When in Manila, Saturdays are well spent by attending workshops that unleash your artistic skills. For instance, the workshop on basic watercolor painting and illustration organized by Planners Manila afforded a relaxing time for budding artists. Conducted by visual artist Anina Rubio herself, the participants discovered different techniques in watercolor painting.
With Nipa Hut in Pasig as the venue, the ambiance added to the prevailing theme of the workshop: nature. Truly fitting for a nature-lover like Anina who draws inspiration from it to produce beautiful works of art. I was fortunate to do a quick interview with her (thank you Chinky and Joyce of Planner’s Manila for allowing me!) and Anina mentioned that she wants to give back to nature by creating a sustainable art material in the near future.
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I am quite intimidated with watercolor painting, but Anina instilled in her participants that “lahat ng bagay ay kayang matutunan” (anything can be learned). So, I’m looking forward to trying watercolor painting soon!
Among the tools used are the following: cold-pressed paper for the leaf painting. It is highly absorbent, acid-free, and pigmented to give texture to the finished artwork. I am in love with the colors of the palette (Anina used Canson) because they represent the colors of nature!
The participants took home a practice pad, a synthetic brush, and pens.
Anina keeps a plant journal where she paints images of leaves. Her plant journal (in Khadi Arches paper) serves as a reference for the palette she used. For the workshop, she uses an Escoda sable brush, which absorbs water better.
I have tried wet on wet painting as an activity with my homeschooling daughter. We find this technique therapeutic.
Adding details to your painting is a technique known as glazing. My new-found favorite technique.
While the participants were finishing their leaf painting, Anina pulled up her classical music playlist and the participants were deeply immersed with their work.
Our youngest participant shows off her skill in painting!
The participants proudly present their finished artwork. Saturday well-spent indeed!
Watch out for upcoming workshops by Planners Manila posted in their Facebook page and Instagram account at @plannersmanila!
