We went back to the philippies last December. As we were about to get onto the airplane in Las Vegas, I turned to my wife and said, "Hon, get ready to be ugly for about a month." I know what your thinking, "Did he really just say that?, she's going to divorce him." Well it turned out I was right, and she knew it. There were lots of looks while walking through the malls that screamed, "How did an ugly girl like that get to marry a young american." There were even a few times that my wife was mistaken for a Nanny. Why?, because the Filipino definition of beauty has three main parts.
Part one. White. You must be fair skinned and have light-ish hair.
This means you don't work outside. Girls, when they go to chat with forigners on the internet will actually try and whiten their skin.
Part two. Long nose. If you dont understand this one, look at an Asian woman the next chance you get.
Part Three. Heavier set. Now i'm not talking fat, just not skinny or to athletic. Again this means that you have money, and you don't work a blue collar job.
So, why am I bringing this up in an art blog? Well it's because one of my favorite parts of being an artist is being able to create what I see as beauty. This point was driven home to me when I finished this little drawing. There was no reference used, just drawing in my sketch book randomly. It ended up looking like my wife, a lot like my wife. This is why I believe that art is so important. Good art causes us to look more critically at our world. It puts forward ideas that don't always conform to societies (I hate to use that word) view of beauty. Good art shouldn't replace our current view of the world. It should enhance our ability to see beauty and think critically about it.
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