Anderson Cooper Sells His Hamptons Home

Anderson Cooper sells 20 Saint George Place for $3.6 million.

Photos from zillow.com listing.

It's Only Rock and Roll: 55 Tinta Pilipinas

If you were to get a tattoo, what design would you choose and where would you put it? Whenever this question pops in my head, I always draw a blank. Maybe a line from a song would be nice, but I still wouldn’t know where on my body to put it. I actually admire people who have tattoos because I think to have something that permanent on your body requires commitment, and yes, I also admire them for enduring the pain of having it/them done, which is actually one of the reasons I probably still don’t have one. I’m chicken like that.

In recent years, tattoos have become more mainstream, and I think this is a good thing. Any form of artistic expression, in my book, is a sign of progress. Believe it or not, some people still frown upon body art because they believe that you are “altering God’s creation.” Ohhh-kay.

Recently I hung out with the good folks of 55 Tinta (for those who don’t speak Filipino, tinta means "ink"). They are one of the better-known tattoo shops in Manila, is owned by half of the band Kamikazee, and just recently relocated. When I first entered their shop, I was surprised at how clean and lovely (in a rock-and-roll kind of way) it is. The area is spacious, and inside you will find an artists’ station, a tattooing area, and a reception and waiting area (where they show cool documentaries and play really good music). I was told by one of the owners, Kha Santia, that the reason for the roomy, open layout is because most of the clients often bring a friend or two when getting their tattoos done. Also, it is a place where people can just hang out and meet friends.

Waiting area

Behind the artists' station

In the tattooing area, a series of plaques adorn the upper wall. These are numerous awards won by their artists from Dutdutan, the annual tattoo convention that gathers artists and tattoo aficionados from all over the country and the world. So if you’re wondering if they are any good, they have the titles to answer for it.

Participation plaques and awards for 55 Tinta

55 Tinta has a roster of six artists, each with their own specialty when it comes to tattoo designs. While I was there, three of the artists were present. One of them, Jhay Colis, took up tattooing because he was looking for a different canvas on which to convey his art. Jonathan Sanchez jokingly said that he was born to be nothing but a tattoo artist, and judging from his work, it’s hard not to take his jab seriously. I also spoke to Jason “Puto” Astete, another one of the owners, and was amazed at how passionate he was about their shop. So seldom do you meet people like that, and if I was actually there to get a tattoo, I wouldn’t think twice about it after talking to this man. Although he does not actually tattoo people (he tried but it was not for him), I would surmise that he probably is the heart and soul of the whole operation.

Jonathan doing a sketch for one of his clients.

55 Tinta was established four and a half years ago out of love. “It’s not about making money,” Jason says. “I just want people to know that there is nothing wrong about tattooing, to educate them not to discriminate. That just because a person has a tattoo it does not make them any different. One time a whole family came in the shop to get their tattoos together. It’s really nice to see open-minded people like that.”

L-R Cedric Dumlao, Jhay Colis, Kharen Santia, Jason Astete, Niel Tanaleon, Jonathan Barnachea, Jonathan Sanchez

While there, I was fortunate enough to run into Dong Abay, esteemed Filipino musician and one of their clients. He was going to get his kid’s name tattooed on his lower arm (Awit, Filipino word for “song”). “What’s your reason for getting your son’s name tattooed on your arm?” Jason asked. He answered, “When I’m hard in thought and when I have my head in my hands, the only thing I want to know is my son.”

So if you're interested in getting some ink done, Jason advises to think hard and long about what you want to stamp on your body. And if you've thought hard enough and are 200% sure about your decision, please give the awesome guys of 55 Tinta a visit.

55 Tinta’s Artists:

Dyuntats Depasupil

Jonathan Sanchez

Jhay Colis

Katz Lorenzana

Doi Suason

Neil Tanaleon

55 Tinta is located at 2/F Luisa Building. 107 Maginhawa St., Teacher’s Village, QC. For inquiries, call or text at 09088733871. For more pictures, visit their Instagram account.

Photos by Ron Cruz.
Tattoo photos from 55 Tinta.

Ellen and Portia's New Mansion

Last month Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi purchased this $25.6 million mansion in Montecito, Santa Barbara. Nothing like dropping that amount of cash to make us simple folks feel poorer! 

The 13-acre mansion has 6 bedrooms and 6 baths and--get this--nine fireplaces! I really can't figure out why you would need nine fireplaces in a home, but then again, I probably will never be able to buy a house a tenth of this size, so it's not my place to worry about it.

The pool has a view of the ocean and some of the most beautiful vistas in California. This is only one of the many properties that Ellen owns, including one in Beverly Hills and Hidden Valley.

Source: TMZ.com

Spotlight: Faye Marcos, Creative Cube Dweller

Now and then I will be posting artist profiles of notable people I have come across. There are so many talented people who are not given the opportunity to share their gifts, and I hope that in some little way I will be able to help spread the word about their works.

For our first profile, let me introduce to you Faye Marcos. I first met her in high school. I think we were seated beside each other for a quarter of a year during our senior year. We shared the same interests so we hit it off really well. She liked to draw and sing a lot, so I was surprised when she didn’t take the art route when we went our separate ways for college. We rekindled our friendship several years later when we joined the same photography club and would watch each other’s bands perform. I got this idea of featuring people because I would always see her works posted on social media sites, and I know that she has been thinking about an exhibit of some sort or selling her works.

Name: Faye Marcos

Alias/es: fayeshka

Medium: Watercolor, gouache, acrylic, ink and photoshop
Website: http://fayeshka.blogspot.com
Favorite artist: Gustav Klimt

Describe what you do.

I'm an IT consultant by day and an artist and musician the rest of the time. I have my own space in the blogosphere about art, music, and travel—three things that I am really passionate about. I also own a cupcake business with my sisters.

For my artistic background, I'm self-taught in drawing and painting. I do watercolor, gouache, or acrylic paintings of patterns and people. Subjects for my patterns are mostly foliage inspired, while the people that I draw are usually either fashion-related or just interesting everyday moments that I capture in my camera during my travels. 

My blog is a reflection of what I do—I write about art and illustration by sharing my own work as well as inspirations from other artists, gigs with my band, and other local bands that we play with, my experiences when I travel, my work as an IT professional and some bits and pieces about my personal life. Before, I was really frustrated ending up in the IT industry when I would like to do more creative work. Now, I've accepted and embraced the challenge of balancing my life as a systems analyst and a creative. I write about my journey as an example to corporate professionals who want to practice their creativity and channel their inner artist. My blog is my platform to let others know that just because they don't earn a living from their passion doesn't mean they can't keep on doing it. 

What is your favorite piece of work and why?
Gustav Klimt's portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer because it's just so darn pretty! From her face to the textures and patterns of her clothing to the dainty way her hands were positioned, it's just so beautiful to look at.  Ha ha. Hope II by the same painter comes a close second because it's the only work of Gustav Klimt that I've seen in person. It literally shimmered! I love his art nouveau style, his take on patterns and the slightly distorted positions of his subjects. There is mystery and whimsy in his work that I really admire--even if you've seen his paintings several times already, there is still so much detail in them, it's impossible to take in at one stare. Every time you see it, you feel like you're looking at it for the fist time. If I have the means to acquire any painting in the world, it would be those two. 

What do you wish to communicate with your work?

With my paintings, I don't think I have a single message to communicate. I just like drawing pretty patterns and I enjoy capturing expressions and movements of people. The message that gets sent to the audience depends on them.

With my blog, however, I would like to think that I am promoting pursuit of one's passion and a ton of positivity and motivation to just do what you love and love what you do. I would love to be able to write and draw more about environmental issues, conscious living, and our indigenous people.

If you could collaborate with anybody in this world, living or dead, real or fictional, who

would you choose? 

That's a tough one! It's hard enough to choose from the real and the living, sinama mo pa yung dead at fictional! Haha. If I have to narrow it down, I might as well choose a Filipino. I would love to collaborate with Kublai Millan. I learned about him when I visited Davao in 2008. He's amazing at any medium and his style also has so much variety. I would love to learn techniques from him or just pick a part of his brain coz he seems to never run out of things to make. I went to Ponce Suites in Davao and it was just visually overflowing. Artworks and sculptures and doodles everywhere! And who knows, he's just 10 years older than me so the collaboration has a chance of happening in this lifetime. Hashtag: positivethinker

Do you have any other hidden talents?

I'm an expert at sleeping. I can sleep in two minutes flat. I can sleep in moving vehicles and even while standing up. I'm a pretty decent runner and Frisbee player.

If you could create a universe, what would it be like?

I trust in the universe as it is but if I can make improvements, I would make the ozone layer invincible to toxic wastes. The sky at night could use more color. There will be multiple suns and multiple livable planets. We can really bounce off the clouds and the pink and purple ones will have strawberry and berry flavor respectively. Unicorns will be real. Humans will be humans but incapable of greed.   

The World's Most Expensive Penthouse

We all know there are a lot of rich folks in Monaco, but did you know that it also has the most expensive property price tag per square meter?

This penthouse, a part of the Odeon Tower along the Mediterranean coastline, comprises 3,300 square feet. Oh, did I mention that it has a private water slide to the exclusive infinity pool? I mean, who doesn't need a private slide to their own infinity pool these days? Come on! It can be yours for only $380 million.

Source: 604now.com

Analogue Baby

via shop.holgadirect.com

I became a lomographer by accident. It was 2007 when my former band got invited to play for a lomo exhibit, and this is when I started to dabble with analogue photography. Aside from the awesome people, my interest was piqued by the colorful and dreamlike photos displayed on the lomowall. The first manual camera I bought was a Nikon FM-10, followed by a Holga CFN. 

A self-portrait from my first roll of film.

Double exposure with a Taiwanese lomographer.

The Chicago Bean by Zoe Ezequiel, one of Manila's best lomographers.

Back then I would bring my all my lomo cameras with me wherever I went. Bringing more than five or more cameras at a time whenever we traveled wasn't out of the ordinary for me and my lomo friends. Of course, back then film was also way cheaper.

Beach biking by Zoe Ezequiel.

Street kids by Rene Nob.

I wanna be a supermodel by chrissiecaps.

Although I don't shoot as much these days, I don't think anything can ever replace analogue photography for me. True, Instagram can probably replicate the effects of lomography cameras, but for me it's not quite as magical. So if you want to try your hand on lomography, here are my top five analogue cameras that you should consider taking a look at:

1. Holga (photo at the beginning of the post). Holgas are one of the cheaper lomo cameras that produces square format photos. The sun is your friend when shooting pictures with this camera, but night shots also come out lovely if you know how to use the flash or bulb settings properly.

by chrissiecaps

2. LC-A. This is the mother of all lomo cameras. It makes every picture you take look like a scene from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's a little harder to manipulate because you can't just keep clicking. You have to put a little more thought into the technical aspects like the distance of the subject and the light source available.

3. Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim. This is not a lomo camera, but Lomography has their own sleeker, albeit more expensive, version (the La Sardina). This is what we call the poor man's LC-A. It produces almost the same results, but you can only use it during sunny days.

Quiapo Church by Teo Esguerra.

4. Horizon Perfekt. Panoramic. Film. Enough said.

Gilesy by chrissiecaps

5. SuperSampler. This camera produces four sequential shots in one frame. It's perfect for use outdoors on super sunny days.

*All photos are my own except when noted.