippines, with small sari-sari stores complete with displays of the day’s harvests, or children crowding around a sorbetes cart.

Fermin said that his favorite subjects are festivals, local folk and island living. His medium of choice is watercolor because he said it is convenient to bring around, although he added that he is also comfortable with acrylic, especially for his studio paintings.

Bacolod-based artist Moreen Austria also has some of her works displayed at the exhibit. Her works depicted the beauty of womanhood in its most uncomfortable positions. In contrast to Fermin’s work, Austria uses Earth colors, with her subjects sporting mestiza features, with their sharp nose and a smile that speaks of deep contemplation or a sense of detachment from her world.

On-the-spot will run until January 31, 2010 at Canvas Bistro, Bar & Gallery.