NO PLACE LIKE TAHANAN

By Arnel Mirasol

(Tahanan Books' newest publication, "The House Tahanan Built", is a compilation of memoirs and conversations about the creative process written by the authors, artists, staff, and friends of Tahanan Books. This essay is my contribution to the book.)

Serendipity played a part in how I got to work as illustrator for Tahanan Books. The year was 1996, and I was working then as textbook illustrator for Bookmark, whose editorial office was at Sampaloc Street, San Antonio Village, Makati. The Bookmark office was on the second floor of what I supposed was a former family home. I happened to mention to Bookmark editor-in-chief Eddie Yabut that I also want to work for Tahanan Books, a house that specializes in publishing full-color picture books - since I had by then compiled a portfolio of full-color children's book illustrations.  Tahanan Books, and its owners Reni Roxas (photo below) and Marc Singer, were featured in an article in the Sunday Inquirer Magazine years before. After reading that article, I began hoping to one day illustrate a full-color picture book for them, too.

Tahanan Books publisher Reni Roxas

It was mentioned in the article that the office of Tahahan Books was in Pasong Tamo, which is just nearby. I asked Eddie Yabut if he knew the exact location of Tahanan Book's office. Eddie smiled, and said that Tahanan Books had relocated - downstairs. That is serendipity, isn't it - Tahanan Books being there at the exact moment that I was actively searching for it. I gathered later on that this house was really the former family home of Reni Roxas's aunt.

The first artwork I did for Tahanan was my illustration for Marivi Soliven-Blanco's story "Chun" (above) - which is included in an anthology (Golden Loom) of Palanca Prize winners in the children's literature category. The creation of that illustration was a landmark event in my life because it gave me the opportunity to taste for the first time what it's like to sign books during a book launch, and feel like a celebrity for an hour or two.That Chun illustration was acquired right away by Reni, the first in her series of art purchases from me.

I was next given the job of illustrating the complete set of illustrations for Reni Roxas' and Marc Singer's collaborative book, "First Around the Globe: The Story of Enrique". It was a lucrative project (by Philippine standards at least), for they offered to pay me 35 thousand pesos for a work which took me only about a month to finish.That was a lot of money at that time, because the usual going rate then for a set of 15 illustrations was way way below that. But it was hard work because I had a strict deadline to follow. I need to finish at least one illustration a day, so I stretched my usual 10 hours of work to fifteen hours, more or less.

I next did for Tahanan the illustrations for Didith Tan-Rodrigo's story "Tamales Day". Now, the process of creating art for this book was a very delectable experience, I must say, because I was invited by Didith to their home to observe and take pictures of them while making tamales. Their tamales is not like the Mexican tamales - far from it - nor is it your ordinary Kapampangan tamales. Their recipe is their own high-end version, which I once described in a facebook write-up as gourmet tamales. Why gourmet, you'd asked. Well, that's because their recipe includes as ingredients - aside from the usual strips of chicken, peanuts, and salted eggs - ham, chestnuts, and shrimps. Didith told me that someone suggested once that they make a business of their recipe and offer franchises. They considered that suggestion but didn't act on it.. They somehow felt that the business won't be feasible because pricing their product would be tricky - precisely because of the high cost of the ingredients. That's why I felt very lucky then, and special, because I get to taste the tamales that had been denied many others.

"The Brothers Wu and the Good-Luck Eel' came next. This was a singular book because its story won for author Fran Ng the first prize in the 1998 Palanca Memorial Awards for Children's Literature. I felt long before it won in the Palanca that the story was special. I felt compelled therefore to come up with illustrations that would match the story's excellence. Which I did, because the supposed excellence of my illustrations for this book landed me in the Honour List of the 2002 IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People). I prepared long and hard before starting doing the illustrations. Because the story is a true-to-life one that happened during the late 1800s, I did a lot of research on costumes and end-of-the century sceneries both at the National Library and at the Filipinas Heritage Library. I also used real people as models for the characters in the story. Fran Ng provided me with a photo of her grandmother which I used as reference for the grandmother-narrator character. (Incidentally, the model for the mature lady in my illustration for "The Nightingale" was also Fran's grandmother.) The brothers Wu's facial features I copied from those of my sons Bahgee and Kai. I also used photos of my wife Carina and compadre Bert Falsis as references for two other characters.

I completed the fifteen illustrations for the Brothers Wu in five months, which was rather fast compared to the time it took me to complete my next job - the eleven illustrations for the book "Once Upon a Time". This book was a retelling by Fran Ng of ten fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen. It took me about a year to finish this book. But that was for a good reason, because my goal when I began this project was to come up with illustrations that will compare favorably with those done by the world's best - both past and present - like Edmund Dulac and Gennady Spirin, for example. A goal I may have achieved, because Reni remarked upon seeing the first illustration I submitted, that we were on our way of producing a world-class book if the illustrations I'll submit next are of the same quality as the first one. That first illustration was for the story "The Farmer and his Wife" (below). Reni liked this illustration so much that she gave me a can of imported chocolates (power chocolates she called them) to give me the energy to continue turning in excellent works. Reni purchased this illustration later on.

The Farmer and his Wife, 1999, acrylic on paper, Reni Roxas collection

"Once Upon a Time" was another watershed for me. When I realized that I had a suite of artworks that was art exhibit material I hastened to shop for a gallery where I can exhibit them. Which wasn't easy. Four galleries rejected me. Only one, the Crucible Gallery, booked me for an exhibit. Although what I had was a soft-opening (meaning no guest-of-honor, no ribbon-cutting, and no refreshments), the sales result of that exhibit was more than enough to raise my spirits. Of the eleven illustrations on show, nine were sold, most of them on the first day of the show. The title of that show was "Old-Fashioned Fairy Tale Art".

I actually signed a contract to do the illustrations for what was supposed to be Tahanan Book's fairy tale trilogy, which are compilations of fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and Charles Perrault. But Fran Ng ( who did the retelling) and I only finished two - that of Andersen and the Brothers Grimm.

"Long Ago and Far Away", the compilation of ten Brothers Grimm fairy tales is another prized work. The result of nearly two years of highly-meticulous labor, I again find my illustrations there worthy of being shown in a solo art exhibit. The Crucible Gallery agreed again to exhibit them. Four illustrations (below) were pre-sold, while the others were bought later. I also included in this show seven artworks that are not illustrations which were all bought. "Long Ago and Far-away" is the last book I did for Tahanan.

Rumpelstiltskin, 2003, acrylic on paper, 11.2 X 14 inches, Frances Ong collection

Snow White and Rose Red, 2003, acrylic on paper, 11.2 X 14 inches, Marixi Rufino-Prieto collection

The Goose Girl, 2003, acrylic on paper, 11.2 X 14 inches, Reni Roxas collection

Rapunzel, 2003, acrylic on paper, Reni Roxas collection

A flattering "afterword"  to my illustration career with Tahanan was written by the highly respected art critic Constantino Tejero. His review of my second solo exhibit at the Crucible Gallery, titled "Illustration as Fine Art", appeared in the June 25, 2007 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The review was very positive, that's why that day - which also happened to be my birthday - became doubly special for me.

The Princess and the Pea, 2003, acrylic on paper, 11.2 X 14 inches, Bobby Roxas collection

Had I not been discovered, so to speak, by Tahanan Books, I wouldn't have rediscovered the joys of serious painting. By serious painting, I mean the paintings I do for my personal delectation - not illustrations which are commissioned works, and which are required to hew closely to a given manuscript. It was at Tahanan that I developed the sharp-focus realist style that was my trademark style up to 2008. Reni said that she can't draw. But she surely knows what makes an art good art. There were several instances when she "art directed" me, and suggested how my illustration should look. The one that I remember well was her suggestion for my illustration for "The Princess and the Pea" (above). My drawing of the sleepless princess was already approved by her, but I was at a loss on what to do for a background. Reni pulled out her pen and sketched something on a piece of paper. What she drew was a rough line sketch of a poster-bed viewed frontally (meaning, not in perspective), with the curtains on both sides drawn. "Just like the curtains in a theater," she said. That scene was amazing in its very simplicity, and showed very well Reni's instinctive grasp of composition.

I used as wall text for my 2007 solo exhibit of Brothers Grimm fairy tale illustrations at the Crucible Gallery a manifesto I wrote. I called this piece "An Illustrator's Manifesto" - an excerpt from which is posted below:

 In my more than ten years in picture book illustration, I have never once considered it a breeze compared to painting. The opposite is true, because the parameters in picture book illustration are many and exacting. There is a manuscript to dissect, an editor to please, and the child readers to entertain. Whereas in painting, you can just affect the nonchalant pose of a recluse and please only yourself.

Well, that sort of sums up what I've learned in my book illustration career. Doing picture book illustration is never easy, contrary to what some snooty art gallery owners and painters think. That's the reason why I switched to doing serious painting full time - because I find it easier. I no longer have to make sure that the images I paint conform closely with a manuscript. No need also to get an editor's approval, nor those of the child readers. I only need to paint what pleases me. I can change style anytime, and add risque elements to my pieces whenever I feel like being naughty.

I now look on my years at Tahanan as the peak of my artistic career. Before that, I was quite content in doing editorial cartoons and textbook illustrations which were being paid by the piece. It wasn't lucrative work, but I at least managed to put food on our table and send my two boys to school. But an incident made me aspire for higher things. I was still working as a textbook illustrator for Phoenix Publishing House, when I chanced on two art books on sale at the old Alemar's Bookstore on Quezon Avenue. One book was on the art and life of Edmund Dulac, and the other was on Kay Nielsen. This was in 1990, I think, way before I began my picture book illustration career with Tahanan. Although I bought them at very low prices, these books became very valuable to me. Edmund Dulac and Kay Nielsen are two of the leading lights of the so-called "Golden Age" of children's illustrated books - a period dating from around 1880 to the early twentieth century. On seeing their works I began to nurture the dream of one day being given the opportunity to also do full-color fairy tale illustrations. 

But although.doing full-color fairy tale illustration work was dream-come-true for me, I never, as I've said earlier, found it a breeze. I have to be in the right frame of mind and needed to be fully prepared before I start work. I have a sizable collection of printed materials at home : novels and short stories, biographies and histories, art books and picture books, and even books on poetry. I also collected magazines, especially those with lots of pictures like the National Geographic magazines. Those magazines were vital to my work, because I used the pictures there as references for my illustrations. I also kept clippings from newspapers of images that may be of use to me one day - like photographs of objects and animals, and men engaged in various activities. Before starting work, I first gathered the magazines I'll used - bookmarked on the pages where the reference pictures are - and all clippings of images I'll need for a particular illustration. Only when I have them all at hand, will I begin to do the preliminary sketches, and afterwards, the final drawing - on Canson Montval paper, which I prefer above all other watercolor papers.

Adequate sleep was my primary requirement for the actual physical work. I can't prod myself to paint if I feel even a bit sleepy. So, I always make it a point to sleep first before starting work. I also always have a book at arm's reach, which I read whenever I begin to feel bored from an hour or two of continuous painting work. Music from the radio was also a plus, because it keeps me from getting sleepy while working. There were times when I can't seem to put my brush down, so I stretched my waking and working hours up to 15 hours. That's why many times in the past, I found myself going to bed at around 7 a.m. already.

The Wild Swans, 2000, acrylic on paper, 10 X 12.5 inches, Reni Roxas collection

Although I'm a big fan of many Filipino picture book illustrators, the illustration styles I wished to emulate are those of Gennady Spirin and Charles Santore, who are practitioners of  a quaintly realistic illustration technique. My goal, the challenge I wished to meet, was to produce a body of work that would equal if not surpass the timeless quality of their illustrations. I came close to my goal, I supposed, because one of my illustrations, "The Wild Swans" (above), have been borrowed and used as adornments for their pages by about ten foreign websites. While "Thumbelina" (below) and "Snow White and Rose Red" were each used once by two different websites. Although my permission, nor that of Reni (who is the real copyright owner), were not asked - I'm still flattered  that they chose my illustrations from among the thousands of illustrations on the internet to adorn their websites.

Thumbelina, 2000, acrylic on paper, 10 X 12.5 inches, Mark Yap collection