ILLUSTRATION ART AS FINE ART by Constantino Tejero

ARNEL MIRASOL is a bit disappointed that local art writers seem to ignore his exhibits of illustrations. The more reason for disappointment that the sentiment comes from someone whom some consider the Philippines' "own Maxfield Parrish." But his is not the only case, as most often such shows are not taken by art critics as seriously as they would an exhibit of abstraction, installations, assemblages or some such esoterica.

Which is rather puzzling, considering the painstaking effort, stylistic skill and deep thought that can also go into illustration art. Consider Mirasol's third solo exhibit, "ptgs & illus," 21 pieces in acrylic on paper and oil on canvas, recently in Crucible Gallery at the Artwalk, L/4, Bldg.A, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City. The show comprises eight paintings on the theme of machismo, 2 cover art, and 11 illustrations for the book Long Ago and Far Away (right), a retelling of 10 Brothers Grimm fairy tales by Fran Ng and Rene Villanueva. All are rendered in Mirasol's trademark sharp-focus realist style, which he learned from the small brush technique of Parrish and Wyeth.

Seraglio Fantasy, oil on canvas, 24 X 24inches, 2005, private collection

Snorkeler's Blues, oil on canvas, 24 X 13 inches, 2006, private collection

Although he first thrived on monochrome, in pen and ink drawing as political cartoonist and in black-and-white line drawing as a textbook illustrator, Mirasol also stands out as a colorist. He can blend complementary colors so that the brilliance of each hue doesn't clash with the others, but rather harmonizes, as in the machismo paintings Seraglio Fantasy and Snorkeler's Blues. But even more that his delicate colorism, the viewer appreciates his fine rendering of form. His illustrative skill goes beyond mere narrative.

Supremacy of Eve, acrylic on paper, 30 X 22 inches, 2006, Elvira Gonzaga collection

The viewer can immediately see it in the painstaking details of a piece such as Supremacy of Eve:  the grains of the loose soil; the ribbing of the banana leaves, and even how the light falls on the front and the back of each leaf; the yellow overripe bananas on the ground; the tiny yellow and purple flowers of some weeds.

Rapunzel, acrylic on paper, 2003, Reni Roxas collection

Or look at the paisley print of Rapunzel's gown, and the meticulous braiding of her kilometric hair; the sheen and the folds of the witch's robe; the rough texture of the yellow ochre wall; the delicate crystal decanter in the niche; even the linear perspective of the chessboard floor that's executed with unnerving exactitude. Mirasol took up Fine Arts for two years at University of Santo Tomas, shifted to Architecture, then Engineering, and later resumed his art studies in University of the East. For a time he work as an editorial cartoonist for a newspaper. Inspired by a book on Dali, he decided to paint full-time, went through a Social Realist phase, and won the top prize in the First Metrobank Annual Painting Competition in 1984,

His illustrations for The Origin of the Frog was a runner-up in the 2000 Unesco-Noma Concours for Picture-Book Illustrations. With The Brothers Wu and the Good-Luck Eel he was registered on the 2002 Honour List of the International Board on Books for Young People. Such awards, however, hardly go into his head. Upon seeing the illustrations of Gennady Spirin, Wayne Anderson and James Christensen, he says he had been deeply humbled. "The truth that the quality of my works are still way below the world's standard became evident to me," he recalls. Like most graphic illustrators, Mirasol is one of our virtually unsung artists. This show, however, handily proves that illustration can be as fine an art as any.

(June 25, 2007, Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Arnel Mirasol in his studio