Akae Beka - Blog Posts
Just between you and me
colored pencil watercolor and pen
Monrovia, CA, 1995
In 1995 I was living in Monrovia, CA, and, on the advice of a judge, I stopped drinking alcohol.
Not being drunk all the time came as a shock to me. I suddenly had all this time to kill. I decided to work on large, time cosuming projects. The drawing above was my first. It took a couple of weeks to complete. And then I did another.
I drew. I drew in the middle of a life completely shattered. I drew, and I dreamed of a future. A future far away where I could be new.
Years later, in 2011, when I first landed in the Philippines, the first thing I noticed was the smell. Manila smells like an overwhelming mixture of cooked pork, motorcycle exhaust and BO.
As I walked down the tarmac I was still in Monrovia and I was still dreaming.
Calbayog City, Philippines, 2025
Akae Beka - Rebellion Running
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Bulusan Volcano, Philippines
"Daddy, " Sean, my 8 yo son asked me, "Why are sea songs so happy when there are all those sunken ships at the bottom of the ocean?"
I've been thinking about that recently.
We went on a road trip this last weekend up to the northern coast of the island. We camped out on the beach and in the morning, across the sea, Bulusan volcano loomed large, shrouded in clouds.
I drank my coffee at sunrise by the water. A crane came by and hung out with me for a while.
Akae Beka - Manger
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Midnite - Jah umbrella
watercolor and ballpoint pen b&w
"Look into your eyes, see you are infinity" Vaughn Benjamin, Midnite/Akae Beka
Supplication
watercolor and ballpoint pen
Calbayog City 2024
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A blue, so long ago
colored pencil and black sharpie
Calbayog City 2024
The Philippine Sea is a deep almost violet blue.
It came to me in a dream once.
And now I'm here.
But I'm not there.
And isn't that where I've always been?
This drawing is pretty much done, but it's not done.
In any case, I've moved on to the next piece.
Write that on my tombstone.
Samar, Philippines 2024
Akae Beka - The Earth is the Lord