The Gold Standard in Art

 

Essay 42. THE GOLD STANDARD IN ART

By Arnaldo Bernabe Mirasol

Gold occupies the highest niche among metals Even though I was told many years ago that it was dislodged by platinum from the highest pedestal, gold remains to be the standard of excellence in everything.

A distinct characteristic of paintings during the Byzantine and Renaissance periods was the frequent use by artists of gold leaf in their artworks. That practice was carried over into the twentieth century by the Austrian master Gustav Klimt. Among Filipino painters, Raul Isidro and MYK VELASCO are the only ones I know who use gold leaf as pigment. There may be others but I don't know of them at this point

(Gold leaf, by the way, is made of real or imitation gold and is available today in flakes, thin sheets, and in liquid form, the first two of which are glued on to the painting surface and the last applied by brush.)

Michael N. Velasco was born on June 17, 1980 in Quezon City. Velasco's father is a businessman. His mother, who worked as an assessor in Tesda, and who also had a business of her own (a salon), now works as a caregiver in The US.

Velasco started doing art in high school. He began joining art competitions then and was a winner in several of them. He must have inherited his artistic genes from his mother who loves drawing and making poster collages out of old magazines. But it was an uncle who worked as a journalist in New York who actually encouraged him to take up Fine Arts.

Velasco enrolled at the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts and majored in Studio Arts (Painting). His professors -
Nestor Vinluan, Rey Concepcion, Araceli Dans, John Santos lll, Bob Feleo, Ruben David Defeo and Roberto Chabet - were among the most notable names today in the Philippine art scene. With art instructors as illustrious as those, it is no surprise that Velasco's level of painting skill had reached such height.

Velasco's list of the painters he admires reveal his artistic inclination. Except for Klimt and also perhaps Degas, Velasco's favorites are all conservative painters who put a premium on the ability to capture natural appearance. Being his idols, Velasco naturally aspires to equal their level of skill, an objective he already seemed to have attained.

What's more, all the masters Velasco listed had a predilection for women as their subject matter. Velasco has that predilection too. Velasco paints women in their various guises: as nurturing mothers, demure maidens, and perhaps, even as femmes fatales. Affection, charm, seduction, and subtle eroticism were the undertones of his works. Clad or unclad, Velasco's women exude that 'come-hither' aura that only women with overpowering charm possess.

A painting that represents best Velasco's current concern, "Lovelorn Muse Series 4" has all the undertones I mentioned. This painting definitely stood out. It's loud dominant color scheme of scarlet and gold works well with the subdued violet of the blanket. But despite the joyful richness of its hues, a latent sad meaning can be discerned in this composition - betrayal. The girl, as implied by the very title, was very likely abandoned by her golden (meaning, rich) lover.

Velasco began exploring the use of gold leaf for his paintings in 2007. Gold as we all know symbolizes prosperity, fortune, and success. Good luck for short. Thus, Velasco's paintings are most likely aligned with the feng shui principle governing luck. That's probably the reason - aside of course from their intrinsic worth as excellent works of art - why Velasco's paintings continue to sell well to this day, why his luck persists. Velasco's paintings, I surmise, must have always made good on their promise to attract good fortune not only for him but for the collectors of his works as well.