Bacolod-based visual artist Charlie Co was born in the Philippines in 1960. He studied at La Consolacion College, College of Fine Arts, in 1984 and at Philippine Women's University, College of Fine Arts, in Manila in 1986. He was first identified as a social realist in the mid-1980s and later developed an interest in figurative expressionism that borders on surrealism. He held his first solo exhibition in 1983, and has since had 23 solo exhibitions in the Philippines and Australia and has participated in over 30 group shows. His current work combines painting and sculpture. He models small figurines in terracotta and places them in a vividly coloured painted scene. In these sharply observed works, "all the world's a stage". The shaped frames reference both folk art and his upbringing in the family furniture business. Co has had the distinction of representing his country in the exhibition Asian Modernism at the Japan Foundation ASEAN Culture Center in Tokyo Japan in 1995; at the 23rd Sao Paolo Biennial in Brazil and the 2nd Asia Pacific Trienniale of Contemporary Art in Brisbane, Australia in 1996, and the 2nd International Claywork Symposium and Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan and the Taegu Asia Arts Exhibition in Korea in 1997.

Okay - as I have noted in the past we have the most photogenic cat known to man. He loves doing silly things and in this case Doug found him in our large bath tub this morning while getting ready for work. This is not uncommon, but he was looking into the metal fitting that protects the overflow drain and you can see that he thought he found another cat. While these pictures are a little blurry they are just hilarious in an everyday Charlie kind of way.