These paintings are inspired by a story of Philippine mythology; The Bakunawa and The Seven Moons. According to the legend, there used to be seven moons, but a serpentine monster ate six of them. The serpent is called the Bakunawa, and it was stopped by the god Bathala before it could eat the last moon. 

I chose this as the theme of my paintings because I wanted to show my Filipino pride. 

Due to my fondness for serpentine and aquatic creatures, I portrayed the Bakunawa as a giant eel-like creature. The red fin, blue scales, and yellow eyes of the Bakunawa all allude to the primary colours of the Philippine flag. The red above the blue on the serpent relates to the Philippine flag during times of war, as the Bakunawa is portrayed as an aggressive and hostile creature. 

These paintings were an attempt at imitating the painting styles of Yellena James and Gerhard Richter. Imitating their styles was something I'd never tried before, and it was a tedious yet fun task. Painting the many thin lines, dots, and other details of Yellena's style was a satisfying but lengthy process while making Gerhard's paint scrapes and smears was daunting but generally fun. 

I appreciate how this assignment has pushed me to try new things and put in a lot of effort. A few sleepless nights later, and here we are. I'll admit that these paintings could be better, but I'm still proud that I could produce them, given that I hadn't painted in years.