For the love of colors

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on,” says genius Albert Einstein. Thus, we hit the ground running this new decade with conversations from artists who create beautiful work with their hands – this time with acrylic, oil, and watercolor.

Ritzel Rabor-Polinar, a lawyer at the Department of Justice, shares a facet of her life outside the court – and this is her waltz with the beauty of the world and its colors. She started with her art very young, “Since kindergarten days, my Mom would catch me drawing on the air as if sketching on a board,” she shared.

“In a perfect world, I would paint all my waking time but since I have a job, I can only afford to paint after working hours between 7 p.m. until the break of dawn,” says Ritzel, as she ponders on her time between painting and work.

“Every time I encounter a good subject, a perfect moment or a person’s expression or demeanor, or a particular detail which moves me, my spirit is awakened and I would paint away,” she said.

Ritzel looks at the painting process as her way of getting in touch with her core, “I consider the creative process a spiritual experience and it’s one way of feeding my soul thus I always look forward to every creative process.”

But her attitude towards her outputs varies from time to time. “Sometimes an external factor would influence the result of the creative process. Like when I am physically tired for example, or when I’m uninspired enough emotionally; or when I’m too distracted or pressured. With these feelings, I don’t get the desired result of my art work. But not every negative emotion would yield equal result because there are times when I could channel the negative vibe into something positive by throwing myself into the creative process and produce something as concrete as a beautiful painting.”

Ritzel, however, professes her preference with watercolor as a medium. “I love the spontaneity of watercolor and its unpredictability. And the difficulty of handling the medium gives me the constant challenge. I get a sense of fulfillment as an artist whenever I produce a watercolor piece. I think I can never exhaust the creative process brought about by using watercolor as a medium in getting your ideas across or conveying the human experience.”

“My advice is simple: continue to be passionate about the things you want to do. If you feel inadequate, go enrich yourself by learning and educating yourself. Inadequacy can be filled up by learning because through education, you will gain insight. And more importantly, foster confidence. And when you are confident, you will create beautiful works,” Ritzel said.

Ritzel will be holding her solo exhibit dubbed as 7-Year Gallery of Details at Marco Polo Hotel Davao on January 18, 2020.

Meanwhile, Robin Castillo has always been attached to art since he realized his existence in this world. “I can no longer remember the first time when I took up a brush and started to paint. I have just gotten connected with the art community recently.”

Being a minimalist, Robin strives to paint during daytime, “I need to catch the natural light. I always desire to observe the real world in its actual light.” He closely identifies himself with painting. “I lose my sense of self when I don’t paint. When I’m not satisfied with my works, I look for ways to improve myself.”

Robin is not the kind who gets attached with mediums, “To me, watercolor is convenient, it’s really handy but I’m not tied to it.” His advice to artists who get confronted with questions and other distractions is simple yet holds sway. “Paint for yourself.”