Have You Seen Basti Artadi's Art? It's All on His Second Instagram Account

Basti Artadi’s contributions to Philippine music are well-known, but fewer people are aware that his creativity isn’t limited to singing to a microphone. The frontman of seminal OPM band Wolfgang also paints and if you want to find out if he’s any good, you best go to Instagram and follow his second account devoted just to his artworks.

@bastipaints has been up since July 2017 and has about 580 followers. Clearly Artadi is keeping his art on the DL (although he does occasionally post his art on his main IG account @bastiartadi73, which has about 27,000 followers).

 

h

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by basti (@bastipaints)>p

>pThe rocker has been drawing since he was a kid and also has an interest in graphic design. In fact, he actually earned a bachelor’s degree in production design and went on to pursue a master’s in advertising. In a previous interview, he says he started painting with watercolor and then started with oil in 2006. Ever the musician, he's painted rock legends like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash and, eventually, portraits of other pop culture icons like Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, and Elizabeth Taylor. His interest in comic books has also seeped into his art.>pBased on his art IG, it seems he has a preference for portraits over landscapes and still life.>p>p

h

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by basti (@bastipaints)>p

>pIn 2015, Artadi held his first solo exhibit entitled Kalat at A Space Gallery in Makati. Since then his posts on @bastipaints have been sporadic, letting his followers in on the progress of a few of his works.>pThere’s been slightly more activity in the account this year, including some posts about his first group exhibit “Can’t Do Attitude,” in which his artworks shared space with those of other artists like Alburoto, Froilan Calayag, Ramona Dela Cruz-Gaston, Tano Panaligan, and others. He’s also posted a few commissioned pieces.  >p

 

His latest post (as of this writing) is of a set of “Skeletiles,” which he says were born after the first long year of the pandemic.

“Working with my hands has kept me occupied through the not-so-good days, a record playing in the background as my soundtrack,” he says. “Each piece is made by me and now two are alike.

“Much like many of us now, each tile is fragile,” he adds. “It’s a reminder that we need to take care of ourselves and one another during these uncertain times.”

h

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by basti (@bastipaints)>p

>pThe Skeletiles are available through @blackheartgallery for P1,500 each.>pGo check out and follow @bastipaints on Instagram for more of Artadi’s art.>pDon't forget to subscribe to the Esquire Philippines YouTube channel. >p