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young Filipino artist uses garlic oil to create his paintings.
SHOWS:
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
1. CLOVE OF GARLIC BEING SLICED
2. GARLIC PAINTER LAUREN MARK LIBUNAO SLICING GARLIC
3. LIBUNAO COOKING IN KITCHEN
4. GARLIC BEING PLACED INTO PAN OF HOT OIL
5. BROWNED SLICES OF GARLIC FRYING IN HOT OIL
6. LIBUNAO AND FRIENDS SITTING IN HOTEL LOBBY WITH GARLIC PAINTINGS
7. LIBUNAO DISCUSSING GARLIC PAINTING OF RURAL SCENE
8. GARLIC PAINTING OF AGRICULTURAL SCENE
9. (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) MARK LAUREN LIBUNAO, GARLIC PAINTER SAYING:
"I fry the garlic in oil just like you would fry it for seasoning.
Then I place it in a blender. After blending, I extract the oil, and I use
that oil in my paintings."
10. LIBUNAO PAINTING WITH GARLIC OIL
11 GARLIC OIL ON DISH
12. IMAGE OF HOUSE BEING PAINTED WITH GARLIC OIL
13. GARLIC OIL BEING APPLIED TO CANVAS
14. PAINTBRUSHES
14. LIBUNAO SELECTING A PAINTBRUSH
15. VARIOUS OF ARTIST PAINTING
16. PAINTING OF HOUSE
17. (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) MARK LAUREN LIBUNAO, GARLIC PAINTER SAYING:
"We had a small eatery selling short orders in Guimba, Nueva Ecija
where I would sometimes help out. One day, I noticed the garlic and asked
myself, 'Why don't I try using this to paint?' as I saw the potential in its
brown color. That's when I started to experiment."
19. VARIOUS OF LIBUNAO AND FRIENDS SETTING UP GARLIC PAINTING SHOWCASE IN
HOTEL LOBBY
20. FRIENDS CARRYING PAINTINGS MADE OF GARLIC
21. PAINTING OF MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURES BEING PLACED ON TABLE
22. ROW OF PAINTINGS BEING ARRANGED
23. PAINTING OF PREGNANT WOMAN
25. (SOUNDBITE) (Filipino) MARK LAUREN LIBUNAO, GARLIC PAINTER SAYING:
"What's nice is that I've found an unusual way to use a staple
ingredient for cooking. I've managed to use it for a totally different
function, like painting."
26. CLOVES OF GARLIC USED AS MODEL
27. VARIOUS OF LIBUNAO PAINTING CLOVES OF GARLIC USING GARLIC OIL
28. PAINTBRUSH BEING DIPPED INTO DISH OF GARLIC OIL
29. ARTIST WHILE PAINTING
30. CLOVES OF GARLIC BESIDE PAINTING
STORY: Garlic, the indispensable cooking ingredient, is now providing a new
flavour for paintings.
A Filipino artist, Mark Libunao, uses the savoury herb as paint for his
portraits.
The 23-year-old from the farming village of Guimba, north of Manila,
has become known as the "Garlic Painter."
"I fry the garlic in oil just like you would fry it for seasoning.
Then I place it in a blender. After blending, I extract the oil, and I use
that oil in my paintings," Libunao explained.
The artist says the flavourful inspiration came to him while he was
working at his family's small eatery in his home province, Nueva Ecija.
The idyllic province, home to vast farms, is one of the top producers
of the country's agricultural products such as rice, corn, onion and,
garlic.
"We had a small eatery selling short orders in Guimba, Nueva Ecija
where I would sometimes help out. One day, I noticed the garlic and asked
myself, 'Why don't I try using this to paint,' as I saw the potential of its
brown color. That's when I started to experiment," Libunao told
Reuters.
It takes a whole day to prepare a small amount of the rust-coloured
paint. The painting process itself is just as tedious, if not smelly, because
the mixture spreads thickly on a board or canvas. Each layer has to be dried
carefully before a new one is applied, or else the garlic oil will smudge.
In Libunao's early experiments, the paintings only lasted four to six
months before they started to mould. But after developing an organic
preservative, Libunao claims the paintings now have a shelf life of up to 50
years if framed properly.
The monochromatic works of art, illustrating rural scenes and
mythological images, have garnered praise for the artist in his small town,
where his work was exhibited late last year. Selected paintings were also
showcased in a hotel in Manila last March.
Libunao's art works sell for 20,000 to 40,000 pesos (418 to 836 U.S.
dollars) per piece.
He says he's excited about using the new medium to express himself.
"What's nice is that I've found an unusual way to use a staple
ingredient for cooking. I've managed to use it for a totally different
function, like painting," Libunao said.
Who would have thought a new muse was just lying in the kitchen?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gay1pI2KCRk
I don't know about that, but you're making me hungry. Time for a snack break. 
