Fernando Ramos: As Ethereal as Painting

BY JAY BAUTISTA

Tall Tarlac Tales: Recent Works of Herrera, Ramos and Yokte

(Second of Three Parts)
 

Mind Disaster

Fernando Ramos has dealt with his everyday musings in the most ethereal manner. Through his visual style as evident in these recent works, he skims through various stories applying appropriate metaphors in them.   

Done in vertical monolith they are equally divided into two parts. The upper portion the materiality dictates whatever mood Ramos is in depending on what he perceives. Ramos believes artists were blessed with talents as they have a responsibility to perform in society. Facilitating texture he uses palette knife and rodela enabling every stroke as different like the different days where Ramos worked on his pieces. These pieces appear to be more durable, almost rendered in a dream that only Ramos can comprehend their symbolical meanings; combining figurative with his abstraction.

His paintings are also sensuous variations of collective narratives, memories and dreams. Veering to the contemplative, each color contemplates on hindrances and trials. The fascination in metal-like ground and surface in his works is evident, rusted and stained in time. It is metaphorical depiction of this world we live in is paralleled to a slowly decaying, human body that is deteriorating and will turn back into nature’s dust--our ashes.

Her Music Lives On

Her Music Lives On Series are tributes to a departed mother, musician, artist and  friend. Though her life ended, she still remains to be an inspiration among people who shared her life with. Her existence is a symbolical representation of freedom, happiness and beauty. The combination of flower petals, piano keys, umbrella, sunrise and her silhouette narrates who she is. Her music lives on as her spirit continued to guiding Ramos of becoming a great person and artist.

Similar to Herrera, Ramos favors using that circular motion going on and depending on it could mean often equated with the ongoing struggle as an artist. Ramos often uses that circular motion going on which could represent the and depending on it could mean often equated with. Ramos themes run through the autobiographical and the social repercussions marked by constant interaction with people he interacts.

A Ramos canvas usually starts with dots, endless point by point rendition displaying persistence and insistence of something must be done. The swirling circular lines with modeling paste with course. Then color form figure. Ramos strength is his being a colorist often associating them with the emotions of his subjects. Staples are red, oranges, metallic gold and silver.

Cyber Magdalene Series is a black and white depiction of a new trending way of life among prostitutes. It’s the women's anatomy that spoils man's eye as they sell their naked bodies online a picture of immorality and moral degradation among women making this easy money making job.   

An old favorite theme of Ramos is clowns as in The Entertainer Series. These are portraits of a woman who chose to be an entertainer like a clown that is capable of playing one's emotion. Imparting short moment of happiness to people and sometimes selling their own flesh in exchange of money, behind those smiles concealed the loneliness they felt inside their heart. Some people consider them scented rags as plague of society--sharing their addictive beauty among men who are teased by their smell like a wild flower.

Always the hopeful as seen in the silver aluminum strings, Ramos believes in second chances and that we should make do of what we have before everything is gone. The Last String Series are about man's loneliest days spent with his strings. His chords longs for serendipity. A narrative of love and despair, music is played though there is coldness of his voice whispered in the inevitable. Though his last strings he is saving his high hopes that one day will find another reason to love and stay.

Starting with a study or a just a sketch Ramos builds up rhythm like a seasoned jazz player, he improvises yet digs in deeper, straining his modeling paste-in-sand combination. He then fixes silver or gold adding glow to the under paint most likely after he stains the metal layer of his composition. The hardest part is the layering and coursing with texture.

Whether he renders realist strokes or veers into abstraction transparency of forms and solidity of shapes define the quintessential Ramos. Often employing rhythm and harmony in texture his dimensions draws a thin line in between softness and harshness of rendition yet they carefully controlled and it varies in a certain points to another simply not because they are nice to look at but because they are conceived to do so.   

Burn Out Series

Burn out Series is a combination of rusty and golden color. Our naïve minds become filthy because of constant exposure to struggles in life. No matter how brilliant we are we have our limitations. These series are the most evocative, a picture of psychological stress, haunted by man’s emotional and mental exhaustion.it reflects the feeling of failure to gain balance resulting to a total wreck and havoc on human health. A burning fire of consistent depression and destruction that disturbs human brain, it is a portrait of a human condition suffering from getting emotionally tired and numb.

Not all are serious and political for Ramos. As one becomes hardened through time as seen in the stone finish, one still clings to that someone as seen in Hopeless Romantic Series. It narrates man's voiceless inner self, unable to express what and how he feels. He often imagines that he plays a saxophone and serenading. his music pampers visual imagery of his ideal woman—a life live in world of fantasy and a sound of romance indulge within his imagination. Rose petals add mush to the already decorated setting.

Hopeless Romantic Series

His paintings are also sensuous variations of collective narratives, memories and dreams. The fascination in metal-like ground and surface in his works is evident, rusted and stained in time. It is metaphorical depiction of this world we live in is paralleled to a slowly decaying, human body that is deteriorating and will turn back into nature’s dust--our ashes.

Ramos moves freely inside the painting as he probes his inner self and explore contours and variations of colors, paraphrasing the world and beyond in less fanciful embellishment or distortion.