THE LADY OF THE PROCESS No. 1 | BELLE CANO
Photographed by Ervin David | Interviewed by Mitzi Ilagan White PH | The Freshman Issue | July-August 2015
There are two types of people in the world - those who do something and those who just watch. Gladly, Belle Cano does something - something great. She has the hands, the vision, and enough flare to turn a piece of paper worth millions of aspirations and praises. This girl can paint, sketch, draw, doodle, scribble - whatever you call the ability of being the mistress of creativity and the lady of the artistic process. Mitzi Ilagan surveys the talent and the intangible knack for art of this work in progress.
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Mitzi Ilagan: Describe yourself. Belle Cano: I am Belle Cano, a self-taught visual artist and freelancer currently living in the South. I am not good with words and with a bag of other things too (see: self-introductions). Generally, I would consider myself as anything but boisterous; let’s just say that I am the type of person who likes to wallow in quietude. I also have an intense and deep affection for cats.
MI: Describe yourself as an artist. BC: I actually did not consider myself as an artist until about a year ago. I was not confident with my drawings and paintings at all because I thought that they were all quite inadequate. It was just when I realized that this is what I want to do, and so I put my mind into it and tried hard enough to study about everything that I want to learn to improve my works. I particularly focused on portraiture with watercolor, graphite and ink as my media of choice. Today, I am trying to learn more about the history of art, art’s huge array of forms, genres, media, styles, techniques, and theories. Perhaps, it is now safe to say that I am one growing artist—learning, and constantly growing.
“borrowed words, messy lines.” (a quick sketch and calligraphy exercise)
MI: Were you born an artist or you just developed your liking for art as you grew up? BC: I could still remember how I used to watch my dad every time he painted on canvasses, walls and even on people’s skin back in the days. I was utterly amused and influenced by the things he did and over time developed my own liking for art. But no, I was not born an artist. It took more exposures and influences by different artists before I fully grasped at my appreciation of, attachment to, and taste for the art.
MI: What do you do before or while creating art? Rituals or brainstorming, anything weird? BC: There’s actually nothing unusual that I do. Normally, I would study first before I start with an artwork — say, to begin with my process, I’d read articles or books about a particular medium I wanted to try or a technique I wanted to apply. By the time I closed my books and the tabs of articles and start drawing or painting, I’d always play music and drink my coffee in between.
MI: What message do your works would like to convey? BC: I remember my professor in Art History telling us how artists should refrain from orally explaining the meanings and messages he’s trying to convey through his paintings or drawings, but rather let the fervency (of the artwork) penetrate their consciousness instead. I really believed in what he said — once you’ve made your audience feel things through your works, whether good or bad, you’ve succeeded in conveying whatever meaning that is you wanted to convey.
MI: What sets your style apart from other artists? BC: I honestly think that I don’t have a personal style yet. I still find myself every day discovering tiny bits of possibilities on developing my own artistic voice and I don’t mind getting my elbows greased along the process of this artistic development.
MI: Name three of your best works. BC: I’d pick my most favorite instead: “Nocturnal” (mixed media), “M. Louise Ciccone” (digital painting), and “A Portrait of a Dutch Painter” (graphite on vellum).
“Nocturnal” (mixed media)
“M. Louise Ciccone” (digital painting)
“A Portrait of a Dutch Painter” (graphite on vellum)
MI: Other things you do aside from drawing? BC: During my spare time, I indulge myself in words through poems and novels. Hence, a view of me holding a book instead of my paintbrush and pencil.
MI: Name one thing you can’t run out of. BC: Coffee. A daily dose of it is extremely necessary.
“Miss Anne Frank” (graphite on paper)
MI: Name one thing you wouldn’t draw/photograph. BC: I could not think of any right now because I always try to open myself up to the diversities of things. I actually am beyond willing to make even the most mundane thing as my subject and perhaps try turn it into something spectacular.
MI: Favorite song at the moment? BC: I’d say “Ulay, Oh” by How I Became The Bomb and Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”, although the latter is an all-time favorite.
MI: Favorite tool/medium? BC: My fancy for watercolors and graphite made it to my primary medium, mixing it secondary mediums such as charcoal, acrylic and ink.
MI: Favorite color? BC: Black is my favorite color, but I also like the earth and neutral tones. I am not a fan of screaming and flashing colors.
MI: Favorite subject (for your works)? BC: I have a fondness for people’s inscrutable countenance and so most of my works are of [portraiture]. But just recently, I am starting to develop a keenness for still life and landscape.
“Weepy” (watercolor on vellum)
MI: Instagram tips for newbies and budding artists? BC: I don’t think I am in the right shoes to give tips to others because I myself is one budding artist. However, I personally don’t have a specific “theme” for my feed. I don’t want to constrain my works just to achieve a fixed overall look because I think that photos should tell stories and you don’t want to keep on telling everyone the same old story over and over again. Yes, I am a budding artist too, and we, no matter how bad we think our works look like, should never stop creating things.
Note: All of the artworks in this article are creations and properties of Belle Cano.
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Belle Cano is online!
Twitter: @bellecano | Instagram: @bellecano
You may also see Belle’s early works in this blog: https://lovelyreichelcarcha.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/you-already-belle-cano/
