The Elegance of the Lotus Painting

My name is Maria Brenda Aranas Tenk . I am a watercolorist living in Talisay City, adjacent to Silay City, the cultural hub of Negros Occidental, Philippines. I finished Psychology and in Marketing from St. Scholastica’s College, Manila, Philippines. I was once one of these Kitchen Wives’ Painters Club member. We paint while waiting for our children to come home from school, just to while the time. But, this is not the situation anymore. I have graduated from a hobby painter to a professional one. And I spend more time painting in a day now than socializing because of the pandemic. I started painting in watercolor in 2016 together with other village neighbors when I came home from my 20 plus years of travel. I was just learning how to paint watercolor from the You Tube. But, when I started to submit my artworks for international exhibitions, I became more committed to painting watercolor. My first exhibition exposure was in Fabriano for the Fabriano Acquerello. And, I became a member of the International Watercolor Society Philippines. Five years have passed since I have started in my art journey. My watercolor technique has evolved to a different level. Possibly because I have been influenced by other great masters and the experiences I have received from my travel and exposure to different local and international exhibitions. Furthermore, painting every day and spending hours perfecting my work help changed the way I paint. It was more obvious during these pandemic times wherein I could not go out and I just had to paint the whole day to keep me busy. So, I had more chances to paint, critique myself and participate in more local and international exhibitions from home. Thus, after 5 years, I am proud to say, I am just starting to earn recognition and awards for my works. But what keeps me going? It is the sudden excitement of discovering new ways to paint watercolor just by allowing water to flow on the colors. It is so exciting to see how the colors run to each other changing to a new color through the use of water. .Also, seeing the radiance achieved because I did the right ratio of the use of water, color and the white space I leaned out is super satisfying. Watercolor painting is amazing…