Nathaniel was seven years old when he started painting. He joined on-the-spot painting contests during his elementary days. He always gets chosen as one of the Top 3 finalists, and that is how he realized that he has a special gift for painting.
His interest in the arts grew over the years. He enjoyed subjects and projects related to art and ensured his outputs were appealing and of quality. In high school, he joined the Young Artists Club which unleashed his creative side even more. He initially wanted to pursue fine arts in college, but being an obedient son, he followed his parents and took BS in Psychology at Our Lady of Fatima University in Valenzuela. As he was appointed council secretary, he managed to venture into creative paths and even created the student council logo manually using paper cutouts.
After graduation, Nathaniel worked in the corporate world. In ten years, he worked as a recruitment specialist towards becoming a recruitment manager himself. He shared a memorable instance during a Christmas Party wherein an exchange gift has to be something personalized. He tried to paint a bird (a peacock, to be specific) and this made him realize that he could still paint. From then on, he started to rekindle his love for painting and did sketches during his free time at work.
Nathaniel further embraced his passion by studying oil painting at Global Knowledge in Boni, Mandaluyong. He did corporate work while pursuing his long-time dream of painting. That is when he learned how to paint realism, color, tones, and hues. This has been a notable period in his life as he started to paint ecclesiastical paintings. It became his favorite subject since he is a collector of devotional pieces such as “santo” (i.e. carved figures of saints).
As Nathaniel posted his works on social media, particularly on Facebook and Instagram, he got a lot of comments and recognition. He humbly shared how his paintings usually get sold as soon as he posts online, thus compelling him to create his page named the_art_mansion.
The Art Mansion is Nathaniel’s dream. For him, it is akin to an ordinary person’s desire to live in a house or mansion full of the arts. He derived the name from a quote by Pablo Picasso: Everything you can imagine is real.
Slowly, the revenue from his paintings sufficed his daily needs. The decision to go full-time as a painter still brought about some fears with a family to support and a house to pay for. His passion for the arts was temporarily shelved during his corporate working days. Yet, with God’s grace and guidance, he decided to take a leap of faith as a full-time visual artist in 2019. He started joining competitions and local exhibits. These were the principles that he lived by throughout these years:
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. – Confucius
The things you are passionate about are not random; they are your calling. – Fabienne Fredrickson
Do what you love and success will follow. Passion is the fuel behind a successful career. – Meg Whitman
Work hard and be kind. Amazing things will happen.
Nathaniel believed that everything went well from then on. He gained some recognition by joining exhibits and getting featured at The Fatima Tribune Courier (his alma mater). He also received an award from the Office of Councilor Hero Bautista of District IV, Quezon City, in the arts and literature. Some of his paintings appeared in magazines, newspapers, and television. All these recognitions led Nathaniel to say with conviction, “Indeed, I am on the right track.”
Nathaniel’s Art and Style
Nathaniel’s style depicts that of contemporary art and expressionism. As he wanted his artworks to be something every viewer could relate to, he eventually focused on birds as a subject.
It all started when he received a Christmas gift entitled Birds of the Philippines. He found it astounding that there is a variety of beautiful birds in the country, thus aiming to deepen his understanding of them. His constant trips to Bulacan and Pampanga, where religious images are created, made him see more birds. That piqued his interest, especially the thought that once you follow the wondrous chirping and howling, you will see the birds as such beautiful creatures.
One could often locate birds in a place where they feel safe, like a safe haven. They can be seen in a silent and peaceful sanctuary. This is the message Nathaniel wanted to convey in his paintings. The splashes of colors in his paintings symbolize that the birds and their habitats are slowly dying. Some bird species are already becoming endangered, or worse, extinct.
Thus, Nathaniel’s art gears towards a greater purpose by sending a message that people need to take good care of nature. He believes that God created birds and animals for a reason, and making these creatures subjects of his paintings develops awareness of stewardship of God’s creations. According to him, he wanted to create beautiful birds as there might come a time wherein extinct birds can only be found in paintings and pictures. Through educating young generations, birds can be given due attention. He hopes that his artworks become an eye-opener for everyone to take care of nature towards having a better future.
His focus is on local birds that he considers one of the Philippines’ treasures. When asked about his favorite bird, he recognized the striking color and tindig [formation] of the Philippine Trogon. He talked about the said bird’s association with the mythical Ibong Adarna from a Filipino epic poem.
At present, Nathaniel continues his journey of bird discovery. He does bird watching which widened his knowledge about local birds. Their numbers might be dying, but this does not stop Nathaniel from learning more about them. With birds being close to his heart, the joy he feels upon coming across new species of birds is incomparable. Truly, his art does not merely revolve around his passion for painting, but also for learning… and loving.
The following is how Nathaniel views birds’ meaning in life:
They represent freedom, grace, love, strength, longevity, eternity, happiness, love, and a whole lot more. Birds indeed play a huge role in how humans look at the world. They are instrumental to people’s journey in life.
They symbolize home and protection.
They can bring about enlightenment by seeing the world in a new light, and realizing how people can take an active part in saving the environment.
They can lead to one’s renewal, passion, or new beginnings.
Nathaniel’s Realizations During the Pandemic
“I usually paint outdoors. Whenever I am outside my art studio, I enjoy the feeling of being one with nature while painting. During the pandemic, when we were on lockdown, that’s the time I created a lot of paintings. I was able to relate to birds. I sometimes hear others say that artists prefer to work alone or in solitary confinement. I thought of birds then, that even if they stay in cages or zoos, they must still feel different if they are free. There must be a thrill of traveling to places in their search for a haven or a peaceful sanctuary. There could still be a desire to fly and reach their destination just like any of us. I find peace in solitude, but with the restrictions of the pandemic, I also wanted to be free, and freedom also brings about comfort. Perhaps, birds feel that way too. Through art, I hope to reach my dreams too, finding my haven, just like birds do.”
