Kite

I finished this painting on July 6, 2013. It was Saturday, the first Saturday after the 4th of July. I really wanted to finish this painting that weekend, because this painting had been sitting unfinished in my studio for quite some time already. I actually started this painting three weeks ago, in one Sunday afternoon. The truth is, I started this painting even before I started the painting "Washing in the River," which I finished last Thursday (4th of July).

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This painting shows a boy flying a red kite, while sitting on a huge rock on top of a hill overlooking the crop fields below.

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This reminds me of my childhood days. When I was in grade school, I enjoyed flying kites with my friends and siblings. Our school had a wide playground where students loved to play and run around after school. We would even go there during weekends. Sometimes we would bring our kites to school and fly them later after attending our classes. We would spend the rest of the afternoon that way.

Prints of this painting is available for sale at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cyril-maza.html.

Washing in the River

I finished this painting on the 4th of July 2013. It was a holiday (US Independence Day), so I did not go to work. I spent the whole afternoon, adding finishing touches to this painting, which I started a couple of weeks ago.

This painting shows two beautiful women washing clothes in a river. This scene may be considered typical in remote areas that are far from the cities, where rivers are the only source of water, both for drinking and washing.

This is an acrylic painting on a 24" X 36" canvas.  Prints of this painting are available for sale at 

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/cyril-maza.html.

Banaue

I finished another painting this afternoon, April 7, 2011.  It is an acrylic painting on a 11" X 14" X 5/8" canvas.  

I have named it "Banaue," after the municipality called Banaue (Banawe) in the province of Ifugao in the Philippines. Banaue is widely known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Batad Rice Terraces and Bangaan Rice Terraces. 

The Ifugao Rice Terraces (Banaue Rice Terraces or Hagdan-hagdang Palayan ng Banaue) begin at the base of the mountain range and extend several thousand feet upwards. They are commonly referred to by Filipinos as the "Eight Wonder of the World." Accordingly, the total length of the terraces, when put end to end, would encircle half of the globe. 

The rice terraces manifest the engineering skill and ingenuity of Ifugaos, who built them 2,000 years ago. They are irrigated by means of mountain streams and springs that have been tapped and channeled into canals that run downhill through the rice terraces.

Father and Son

"Father and Son" is the third in my series of parent-and-child paintings.  The first two paintings are "A Moment with Dad" and "Mom and Babe."  This painting features a baby boy, instead of a baby girl, giving it a little bit of distinction from the other two.

All three paintings were made in the first quarter of this year (January to March 2013), and were painted using acrylic paints on canvas.  I finished this one on the 31st of March.

The background of this painting depicts a countryside scene, which is typical of rural villages in the Philippines.  There is a nipa hut in the background, as well as trees, mountains, shrubs, grasses, and tropical flowers.  The father is shown carrying his son in his arms, apparently standing on an elevated portion of the land.  A narrow pathway is shown on the side slope, leading down from where they are, towards the level ground below, where the nipa hut stands.

The Balloon Vendor

Seen from the perspective of a small child looking up to an old bearded man, the painting shows a man with outstretched right arm holding out and offering a green balloon to nearby passersby. The man wears a long sleeve shirt and a blue hat to protect himself from the heat of the sun, as he goes walking along the city streets through out the whole day. He would normally hang out in crowded places such as city parks, public markets, and churchyards. Sunday is probably one of his favorite days of the week, for it is on Sundays that he encounters the most number of people; specially with kids going to church with their parents.

I finished this painting on March 31, 2013.