Reese Lansangan

After 4 years, I’ve re-covered this Imogen Heap song that I dearly, dearly love. I made a (BAD, BAD) cover of this when I was in 1st or 2nd year college and I bravely put it up on one of my accounts back then. Every time I hear it on my iTunes, I can’t help cringing a little. So here’s a brand new cover of it with better harmonies and arrangement, or so I’d like to think. Please please enjoy it! You can hear (and download) my Hide & Seek cover HERE or on my music page. 

Hide & Seek (Imogen Heap Cover) by Reese Lansangan

Tigerlily

Risky Business

Hello everyone! I still haven’t gotten around editing all the photos from my Day 3 in Korea because there’s just too much in my “To Post” pile -_- I apologize for choosing too much! Although here I am still, posting up two of my recent illustrations for class last term! To make up for the lack of activity and all

For our Fashion Illustration finals, we had to choose two our of four given themes (Biker Bride, City Jungle, Bohemian Fantasy, Punk Royale), and I decided to do the latter two cause I thought they would be good fun to paint. We had to incorporate the elements we learned in class (painting leather, gemstones, glitter, patterns, lace, etc) into the themed illustrations. As you can see in the second image, I did my best attempt at painting leather (even though I had a mighty difficult time figuring out where the shiny parts should go) and sequined disco shorts (which I’m afraid do not really look shiny at all )

For the Bohemian Fantasy illustration, I tried my very best to channel the amazing Val Chua, and ended up with the first image above! I’m quite happy with it, honestly! I never knew I was capable of actually rendering a complete fashion figure, due to my lack of knowledge in accurate human proportion. I have my childhood years of drawing anime to blame. Oversized heads, exaggerated facial features and impossibly slim waists were the standards!!!! My teacher particularly liked the first drawing, so I’m sold!

This is me being mighty proud of my work now – proud enough to actually post them up on the blog. But I’m seeing myself a year or two after, gagging in front of the screen with that same sinking feeling in my stomach that I get when I look at my old (horrible) deviantArt account. Oops, I shouldn’t have brought that up…

I don’t often post much art stuff here in the blog just cause I get really shy about what I do. I doubt that when people think of me, they think of the word “artist” immediately, although ironically so, art is probably the thing I’m most passionate about. Music and fashion comes right after. I’m very very shy and self critical when it comes to my own artistic work, it gets frustrating. One day, I’d go about thinking I just made the greatest piece ever, then I’d wake up the next day thinking it’s complete rubbish. But here’s to hoping I get to post more from now on. Nowadays, I find myself drawing and painting a lot more than I used to in the past – I’m sincerely hoping to get better and better at it.

(Excuse me for the painfully pixellated photos. Back then I didn’t know any better & I kept saving thumbnails instead of real photos)

Last night, I was talking to one of my dearest friends over Facebook.

I met Andrea in Grade 4. She was a new student, and it was the first day of class. Seated alphabetically, we were next to each other. The first time I talked to her, I didn’t ask how she was. I didn’t even ask for her name. I asked her one simple question: “Marunong ka ba mag drawing?”

To which, she responded with a nod. Soon after, she brought out her ruled pad paper and a Monggol pencil and quickly drew an impressive anime figure with short hair in front of me. I was taken aback. Clearly, she was wonderfully talented at drawing.

We became thick as thieves. We bonded over our love for anime and other Japanese things. During lunch, we’d ponder upon our future as cartoonists while drawing long-haired girls in anime style and rating each other’s sketches. Just when I thought I was improving at sketching, her drawings would always turn out 10 times better than mine. But she was generous and humble. She would teach me how to draw eyes properly so that they looked like they were shining.

Our obsessions glued us together on the hip. Mid school year, when my family and I got into a tragic car accident, she wrote me a dozen different letters asking me how I am, telling me stories, sending me a few drawings here and there. I read them all.

Our friendship became much deeper when we were in high school. She shared me stories about the different boys she was meeting, while I eagerly listened and gave my best advice on the one subject I’m most inexperienced about. We’d go to movies and stores and trash different dressing rooms while taking pictures of the clothes that we would try on but had no intentions of buying. We exchanged letters regularly, called each other up and talked for hours on end, and sang song medleys we’d invent in the pool during swimming class. She was a great friend.

(Andrea’s drawing of us. I’m wearing the lime green crocs. Cause I had lime green crocs. Which I dearly loved)

After high school, we were headed to different universities. I was set on going to Ateneo to take up Information Design, while Andrea was going to UST to take up Advertising. At the very heart of it, we were both still pursuing our love for the arts, although in different places. Within those 4 years of university, I think we’ve only had one sleepover together, and maybe 4 or 5 get-togethers. We rarely got the chance to spend time together physically, but every time we got to see each other, we’d still catch up excitedly like all those years of absence added up to nothing.

She eventually moved to Singapore and started working for this huge advertising company, BBDO, as an art director. An art director!! We were able to catch up before she moved, and occasionally we would still tweet and message each other on Facebook, still talking about dreams and career and life and everything in between. I’ve been so proud of Andrea. She has come along way from being such a shy, quiet girl from Grade 4. She barely talked to anyone else then, but now she’s an art director, chasing her dreams in the field of Advertising. She gets to travel and meet all these wonderful people, and still she hasn’t really changed much.

Last night, we were having this serious talk over Facebook about career paths and meeting people and living life. It’s funny, we both got teary eyed during our conversation, and I immediately told her I intended to visit her soon. I just needed to find the right time, and a cheap flight at that. Then she goes linking me this AirPhil promo for Singapore, which literally just started 40 minutes since we were conversing.

As it happens, by the end of the night, Andrea talked me into booking a flight in mid June to see her for a weekend. ALONE!!!!! FOR A WEEKEND!!!! If you knew my Mom and my family, this would be a big deal. No, a HUGE deal. My Mom almost never lets me go anywhere alone. During high school, when my friends and I would go out, my mom wouldn’t let me come if my maid wasn’t trailing 2 meters behind me. During my first year in college, I couldn’t go eat at Katipunan (the strip across my university) unless I ask her if I could. LITERALLY WHAT. It unnerved me of course, but I understood. She was just overly protective, and my friends were wonderful enough to take it lightly.

And suddenly, she allows me to book a flight out of the blue, and alone at that! I’m overwhelmed!!!!! And also really excited to visit my friend again. I’d love to see how she’s doing in Singapore. I feel like she’s supposedly outgrown me already, now that she’s in a bigger battlefield, in a different country, meeting older, more mature people all around her. While here I am, still being the same old me with the same issues ) But she has never made me feel that way.

I’ll see you this June!

The most important thing I’ve been reminded of last night is that you still have the ability to surprise yourself. All the time.

P.S. There was hail early this week, and my sister and I took photos to capture ice falling on our roof.

This is the closest we’ll ever get to snow

I had a really productive photo shoot with THE Edric Chen, who has worked with several fashion bloggers and personalities in the past, it’s been a pleasant surprise to have received an email from him! One thing I appreciate is photographers who know how to direct subjects because I, for one, can and will only stare at the camera, waiting for it to melt or something. I don’t really know squat about improvising when it comes to poses and such. So you’ll really have to tell me what to do! Even if it’s sitting on weeds or lying down in an empty, dirty swimming pool, I WOULD DO IT.

Edric was enormously helpful with the poses and the variations that I didn’t have to spend time thinking whether my pose makes me look like I’m in terrible pain, or whether my “closed eyes” pose makes me look like a mother going through labor. You know, cause it happens.

Here are a few photos form the last outfit shot of the day! I’m exciteddddd to see the rest (super super super excited omg) and I’m really glad to have had the opportunity to work with Edric. Thanks so very much for the lovely photos!