ARTerview: A Local Interview Project

Christian Janus M. Layague

I. Jay Etang: The Self-Made Artist

1.1. Introduction

Everyone associates art with creativity (Winner et al., 2013). Anything creative, people connect
it with art and even call it artistic. But what really is an art? How do we simply define it? Arts,
according to Collins dictionary, are the results of humankind's creative endeavors; collaborative
works of art, particularly in the visual arts, but also in music, drama, dance, and literature.
Paintings, sculpture, and other pictures or objects created for people to gaze at and appreciate or
think carefully about are all examples of art. But aside from being seen as a product of human
creativeness, art is also defined as the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in
the production of aesthetic objects (Merriam-Webster dictionary).
Moreover, it was in the year 2020 when the lockdown for most countries started because of
Covid19. Everyone and everything have been affected and art was not an exemption. Various
research studies were conducted specifically on the performing artists. Although the lockdown has
brought negative impacts to many, it seems like it also gave opportunities to others such as
enhancing your talents and skills. This is found true and Mr. Jay Etang is one of the living proofs.
Through an interview, Mr. Etang shared significant information about his self, focusing more on
his life as an artist.

1.2. About the Artist

Jay T. Etang, born on January 13, 2000, is the second

eldest child out of the six children. He is a 22-year-old
Bantayanon living in Kangkaibe, Bantayan, Cebu. He is
currently a 3rd year college student taking up Bachelor of
Science in Information Technology at Cebu Technological
University – Bantayan Extension Campus. Jay is a self-taught
artist who became very productive during the lockdown since
he founded and enhanced his artistic skills and talent during
those periods. He already made various beautiful artworks
during those times and he is still continuing to make more.
1.3. The Artist and His Arts

Field

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the different fields or traditional categories

within the arts are the visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.), the graphic arts (painting,
drawing, design, and other forms expressed on flat surfaces), the plastic arts (sculpture, modeling),
the decorative arts (enamelwork, furniture design, mosaic, etc.), the performing arts (theatre,
dance, music), music (as composition), and architecture (often including interior design). In the
case of Jay, his field of expertise are visual and graphic arts.

Education/Acquisition of Knowledge/Training

Learning new talents, according to the Tate website, is possible when studying art and
design. You can develop particular skills in areas such as photography and digital technologies, in
addition to understanding of many art forms, media, and techniques. Catherine Opie, an artist,
answered that it is important to study art because creativity involves critical thinking and art
provides individuals opportunities to think beyond what we currently know.
Jay didn’t have a formal training nor went to an art school to acquire knowledge or to
enhance his skills in arts. He shared that it was just during the lockdown when he just found out
and learned a lot about visual arts. During the pandemic, he keeps on practicing on how to draw
good. He started sketching portraits and noticed that his drawings looked great and started liking
them despite of him being just a beginner. This made him believe that he has talents in arts,
encouraging him to continue to train and enhance his skills by himself.

Artform

Artform, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is a form or medium through

which artistic impulses can be expressed. In the field of visual arts, there are various kinds of
artforms. Ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, photography, video,
film creation, and architecture are all examples of artforms under visual arts (Unbound Visual Arts,
2016).
Among these different artforms, Jay only focuses on painting, drawing, and sculpting
(mainly painting and drawing). He shared that he only focuses and masters these three artforms
because he believes that’s all he can do. Nevertheless, Jay is a talented person who continues to
make his arts better and better.
Primary and Secondary Medium

Mentioned by Zanello (2021), the 'medium' is the material used to create the artwork - the
primary tool for artistic creation. Paint, ink, crayons, charcoal, watercolors, chalk, wood, bronze,
and marble are some examples of visual arts mediums. Performance art uses the performer's body.
Writing uses a pen or writing software. Internet art uses programming skills. There are countless
options. Artists may use almost anything in an unlimited number of ways. In Jay’s case, he stated
that he uses paints and brushes for painting while on drawings/ sketching, he uses pencil, powder,
and paper.

Materials/ Tools/ Characteristics of Medium

In relation to the primary and secondary medium, the paints that Jay apply on his paintings
and murals are acrylic paints. The brand that he uses is Boysen. The colors that he usually buys
are white, black, and primary colors. He will just mix those different colors to produce another
different color.
The medium or material where he paints is the canvas. The Eden Gallery (2021) defined
Canvas as a strong plain-woven cloth made of cotton or hemp yarn. It is utilized in the production
of crafts and artworks. Canvas was used to create many of the world's most famous paintings.
For the murals, Jay paints on concrete walls or plywood. He also mentioned during the
interview that in order for the wall or plywood to be painted easily and smoothly, he together with
some other artists in the locality will use flat white Boysen paint as substrate. They will have their
first and second coating before they officially start the painting process.
For the sketching or drawing specifically of portraits, the papers that Jay utilizes are vellum
board and Canson papers. For the pencil, he uses charcoal pencil. To easily color or blacken the
hair and to smoothen the skin tone of the person in the portrait, he applies charcoal powder using
a brush. Talking about brushes (used both in painting and drawing), Jay shared that he uses
different types of brushes. Different brands, different sizes.

Studio Setting/ Studio Management

Art studio organization is frequently determined by what works best for the artist. Some
enjoy a little chaos, while others function best in a clean, orderly environment (Hevener, 2022).
We can conclude that different artists have their different ways of managing their studio or place
where they made their artworks.
In the interview, Jay answered that aside from the mural paintings he painted in a school
and the props he made for the Palawod Festival during the Pasigarbo sa Sugbo, most of his
artworks (painting and other drawings and portraits) are made in his room since he is comfortable
making arts in a peaceful and quiet place where no other people can watch him while he draws or
paint.
Subject

In general, subject is the "what" in a work of art: the theme, focus, or image. People
(portraiture), item arrangements (still-life), the natural world (landscape), and abstractions are the
most prevalent subjects of art (New Mexico Art Museum, n.d.).
As a self-made artist who wanted to explore art in order for him to learn and improve his
skills more, Jay had different subjects on his artworks. His drawings are mostly about portraiture.
His paintings on the hand have various themes. These various themes include landscape, still-life,
religious, and genre.

Subject Representation

There are various types of methods of representing the subject of an artwork. Some of these
subject representations include realism, abstraction, symbolism, fauvism, dadaism, futurism, and
surrealism. For Jay, the method that best represents his artworks is Realism. Pinto (n.d.) cited that
Realism is the desire to depict the subject exactly as it is. Realists make every effort to be objective.

Subject Style

Mentioned by McArdle (n.d.) on her website, style is primarily the way an artist displays
his or her subject matter and expresses his or her viewpoint. The features that identify the artwork,
such as the artist's use of form, color, and composition, to mention a few, determine style.
Photorealism is the subject style of Jay’s artworks. Photorealism is an extremely realistic
form of painting or drawing, in which the artwork is based on a photograph (McArdle, n.d.).

Role of the Artist

The role of an artist depends on the function of his/ her artworks. As an audience, people
might also be able to recognize the artist’s role if they will know the reason behind the production
of the artist’s artworks.
Knowing that Jay is a self-made artist who started painting and drawing because of his
desire to enhance his talents and skills in art, everyone could tell that the main functions of his
artworks are personal. Thus, his main role as an artist is more on personal as well.
According to Esaak (2019), art's personal functions are unlikely to be the same from person
to person. An artist may make a work for the sake of self-expression or enjoyment. They may also,
or instead, wish to convey a thought or point to the audience. Sometimes an artist's only goal is to
deliver an aesthetic experience for both the artist and the audience. A composition may be intended
to entertain, encourage thought, or have no effect at all.
Struggles/ Difficulties/ Problems Encountered in Art Production

Problems have been already a part of a person’s life. No matter who or where you are,
problems come and go, anytime and anywhere. In making art, an artist also face different struggles
and difficulties. Out of the countless struggles and difficulties that an artist encounters in producing
art, Jay shared two problems that he already experiences.
First, there are clients who wouldn’t pay the down payment that Jay proposed or requested.
In fact, the reason why he asked for down payments is because there are times that he needed
money to buy the lacking materials or tools he needed for the art production. Another reason is
because Jay have been scammed multiple times before. Before, he wouldn’t ask for down
payments if clients request for a portrait or painting. However, when he finished the ordered
artwork by the clients, these clients couldn’t even be contacted anymore. They just wasted the
money spent by Jay for the materials and tools. But most of all, they just wasted his time and effort.
Second, Jay shared that there were times when his head were already aching while he was
painting or drawing. That is because of having no enough rest. Plus, he couldn't even keep track if
he had already eaten meals because all the time he spent in painting or sketching.

Pricing/ Funding/ Commission Work

Being artists, it is right and just for them to give their artworks high values because they
also spend money for the materials. Most of all, they sacrifice their time and give their best effort
in making those artworks.
During the interview, Jay showed an example on how he put prices on his artworks. If he
spends a value of around 1,200 pesos for the materials, plus the time and effort that he will also
spend, the price of that single artwork would probably be around 3,500 pesos.
The pricing really depends on the money spent on materials and the time an effort spent by
the artist. Jay also shared in the interview the prices of some of his paintings. For the “Santo Niño”
and “Kwek Kwekan” paintings, both have the price of 7,000 pesos. For his painting “The Last
Supper”, the price is about 13,000 pesos.

Concepts/ Philosophy/ Basis/ Influences

Aside from his love and perseverance for making arts, the other things that influence Jay
in making artworks are his family and the social media. With regards to his family, they’re very
supportive. That is why Jay is inspired to continue doing the thing he loves. Social media on the
other hand is also a great influence to him. He will post his artworks there and many people will
commend him about his talents and skills. Others who saw his artworks on social media even
became his clients. Also, when there are posts about painting contest, many will mention and tag
him, encouraging him to join the said competition. All of these greatly influence him to continue
his passion in arts.
 When asked about his beliefs or philosophy about life and art, Jay responded with these
words – “Only art has the power to bring me peace.” As an artist, art became his home and comfort
zone. He makes art not just for expressing but also because of him wanting peace. And he believes
he can only attain the peace he is looking for through making artworks.

Art Documentation/ Art Samples

The following are some of Jay Etang’s artworks:

PORTRAITS
 PAINTINGS

KWEK KWEKAN MANG ONE

COW EATING GRASS THE LAST SUPPER

SANTO NIÑO NINE KOI FISHES

II. Documentation

Christian Janus M. Layague (Interviewer – Person in Black) giving the Certificate of

Recognition to Jay T. Etang (Artist/ Interviewee – Person in White) after the Interview.

III. Conclusion

Throughout this ARTerview project, a lot of learnings and realizations were gained from
Mr. Jay Etang who is a local artist from the island of Bantayan. The interviewer, yours truly, have
learned and realized that Art is more than what we see with our naked eyes. Art is more than the
artwork itself because art is also about the artist, his/her efforts, time, thoughts and ideas, and it’s
also about the artist’s feelings and emotions.
Arts deserves to be appreciated more by the society. Artists don’t just make arts because
they are bored and they have nothing to do. They make arts with their blood, sweat, and tears. They
make arts to express themselves or to convey messages. Obviously, most people will not
understand those messages that the artists are trying to say. The interviewer, yours truly, have
learned two things about appreciating and understanding. A person will only appreciate an artwork
if he/she understands the artist and a person will only appreciate the artist if he/she understands
the artwork (Christian Janus M. Layague, 2022).
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