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 son, Cortez, 28, relives his childhood through his 12-year-old sister, whom he dotes on. He uses her as a subject especially in reliving his childhood whimsies - such as that of riding a horse in a carousel.