Meet Luna. Born during the extremely rare advent of the white lunar eclipse, she has the absolute powers of the moon goddess Ylomena. Actually, she is the youngest of the seven daughters of Ylomena who, according to legend, loses her powers during the white lunar eclipse, which only takes place once every seven hundred million years in the mystical land i call Paladin. As the most revered goddess of the night, Ylomena possesses magnanimous abilities of a most cryptic nature far beyond mortal understanding. These abilities involve a profound knowledge, understanding, and absolute control of the soul and the abstracted realm of the spirit, which includes emotions, thinking and everything in between, not just of mortals but of any creature, divine or otherwise, that exists in this mystical land of my creation, the main setting of this copyrighted gist whose working title is the name of the main character herself, Luna.

"Luna" in colored inks and liquid eraser on paper. 2010  

On the night of the white lunar eclipse, Ylomena loses her powers as they are duplicated and transferred to her youngest daughter, who will eventually take her personage when the time comes. This transfer of power between the queen of the night and her youngest daughter does not involve the dying of the former, for gods and goddesses are immortal beings. What happens is their spirits unite and become one. In the process, the entirety of each bonds together, the personage of the daughter engulfing that of her mother. The combination of powers further strengthens the dominion of the night and with it the powers of the queen as the youngest daughter eventually becomes her mother, and vice-versa. The white lunar eclipse marks the event of the birth of the moon heiress, who is actually born last of the seven daughters of the moon goddess--as to why it has to be the youngest daughter is because the 7th daughter completes the cycle of power and life of the reigning queen. Although she is considered the youngest in mortal standard, for the divinities the youngest always turns out to be the eldest and heir to the throne. Notice the "Ylen" name i wrote on the lower lefthand side? Ylen was the first name i gave to my main character, which i eventually changed to Luna because it is the Spanish word for "moon," a more befitting moniker for the next queen of the night. I decided to give the name Ylen to the first born instead who is one of the three antagonists in this tale. She covets the position of Luna, her youngest and most powerful sister(far more powerful than she is actually), and plotted to vanquish her by absorbing her entirety and powers.   

The night of the white lunar eclipse is the night the 7the daughter of the moon goddess is born. As the queen delivers her heiress, she transfers all of her powers to the latter, thus she weakens. Though her powers are eventually restored after her 7th daughter has been introduced to the world, their momentary absence renders her incapable of fully protecting her, and it was during this time that Ylen, driven by greed and envy, crept in and stole her youngest sister. She was planning to vanquish her whilst she was still too young to be aware, let alone use her immense powers, as she is still confined to her small light form(They take on a luminous human-like form at birth and evolve into  the magnificent creatures they are in the long run.). But her wicked plans were intervened by her younger second sister Ezra. As the battle between sisters, moonlight against moonlight, raged on,  Fidez and Yrina, respectively the 3rd and 4th sisters who sided with Ezra, took Luna and fled to save their youngest sister. 

In the mortal realm, where differing tribes thrive and coexist, the birth of the 7th daughter of the moon bears a strong relevance, affecting the cycle of life in general, as well as the lives of the mortals themselves. Deemed as life-moving divinities of the equally powerful twin gods--Ylomena and Arves(moon and sun), night and day respectively, the moon goddess giving birth to her heiress  always heralds the loss of life of a mortal infant who happens to have been born on the exact same time(She/he is born lifeless.). The infant's soul becomes a natural sacrifice, as his/her soul fuses with the spirit of the heiress, making him/her a part of her. Sadly, however, in becoming a part of the moon heiress, his/her chances of living as a mortal are already forfeited. 

The height of the white lunar eclipse covers the world in a shroud of blinding white light to be followed by a period of absolute darkness lasting for an hour. Once the light sweeps across the lands, it means that the heiress of the moon has just come out of the moon's womb. The period of blackness that follows represents the time the moon goddess is temporarily powerless, a period required to replenish or duplicate her lost powers, which she has transferred by virtue of giving birth to her heiress. It was the perfect timing Ylen needed to carry out her evil plans and become the moon goddess, usurping her own mother after she has engulfed her own sister and in the process vanquishing both of them, so she can have her full reign. Unfortunately for her, three of her younger sisters found out  and intervened just in time.  

While Fidez and Yrina were fleeing via a secret path leading to the window to the mortal world, they were confronted by Rixi, their 6th younger sister, who connived with Ylen, albeit their knowledge. As expected another battle between the clashing sister moons ensued, this time both Fides and Yrina against Rixi, whose powers are considerably greater than her elder sisters, her being the 6th daughter, which by birthright has granted her more powers as her mother's powers were already building up further in preparation for the birth of the 7th daughter, the appointed heiress. while the three sisters fought with the blinding fury of the cold moonlight powers, the infant Luna was left in an isolated corner. So great was Rixi's powers over Yrina and Fides that neither one could have the heart to leave the other to sneak down to the path to save Luna, lest one of them should be vanquished. 

While they were battling, Lomen, the 5th moon daughter, who unlike her sisters was born with intense powers that rendered her unusually cold and incapable of speech, and was thus reticent, unreactive and withdrawn, was watching closely from within the walls. Ever since, she has known of Ezra and Rixi's plan, but could not communicate it to her sisters since by nature, she was possessed with a mind that deliberately chooses to remain passive and oblivious to her surroundings. Just like the walls of their tower. But this time, despite the abstraction of her passive nature, Lomen found herself moved to act on duty to save her youngest sister. Stealthily she picked her up and moved swiftly from within the walls going out of the tower and into the crystal woods where the window leading to the mortal world can be found. After chanting some prayers through pursed lips, she dropped the glowing infant of light into the window, where she was immediately sucked into the darkness and transported to the human realms. 

In the mortal world, the family of an impoverished nomadic tradesman, a native of the Nobu tribe, was grieving the loss of their newborn son. The child had come out of his mother's womb lifeless, just as the blinding light had swept across the valley where they had set up their makeshift home. Barely half an hour had passed since he and his two  sons were panicking with just a candle to give a bit of light in a world shrouded by absolute darkness, to assist his wife, who unfortunately had to deliver at the most inopportune time. Though not versed with mysticism, he was alerted by the lunar eclipse, which he knew had something to do with the gods in a rather negative way(or so he thought). Little did he know, that his third infant son was the sacrifice, born at exactly the same time as the heiress, and by their time of grieving had already become a part of the magnanimous spirit of the infant heiress. 

However, having been transported to the mortal world, the heiress, guided by the mystical power of her 5th sister's prayers, was drawn towards the lifeless body of the tradesman's infant son, whose soul had acted as a force that led her to his form. Because their spiritual natures were already one, the infant heiress then inhabited the body of the sacrifice, as she could not have survived as anything else without a host in the mortal world--and in this case, it is none other than him. Dead for already half an hour, the infant suddenly opened his eyes and began to cry, breaking the dead silence of darkness and startling the grieving tradesman and his family...Thus begins the story of Luna who was eventually named Ezreel by his mortal mother and father. The youngest in a brood of three boys, he was born into an ordinary impoverished tradesman's family, whose common and uneventful life was about to change in a most radical and unexpected way...   

"Fiero Lobo" in multi-colored inks and liquid eraser on 81/2 x 12 cream-colored parchment board. 2007

This wolf sprang from my imagination at the exact time the "story" where it plays one of the lead roles hatched in my brain. The title i gave him describes, or should i say, defines the nature of his character. In English, Fiero Lobo means Fire Wolf, and literally this wolf does ride on flames and is in fact swathed in it. It is a kind of flame that can vanquish souls and mortals alike should they get in contact with it. It is a fire of the netherworld, a place in between the living and the dead where souls are taken, scrutinized, and readied before moving onward to their next destination. Fire wolves, just like the other elementals in my story, are immortals but of the second-highest degree and neutral, meaning they are neither good nor bad. And being no ordinary wolves, they are gigantic, too. Humans and spirits or souls are not the only ones that could perish from the ever-blazing fire of the fire wolves but everything else, including other elementals of a different kind, that is so unfortunate as to have lain on their path during their hunt. Invincible? Almost, but not quite...Okay, i've said enough...Too much already actually. I should keep my story guarded and this big mouth of mine shut until such time that i have released this already copyrighted tale of mine for public viewing. As to when that would be, well...It won't be too far off, that i am quite sure of. More in the future...

I remember entitling this with a long one, inspired by that love story movie whose title was something like"The So-and-So That Went Up a Mountain and Came Down a Hill." All i can remember of that movie, which by the way i did not watch LOL, was that it starred Hugh Grant and another English actress whose name has also escaped my memory LOL. Oh, well, this was my second entry to the annual Metrobank painting competition for the watercolor category in 2001(It's that old LOL.). Big at 40" x 60", it luckily made it to the semi-finals and was featured during the exhibit. Though it never made it to the finals, i consider it a privilege enough to be a semi-finalist(with a certificate of recognition and nothing else) to have been picked out as one of the 40 semi-finalists of the 600 entries, 250-300 of which are in watercolor like this one.  

Below are photos showing the details of some parts of my painting. Pity that i do not have the kind of equipment needed to capture the totality of my obra sans the reflection and other photo booboos. Good thing, my painting here is stunning enough to somewhat shroud my inadequacy in photography. 

"Infantisima Angelita" in colored inks and liquid eraser.2009

Do the eyes look familiar? This little enchanted cherub's eyes are the ones i used for the image on my blogsite here, albeit temporarily(I'm planning to make apt paintings for each page to be featured individually here and applied on the pages at the same time.). Using the same materials, i decided to use kraft paper of a small 1/8 size. This piece belongs to what i call my "lunchbreak paintings," which i did during lunchbreaks back in 2009 at the office when i was still assigned to work the graveyard shift. With kraft paper, the effect is earthier, warmer, and more realistic. but the thinness of the material made it hard to pile on the colors, especially when the highlights using liquid eraser were already being applied.  

"Me" painting in colored inks and liquid eraser. 2008

Sad to say, i've lost this painting long before i could finish it. I used to stay at the condo unit just five minutes away from my office, which i shared with my brother and two other female colleagues, when i did this. I did this as a gift to my then "boyfriend" who turned out to be a cheater, BIG TIME(How he cheated me, though it happened exactly four years ago, is still fresh in my memory. The funny thing about love is that even if the feeling has gone, the memory still lingers.). Though not my first time to handle inks, i am proud to say that this is my very first attempt to use several colored inks(plain ballpens) on colored paper. I would not really elaborate on the process, for it is my very own trade secret(I do hope you understand that every artist has one.), but depicting the outcome of this was not very easy yet exciting still.

Why was it not easy? Using colored paper affects the outcome. And being my first time to use multiple colors, the anxiousness and exhiliration was too much that i felt intoxicated as i buried myself in doing this piece. I remember adding some more details prior to losing or misplacing it when i moved back to my parents' house. I took this picture before adding those because i was so pleased with how it had turned out--and to my dismay, this picture is all i have left of my very first obra in colored inks. Oh, well, better than nothing. Though heartbreaking, this is not the first artwork i lost. In fact, i left behind a portfolio of original works dating back to my early college years inside a cab after a client presentation. I was so pooped out then that i had fallen asleep en route home. When the cab driver alerted me when we got to my house, i had totally forgotten that i brought with me my bulky portfolio and just paid and got out of the cab without even looking back. I only remembered after i had stepped inside our living room, and by then the cab had already left. 

Depressing? Yes. We're talking about a collection of various original works of mine collected within a 15 year period. But there is no use crying over spilled milk, which also applies to my then cheating boyfriend to whom this painting was supposed to be sent. Come to think of it...It could have been a sign.