A Day with Nanding Sena

I'll never forget the day when a true, iconic, Filipino artist like Fernando Sena, let me paint over his canvass...

It was last October 21 when I took part in a momentuous mural painting event for our company. We had to paint a large mural depicting the company's core values, and we did it pane by pane. Being the art teacher's pet that I usually am, I sat infront, recited out loud, and raised my hand when asked who would like to get the most difficult pane. After all, Nanding Sena is the Father of Philippine Art Workshop, a remarkable realist painter, and a witty, effective teacher for art enthusiasts like me. I would gladly be his apprentice any day!

There were only 35 participants that day, so some of us had to take more than one pane. I got two panes, and never in a million years would I expect Nanding Sena to actually help me paint one of them. He probably thought I was too slow, or he got bored! Hehehe! But I didn't care - we painted side-by-side - and he said I was MAGALING! He also adapted my shade of green to his shade of green (check out the blending in the middle). No questions asked. He worked silently. And he let me paint over his letters. He trusted me.

He said that artists are not born, but made. You just need to have the interest and the time. I never thought I'd agree with this, but now I do.

I've always been inclined with drawing and painting since I stepped into 2nd grade. I was sent to on-the-spot drawing contests, I joined art clubs, and even received the "most outstanding art club member" award through high school. In UP, I had my own comics column in our college paper and led the publications committee of my organization. I was exploding ARTS and CRAFTS all over! Time flew and my twenty-something life had more demands than I could ever imagine. Creative juices never stopped flowing, but I now have less time to "make art". So how can an artist truly be an artist if nobody sees his work? One time I was asked to teach art lessons to kids (by my friend who knew I had artistic skills - hehe). I told my officemate about it and guess what... he laughed at me! He thought I had no credibility to do such, and after that I felt really stripped off my "artist" pride. Oh and about a month ago, somebody asked me, "are you a frustrated painter like me"? UGH.

I do not want to be that person who just sits and smiles at herself, taking pride at what she (and only she) knows what she can do.

Thanks Nanding.:-)