DKNY Express











Amirasolo and Other Essays

Part 3. In my Book

Essay 38. DKNY EXPRESS

I painted DKNY Express in 2012. The jeepney image was a variant of a cartoon I designed and printed on t-shirts in 1992. The female guitarist figure in turn was an image I came up with after I switched style in 2008, and started experimenting and subjecting my human forms to simplification and distortion. I called the suite of paintings of slender females I produced during this period my 'slim series'.

This painting is closely connected with two of my UST High School classmates---Arn Cruz and Ray Espinosa. The DKNY of the title doesn't mean Donna Karan New York. It is the tongue-in-cheek abbreviation, or initialism, for Divisoria Kanto ng Ylaya (Divisoria corner Ylaya), which are places in Manila frequented by bargain-hunters. I first heard of 'Divisoria Kanto ng Ylaya' from Arn Cruz when he gave me and another classmate a lift in his car on our way home to Tondo. When I said that our house is just walking distance from Ilaya Street, he said something to this effect, "Ah, doon ka pala nakatira sa DKNY (Ah, so you live in DKNY)."

I initially planned to letter 'Viva Santo Niño' on the visor or headboard (or whatever it is called) of the jeepney and title this piece "Fiesta Serenade". But then Arn's DKNY joke came to mind, and that's it. I realized at once that DKNY Express is the better title because of its humor and wit. Thanks Arn for giving me the idea for the title.

Ray Espinosa, on the other hand, bought this painting. There was a time during the latter months of 2013 when I really need cash fast. And to sell fast, I offered this painting at a very low price to Ray. I even included as sweeteners two of my small abstracts on paper to the package. What Ray said after reading my message surprised me, very pleasantly. He said that I shouldn't sell my paintings cheap. He offered me an amount almost four times higher than what I quoted, which I of course accepted readily.

Thank you very much, Ray.

(Image above: "DKNY EXPRESS"; 2012; oil on canvas; 18 X 24 inches; Ray Espinosa collection)


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