The Number 60: artist series

Artist at Work: Stuff Happens' Yna Trajano

9:26 PM

Pushing Boundaries: Lee Caces

12:13 PM

I got to know a few tidbits about Lee when I hung out with him one Monday along with one of his friends, Martin. I've known him for so long that I thought I've known everything about him. I got to ask him about his art, his hobby, and learned a few things about him.

1. Lee + Cacti

Guys, he knows a gazillion things about cacti and succulents.

"Cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti."

Take note, guys.

Now if you think Lee is just following the fad these days about cute plants in the office then you should know that Lee lives in a very cool GREEN house. His family loves to take care of plants so there's no doubt that he's been exposed to green things when he was young. We asked him why he likes cacti he jokingly answered, "Because they are THORNY".

But let us try and move on from Lee's puns (if you know him personally, he usually drops a pun or two every now and then). His parents love to take care of plants and when he was young, they would bring him along to their Sunday markets. One day he saw a cactus and asked his mom to get it for him. From then on his cacti collection grew as his mom would buy him a new one every weekend. Of course, at such a young age his mom would naturally be the one to take care of their cacti collection. But just like in life, their collection died out.

He then recently bought one at the intention of really taking care of it himself. He is now in the stages of propagating his collection. One thing we can take is that even though cacti species are known to live a long life not needing that much water or care, Martin and I realized that cacti and succulents do in fact need some TLC.

Lee Caces' daily routine: Wake up, brew coffee, take a shower, drink his coffee, go up to their roof and take care of his plants, go to work running late, go home and repeat the cycle.

I asked Lee if he likes to look at his plants and just think to himself that he did well taking care of them, he says he finds fulfillment in seeing them grow.

We asked him if he looks at his art the same way but I was surprised to find out that the answer was

"No."

He is so drawn into the process of creating art that he no longer wants to look at it the moment he is over. After exhausting all of his efforts on the process, he no longer has the energy to look at it.

"Create art, finish, capture image and post to the internet and then next project."

2. Fun Fact: Lee wasn't supposed to go to an art school

Yep, he was supposed to go study Psychology because he found it interesting when he was young but then when he talked to a professor, he was advised to take Advertising and/or Fine Arts. That led him to being a graduate of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde as a Multimedia Artist. I asked him if he was happy with what he learned back in College and he said he kind of regretted taking MMA. But that was because he wanted to do more Fine Arts and focus on his techniques. But now that he thinks about his current profession and how advanced the industry is, he realized that being a Multimedia Artist is not so bad at all. It has become really handy especially in the publishing industry where traditional and digital practices are often pitted against one another.

If you could re-choose your school what would it be? "UP Diliman Fine Arts."

3. Process + Art

When Lee was contacted to be a part of Museo Orlina's Tagaytay Art Beat his reaction was a humbled one. He couldn't believe it.

"Huh? Seryoso ba?"

He saw that Tagaytay Art Beat was looking for people to exhibit so he sent his works and was shortlisted for the exhibit. He checked out his fellow artists and saw that they were all insanely good. But nonetheless, the usual Lee Caces gave his best. He thought of his #5minsketches because that's where it all started. He wanted to focus there. The initial idea was the use of neon lights but due to some technical and financial difficulties he sought advice from one of his friends and was given the idea to create a Light Box instead.

Instagram was also a source of his inspiration. He created a layout in the light box where if you look at it long enough you'll realize or notice that it creates an Instagram Feed. It's a really great idea where he integrated physical art + digital creations.

When he chooses a subject, he first observes his surroundings and find people who have that interesting factor. When you look at that person, you know they have a story to tell.

"You can tell their stories by their faces."

He sketches in cafes to let time pass by, he sketches fast to keep up with the time, to keep art in his life, and to challenge himself and his skills.

One thing that I like and admire from Lee is that he always pushes himself to break out of his comfort zone to create a bigger space for himself and his art. He's so driven to break through the barrier of the industry and to me, the way I see it is that he never forgets his goal which I find very admirable. He knows how to adapt and he never complains. Most millennials tend to fight and forget why they fought so hard. They tend to fight and flight (and possibly complain along the way).

Lee is my wake up call to always pursue what you love the most because even if everything is so repetitive and confusing and tiring, at the end of the day he still gets to do what he loves the most and that's to be able to create his art.

We asked Lee what inspires him or what recharges him and he replied,

"Meeting people and getting influence from them. Seeing their view on art and their techniques that you never knew before."

The funny thing is that I think what he doesn't realize is that he also exudes that vibe. That he also inspires people to keep doing what they love the most and to be good at it.

Check out our collaboration with LEE CACES, follow him on his INSTAGRAM, and check out his works on BEHANCE to keep up to date with what he is doing.