Award-winning director turns to painting during pandemic
Award-winning director Richard V. Somes is holding his first solo painting exhibit titled “Into The Mind of Richard V. Somes”, which will open on Sunday, October 24, at the Secret Fresh Gallery. Ronac Arts Center, Greenhills.
As a director, he trained under the watchful eye of his uncle Erik Matti. He is not ashamed to admit that he rose from the ranks – from being a utility man, set man, art director, to production designer –and learned the ropes step by step.
It was Direk Erik’s dad who introduced him to the art scene. He had wanted to take up an arts course but since it was costly, he took a seaman’s course instead.
“Tagging along with Direk Erik led me to showbiz and opened to me a myriad of opportunities. It was Direk Erik who gave me my first break in the movies and soon enough, I was given the chance to direct films for Cinema One,” said Direk Richard, a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation.
It was his passion for painting that saved his life when the pandemic set in last year. It helped him fight depression and anxiety. As many in the entertainment industry lost their jobs and income was scarce, his paintings helped Direk Richard feed his family while he had no work. He was able to sell some of his paintings and this helped put food on the table.
It was this during this period of uncertainty that Direk Richard turned his sights into painting, most of which are devoted to women.
“It was probably because I was influenced by my mother. In my works, I try to define the body of a woman – the curves of her figure and her hands. That’s why my first solo exhibit is my homage to women. I’ve always been fascinated by women,” he shared.
“I see women as strong, resilient, and bizarre. They bleed, they struggle but they rise up,” said the director-turned-visual artist who added that he had always won in drawing contests when he was young.
“Doing my paintings became my outlet during the lockdown. It helped me deal with anxiety and panic disorder. It also saved me economically when people bought my works.”
Direk Richard said the fear of the unknown was just too much to bear. He took the responsibility of taking care of his family of 12. “It was a good thing none of us got sick but it was an experience thinking about it now,” he continued.
But he knew he had to be strong for his family. He went back to exercising and dieting to keep himself healthy. He was able to find a way to survive mentally, emotionally, and financially.
“Even if I found a new love in visual arts, I still want to do movies. But visual arts is something that I can see myself doing if I retire from directing. I still want to paint. I am not too old to be an artist.”
Direk Richard really wants to be diversified as an artist. He wants to try the other spectrums of arts in the country.
On differentiating his filmmaking and painting, he shared, “Doing a painting is also like doing a film. When you do a film, you have a blank canvass. You put the right actors and make them evolve into a vision. What is it that I want to say? Doing a film is a collaborative work. It is not just your experience. There are some restrictions when doing a film because of certain factors like budget. Or you need to have your vision approved.”
“When I am painting, I can feel the freedom. I am not answerable to anyone. I am my own template. I can work on my own time. I have that sense of fulfillment within me. I need to be happy with my work first before I can tell myself that the one who will see my work will be happy as well.”
Even if he considers painting as personal, Direk Richard said it still entails discipline. You commit time to it. But even if he was painting, he was able to write two scripts. “We need to squeeze all the creativity and be productive,” he said.
Direk Richard said he is starting a new series of works. “I fell in love with Recto, Binondo, Quiapo and for my next works, I want to capture the cityscapes – the grit, the color, the people who are part of it, the men in general. I want to put on canvass the images of men who cry, who are weak, confused, who failed. That is my next project.”
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