Artist Spotlight: NORLITO MEIMBAN – Visual Artist

Artist Spotlight: NORLITO MEIMBAN – Visual Artist

‘Pag gusto kung mainspire pumupunta ako sa mga exhibits at iniinggit ko ang sarili ko para sipagin akong gumawa ng paintings. After that irerelax ko muna ang isip ko para pumasok ang mga bagong ideas.

My Art

Maliit pa lang ako, mahilig na kong mag drawing. Nakikita ko sa tatay ko kung papano sya magpinta, hangang sa matuto ako at pinasok ako sa UP. Nag work ako sa company as assistant animator; naging supervisor, tumagala ako ng 12 years pero hinahanaphanap ko pa rin ang painting, hanggang sa dumating ang mga computer animation. Doon ako nag-decide na bumalik sa tunay kong gustong gawin: ang pagpipinta. Sa sobrang tagal kong nawala sa circulation ng art sa Manila, kung ano-anong idea ang nilabas ko, pero gusto ko pa ring gumawa ng mga figurative paintings. Until I decided to collaborate with former company and went into the style of combining figurative painting with animation. I called it “animated paintings.”

My Process

Well, una, pag gusto kung mainspire pumupunta ako sa mga exhibits at iniinggit ko ang sarili ko para sipagin akong gumawa ng paintings. After that irerelax ko muna ang isip ko para pumasok ang mga bagong ideas, then I start searching for subject matter. Yung process ko ng painting medyo matagal kasi kailangan kong i-animate muna yung character na gusto kong pagalawin or to make an animated movement, then gagawa ako ng pattern para itransfer ko sa canvas. To keep myself motivated, I always make sure that I plan my show ahead of time, kasi kapag may mga schedule kana ng show, maiinspire kang gumawa. I think you must always be busy, pero dapat may time ka din sa family and parents mo, and of course to pray.

What makes my work very different is that I use line drawing to represent the movement of the animation. Yung iba, ginagamit nila yung Photoshop pero ako, I use traditional animation drawing.

My Journey, Thus Far

When I was young, my father always had an apprentice. Minsan doon pa sa amin nakatira. Hindi sya madamot sa pagtuturo, lalo na kapag alam niya na interesado yung tao na matuto. Siguro na-adapt ko sa father ko yung hindi dapat ipagdamot ang talentong binigay sa iyo. As I was pursuing my passion, I met this group of artists who looked up to my work. At the time, I was organizing collective shows, and this group of young, freshly graduated artists asked me for guidance. So I put together another show, with 10 artists including myself. Doon na ako nagsimulang magkaroon ng mga “anak” sa art scene. Until now, marami akong artists na sinasama sa mga group exhibits ko, and I also have a fund raising show yearly. Every year, nagpapakain kami ng family ko sa mga street children. Almost 7 years na namin ginagawa ito.

Until now, I promote young artists here and abroad. This year I had a project in the  Singapore Art Apart Affair, held last January of 2017. I sent out two artists, and now I’m schedule to the same in August. I’m also organizing a project for the Asian Contemporary.