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'I want to make the love for art more purposeful : Ang kwento ng pasasalamat ng artist na si Patti Centenera
SBS Filipino
04/12/202312:40
"I left my job as a writer in advertising after 10 years in the Philippines. It's one of those high-pressure jobs. After working for 'the man' for so many years, I needed time to breathe."
And take the time to breathe she did.
After moving to Canberra with her husband, Patti Centenera began rediscovering what art meant for her.
After moving to Canberra with her husband, Patti Centenera began rediscovering what art meant for her. Credit: Patti Centenera
Hereditary talent
"My family is from Angono, Rizal, the art capital of the Philippines.
"A couple of my grand uncles and relatives are pretty well known in the art scene, like Botong Francisco. Contemporarily, there's Nemi Miranda. In music, there's Lucio San Pedro. They were just always influential to my family."
Both Centenera and her brother enjoyed the genius of their genetics.
Art was something we did naturally. We didn't really know anything else.
"When I was about two years old, my parents said I picked up a pencil and started drawing these coil vine things, kind of like plants. So it was plants from the start."
Nature lover
Centenera recalls that her mum's garden was a major influence on her choice of theme.
"My mum was really into gardening, so I grew up around plants and I just liked seeing them.
Even now, sometimes I find myself just going to my plants in the morning and, staring at them and not realising that five minutes have passed.
"I love watching them grow."
Plants bloom differently
Watching her own plants grow provided more inspiration for her art.
"I would find all these little details in plants more fascinating, like how you can identify the kind of plant based on how its leaves would emerge or what kind of pattern the veining would have.
"I think what I like most are their colours. Seeing the different flowers, shapes and ways plants bloom are just so fascinating to me." Credit: Patti Centenera
Centenera admits that the tangibility of plants provides her the happiness she can translate to paper, canvas or even a wall.
Patti Centenera painting a mural for Berde, a restaurant in the Philippines Credit: Patti Centenera
Pinterra Studio
Happiness for Centenera now combines her love for art and interest in nature to create work that has a higher purpose.
"One day, my husband and I were driving home from a long road trip, and somewhere between the Gold Coast and Canberra, we talked about removing the stress out of making money from the art I do.
You know the notion of a 'starving artist'? I'm not a graphic designer and I have to admit, it's hard to make a living off of just doing art.
"So instead of thinking about how I could make money from my art, I decided then to do it for a higher purpose, where the profits would go to art development or the environment."
The road trip talk led to the creation of Pinterra Studio, the name of which comes from the Filipino word for paint ('pinta') and 'terra', which means earth.
Profits for every nature-inspired piece produced for the studio are donated to the Rainforest Rescue.
Profits for every nature-inspired piece produced for the studio are donated to the Rainforest Rescue. Credit: Patti Centenera
"The Canberra Circle of Women also sends help to the Philippines, so it brings back the connection to home as well. It makes participating in the market more fulfilling and more purposeful."
Protecting my home
Fulfilment and purpose for Centenera are now about doing her part in protecting the country and space she now calls home.
"The rainforest provides a significant percentage of the Earth's oxygen and is home to a huge diversity plants and animals. It's important for me to do my bit, so I choose to donate all my profits to the Australian organisation, Rainforest Rescue."
Rainforest Rescue protects and restores rainforests by
"Australia is my new home, and it's been so welcoming. It's important for me to do my bit in protecting it." Credit: Patti Centenera
