Sunny Garcia is by no means compelled to put on an act. Unlike some that deem it necessary to develop a style or display an eccentricity that supposedly lends them an air of the mystifying artist, Garcia is passionately raw and emotional in all that he does, in his life and in his works. In other words, he is a no-frills-in-your-face artist.
A tragic childhood incident led to years of therapy. Garcia went through the ordeal of emotional experiences usually reserved for adults at the age of 8.
It was during his high school years that Garcia sought refuge in the world of poetry. Searing words formed in the teenager’s head to describe what was in his heart.
My arteries weakened
as blood marathoned intensely
through the disintegrating bones.
Salty perspiration
flooded every cratered pore
as the conga drums
beat faster
in my heart insecure.
To me a cigarette of friendship you offered.
Lighted, it burned me in its ember,
in its beautiful smoky incense
I suffocated.
The untitled poem was reviewed by Garcia’s mentors in creative writing; one commented, “We cannot comprehend how someone so young can have so much emotion.”
From puberty, Garcia endured taking medication for his condition up until his mid-30s - until it was time for Garcia to sever ties with psychiatrists and neurologists.
It must not have been easy to break away. How did Garcia cut loose and reinvent himself? How did he get to where he is now?
“I sought wisdom, balance and guidance from Eastern mysticism,” Garcia said. “My belief stems from a general feeling of love, and the total embrace of oneself, including my dark side.”
In this way Sunny the artist emerged.
“I always had a good attitude despite my circumstances,” Garcia said, “but deep inside I knew that there was a way to peel the dark sky and unleash the sun.”
Memories triggered the desire to create. “While going through my departed mother’s memorabilia, I came across self-made greeting cards I gave her as a child,” Garcia said. “The cards were my expressions of love for my mother, and rediscovering my childhood art and these feelings awakened my long forgotten passion for the arts.
“I knew I had it in me to create and I only had to release it,” Garcia said. “I wasn’t properly schooled in fine arts. For me, life is my school of art.”
Thus, began the transformation. Garcia retired early from the monotonous humdrum of the corporate world, but the world of art did not beckon until three years ago.
“It came naturally,” Garcia said. “There was no decision to be made. The word decision is such a corporate term. It felt like the right thing to do. I only go for things that feel right to me, what makes me feel good.”
Garcia’s workspace is in the kitchen of his home. He creates art on top of the kitchen stove with his unused easel standing nearby.
Finished works lean on chairs, on top of a microwave and against the large empty frame hanging on the wall. The table is strewn with the colors he will use.
“The empty frame will always remain empty,” Garcia said. “For me, it signifies that in its emptiness, all possibilities exist.”
Garcia’s conceptualization process prior to picking up his brush is basic enough. “I make myself fall in love with the subject before I start painting,” he said. “Then I let my self flow.
“I do not know exactly the final outcome of any one piece,” Garcia said. “I do not draw plans, they’re all in my head. When the work is finished, it’s done.”
Garcia uses himself as the model for most of his male nude paintings. “I feel unrestricted when I paint without a stitch on,” he said. “I paint with a furious pace and when it’s done, colors dot my body. No one is allowed in my inner sanctum when I create.
“When I do my art, I do not labor to deliver any message. My works have been described as catapulting the viewers to a stage where it challenges their thoughts and emotions.”
Garcia said with conviction: “One either loves my art or hates it. There is no middle ground. It’s as simple as that.”
His paintings have been termed figurative expressionism as evident in the usage of real objects - either human sources - himself, as an example in his partial nudes - or animal figures and the application of bold colors.
90 Degrees Fahrenheit
sounds of metal teeth
screeching to open
rush of angry blood
frenzied in the veins . . .
supple and turgid
dreams pushing
through the skin
The erotic insinuation of 90 Degrees Fahrenheit applies to Garcia’s paintings entitled Rainbow Series. One’s impression of the series could be that of the artist’s teasing the viewer; as if playing hide and seek. It plays with the imagination; wanting to see more.
“I reveal parts of me one at a time,” Garcia said. “There’s always more to expose, everything is piece meal or rationed. I never know what I will reveal, the universe is always unfolding . . .”
Green (Rainbow Series) 10x14in
Indigo (Rainbow Series) 10x14in
Orange (Rainbow Series) 10x14in
Red (Rainbow Series) 10x14in
Violet (Rainbow Series) 10x14in
Although it is not a part of the Rainbow Series, Worship is worth mentioning. There is always a painting that an artist is loath to part with. “This particular painting represents a poignant part in my life’s history,” Garcia said. “It’s a reminder of life’s choices taken from me when I was a boy.” The painting is of a nude man kneeling, as if in worship, hence, the title.
Worship (23x33in) Photo by Michael Claporols
Most of Garcia’s people portraits were commissioned:
John Edwards (16x21 ½ in)
Among Garcia’s favorite portraits is that of John Edwards, commissioned by his brother Lewis Edwards who is the Chairman of Better Chance Foundation. The foundation, in cooperation with the government and learning institutions provide financial assistance to economically challenged children among the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.
“Fisher Boy” (17x26in)
Garcia used a boy from his neighborhood as his model. “The boy’s face emanates a luminous quality. I imagined him as returning home from a fishing trip, which is quite different from this boy’s metropolitan reality.”
“Ana” (10x14in)
Ana reminded Garcia of a female character in a Chinese period film. “My subject is actually Filipina. She was a New York Broadway actress and was the only Filipina to be accepted in the drama division of the Juilliard School in her time.
“Barbara” (17x26in)
Barbara is reminiscent of the swirling cloud of scarves in the reunion scene of two sisters in the film, Color Purple. The painting was commissioned by a member of the British Consulate in Manila to give as a Christmas present to his wife, Barbara.
“Brother” (16x211/2in)
“I love all the faces I paint, but here I was able to bring forth the enigmatic distinction of an interracial mix,” Garcia said. “I would like to paint the face, the bone structure of a Mongolian next.”
Garcia is not one to adhere to any rules and advice, so don’t bother offering any. “It all comes from here,” Garcia pointed to his mid section. “My gut instincts points me to where I need to go. As overrated as it may sound, I would like to think that I am a free spirit.”
Garcia’s artworks are not available for viewing in any of the art galleries in the metro area and he rarely joins an art exhibit. His body of artworks is stored in his cell phone or in his portfolio album displayed at the Legazpi Village Market in Makati on Sundays where he sells his paintings.
“I love promoting and selling my artwork,” Garcia said. “It gives me pleasure to see the joy and satisfaction on people’s faces when they purchase my art.”
Sunny at Legazpi Village Market photo by Michael Claparols
And still the artist creates poetry . . .
Freezing Heat
I paint my flaking plaster walls
Coating it deep on the cracks
like an artist chained to his brush
I do not tire whisking pastel.
The dunes in the deserts
change faces fast –
as fast as the punching wind.
I paint
while a lawn full of grass
quiver on their pasted knees
hoping hopes lacerated
by the whipping sun.
I paint until
my face glows a roasting auburn.
“I’m constantly changing and rearranging my internal landscape,” Garcia said. “Although I paint on canvas, the most beautiful creation will always be the unending challenge to create the self.”
Having faced a disturbed childhood and dealing with the internal struggle into adulthood and finally overcoming it, Garcia now eagerly confronts challenges in discovering facets of himself. He will assemble the pieces together all in good time.
“When a previously unrecognized part of me emerges, it’s as if I found a piece of the puzzle or a thread in my life’s fabric,” Garcia said.
Sunny Garcia is indeed a puzzle that needs completion. He will continue to gather many colorful threads that will interlace the designs in the fabric of his life’s tapestry.
Self Portrait (10x14in)
