Alla prima, an Italian phrase that means ‘at first attempt’ or as Romel explained ‘all at once’ is an approach where wet paint is applied to previous layers of still wet paint, often in a single sitting. Instead of being built up by repeated paintings, pigments are laid on in a single application, resulting in ‘painterly’ pieces with soft edges and dynamic brushwork. The spontaneity gives off a certain aesthetic appeal with its ‘effortless’ feel and expressiveness.
With a couple of uncles who were really good at sketching, Romel was exposed to art quite early but it was not until his family migrated to the US that he took art seriously. Seeing the paintings of the old masters at the museums opened his eyes to great art and made him realize what he wanted to do with his life. He enrolled at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. “Alla prima is only a technique and one of the techniques I use with my work. In art school, we used to do a lot of exercises on painting and drawing quickly. I was pretty bad when I started. I remember I had to get a part time job after school (art materials are expensive) and I’d pick up an advertising job here and there, rendering things like buildings, cars, etc. Every now and then, I’d do quick charcoal portrait sketches for stores and other special events, doing 12-18 in a few hours. The extra money wasn’t great but it gave me the chance to practice and taught me to sketch people really quickly. I found myself getting better and better each time and it gave me the confidence to show more of my work out in public. This also opened the door for me to get several portrait commissions.”
Social media shows Romel doing portraits and holding workshops. Would painting portraits make the bulk of his art making? “To be honest, I don’t really take a lot of portrait commissions as I find too much of them could get a bit stale and monotonous. I mostly enjoy painting people in settings, landscapes, still life. I would paint because something inspired me…it could be a particular scene from my everyday life or it could be something in my head that I’ve been wanting to paint for a while. I am drawn to artists who paint figures really well, so old masters like John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, Anders Zorn, the Impressionists (both French and American), the Pre-Raphaelites were among my biggest influences. But I would say that Richard Schmid, with whom I studied and painted with for a few years was the biggest influence in my life as an artist. Not only was he a great artist, he was so generous with sharing his knowledge about art and living as an artist in general.”
“I also enjoy teaching, seeing my students get better and better each time. Being an artist, you have to be resilient, determined and driven. These qualities enable you to persist in the face of failure, rejection and disappointment. These challenges are not supposed to paralyze you. They are supposed to help you discover who you are as an artist. When you put your work out in public, criticism is something you cannot avoid. I found early on that you can’t please everyone. It actually made me work twice as hard to get much better. Years from now, I would still be doing what I’m doing now. You are a student for life and never stop learning. Hopefully I’ll become a better painter and teacher. I’m looking to write a book on painting and drawing, produce a few art videos, and would highly consider opening an art school. The art school might not happen very soon but it is something I’ve been pondering about doing for the last few years because I believe that as an artist, it is our duty to pass on the knowledge we have acquired to the next generation of artists. I’m also considering coming to the Philippines for several months each year, painting local sceneries, sort of going back to my ‘own roots’ because there are tons of subject matter that would be fun to capture on canvas. I always tell my students to paint from life as much as you can. Learn from nature because it has all the answers. Be open to it…it is a gift from God. I find spiritual beauty in all the things that I paint. The innocence of a child’s face, the silent glow of a candle, the sight of dappled lights on the ground, the smell of flowers in the garden, the ever changing colors of Nature…these give joy to my heart, inspiration and gratitude for being an artist.”
“My art teacher once said that our reason for living is finding our life’s passion. Finding our life’s passion is a great endeavor that involves hard work, time and many challenges but once it’s found, we find the true meaning of life.” From where I stand, seems to me Romel has found the meaning of life.
