The symbiotic relationship between birds and flowers take front and center in “Pervasive Sense of Calm.” These two entities which are essential to each other’s life cycles conveniently mirror the relationship between man and nature.

Self-taught artist, Pat Abella, pivots from his early distinguished style — hyperrealist portraits rendered in graphite— to colorful flora and fauna using watercolor for his first exhibition titled “Pervasive Sense of Calm.” The exhibit showcases pieces that anchors on the notion of nature as a source of tranquility.

“Flowers had always given me happiness and comfort through good and bad times,” Abella says. He pulls inspiration from people’s instinct to turn to nature in times when quietness and calm are needed the most. With his growing mastery of the watercolor medium, Abella evokes a sense of serenity through the use of light airy palettes, and delicate illustrations.

This collection offers variance in the artist’s compositions by contrasting maximalist and minimalist approaches — both showing the artists’ skill in the medium. Pieces like “Song of the Lilies” and “Facet of the Orient” depict his subjects from a tight perspective allowing him to maximize the use of color to accentuate subtle details on these flowers. These are juxtaposed by pieces like “Dance of the Cosmos” and “Dancing with the Tulips” which are minimalist compositions allowing the viewer to decompress from the subject without sacrificing attention to details.

Unique to this particular collection is the artist borrowing from the Kintsugi aesthetic or the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using gold. In each piece, Abella accents his paintings with gold leaf. This particular aesthetic philosophy connotes appreciating beauty in broken things as it is a part of its history.

The exhibition “Pervasive Sense of Calm” eases its audience into a visual respite. It grants its viewers a moment to appreciate their personal connections with nature with the hopes they too can take away a piece of serenity from viewing these works.

“Birds and flowers: a mirror of human and nature”
-Marz Aglipay