Where the muse leads

SUCH is the high level of skilled painting by Filipino artists that one has come to expect hyper-realism as a norm in their works.

Young artist Jayson Cortez from Malolos Bulacan, about an hour north of Manila, is a proponent of the technique, infusing his works with rich storybook surrealism.

In his solo entitled Portal, Cortez explores the fertile imaginations of children, using his younger sister as a muse. "I merge reality and make-believe," he says, describing one of the paintings - also titled Portal. In it, two children from different worlds connect. Cortez's sister is the youngest and the only girl in the family of four boys. As the eldest …