“What makes me happiest is making and creating… doesn’t matter if it’s art, or cooking, or making music. It makes me feel whole.”
That, in a nutshell, tells you everything you need to know about Pablo Sison.
Sison is a multi-talented, multi-dimensional CREATOR. He is a designer, an artist, a creative and strategic problem solver with boundless curiosity and a great understanding for the bigger picture. With over a decade of art direction and interactive design experience, he has worked with major brands including Toyota, Lexus, Old Navy, Target, McDonalds, Nike, MGM properties, NBC, CBS, Fox, Amazon, Netflix, Google, Disney, Knotts Berry Farm, and Universal Studios.
He is a prolific fine artist, working both in the studio and also creating massive public and privately commissioned murals, including a 7.5 acre realistic sky at the Venetian Casino in Macau. One who rarely sits still, his output is far-reaching and diverse, perhaps due to his active travel schedule since childhood.
Backdrop for Big Brother TV Show - CBS
Art was not his only passion, however. The young Sison also loved music. Since his high school, (Loyola High) did not have a music program, he formed the jazz fusion band “Vague” with some friends, playing soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. Their skill and tenacity lead to gigs at football games, parties, and local jazz clubs like Hop Singhs and Blue Lagoon Saloon. As the band improved and built a following, they went on to open for jazz legends Tim Weisberg and Joe Sample at the High Sierra Jazz Festival, and later Chick Corea, Top Jimmy and the Rhythm Pigs, and Tito Puente.
After high school, his band mates all went to Loyola Marymount University. After work, he would meet them nearby for rehearsal, and while waiting, decided to “sample” a few courses. He regularly crashed art theory, art history, music theory and music history, making it a full semester before they found out that he was not a registered student.
Born in Quezon City, Philippines in 1965, Sison was one of 9 children born to first generation immigrants. He has also lived in Macau, Hong Kong, Shanghai, China, Napa, California, Seattle, WA., St. Louis, Mo., Savannah, Georgia, and finally Los Angeles, CA where he now lives and works. It was a visit to Sevilla, Spain where he learned how to do authentic fresco. Needless to say, that kind of exposure to different cultures and lifestyles had a tremendous impact, and is one reason his art, and indeed his life as a whole, exhibits such diversity and energy.
As a young child he was told not to use his native language and to assimilate to the U.S. culture, so he quickly learned English. There was so much racism during that time in the 70’s and 80’s that he had to become a strong individual to survive, but having a large family helped. His innate curiosity set him apart, and at five years old he was already a creator - drawing, painting, and taking things apart to see how they worked, and then putting them back together. Earning the nickname “Touchy”, he began helping a next-door neighbor who was an engineer, assisting with everything from making bullets to machining parts. He learned to sculpt from the man’s wife and dabbled in all mediums.
That was to be the extent of his “formal training”, and since he was already working in his chosen field, he describes it as “going direct to the pros, just like Kobe.”
He was fortunate to have some significant people in his life that helped and supported his creative pursuits. Papa Joe Goelz allowed him to apprentice as a painter, teaching him the chemistry of paint and plaster, and Bob Levy, who hired him to be his assistant at the Getty Malibu restoring Greek antiquities. It was that apprenticeship where he learned the art of alchemy and authentic restoration, including the different regions where pigment was used. These men were the important mentors, teaching Sison the skills that elevated the young creator and brought him prime opportunities.
Another key figure in helping to secure a spot in history for the young artist was Gary Lloyd, a backdrop painter who owned Skydrops, a leading rental and custom backdrop house in LA. They met in 1997, when Sison already had his own working studio creating scenic backdrops. He affectionately called him ‘Dad’, as the older man was a strong, influential, and successful man who taught him a great deal about the industry. In 1999 Sison took over his mentor’s 7000 sq.ft. studio and renamed it Dropshop.
“It was such a creative space with a full stage and sound system. We did special events there including fashion shows and drive in movie parties while creating scenic backdrops and specialty foam-sculpted props for all kinds of clients. It was that place that gave me the freedom to paint, sculpt, and fabricate anything. I started doing my own art there too, participating in my first gallery show when I was 21 in San Francisco at the Mineah Gallery in the Mission. My last shows were at LA Convention Center, as the featured artist through my company Dropshop for the design/build trade fair ‘Dwell On Design’.”
“Over the years I have done many music videos and independent films. At that point, I was working in the film industry and learning all aspects of the business. Now I have acted, art directed, production-designed, and produced many projects for nearly every major studio.”
“Now I have inspirations to do my own art in a public forum. I recently formed a nonprofit corporation for the advancement of culture, art, and music for kids and needy individuals. This is my passion. I’ve always strived to be respected by my peers. I believe I’ve done that, and now I wish to give back to the community. My career has been blessed, and I have done so many amazing projects. Ultimately though, my nonprofit will be my legacy. My whole life has been devoted to culture, art, and music, and now I hope to be able to share my knowledge and help others, as I was helped when I was a young boy.”