Arlene A. Gonzales

I believe artists can create ripples of blessing through art. I paint mainly to rekindle happy memories from my childhood and travels. My favorite subjects are flowers, gardens, and seascapes. Passing on this legacy of art to my family, especially to my grandchildren, brings me great joy.

From the book of Exodus in the Bible, we learn that talent in art is a gift of God meant to honor Him and bless others. My first mentor was Mr. Fernando Sena, the Father of Philippine art workshops.

I started to do mainly acrylic painting and joining Mr. Sena’s group exhibits. Later, I took workshops under other mentors on watercolor, water-mixable oil, and most recently, acrylic pouring and soft pastels. I learned Korean watercolor Minhwa painting under Teacher Dong Hyun Yoon. I joined other exhibits at the GSIS Museum and Gateway Gallery. Two of my artworks and some of my poetic work are featured in the all-senior Sunshine Writers’ anthology “Bridges of Memory,” edited by poet and writer, Mr. Oscar Penaranda.

Painting scenes from our previous foreign postings helped me relive beautiful memories and cope with the reverse culture shock of coming home for good. I enjoy expressing creativity and having a sense of accomplishment in every artwork, exploring and experimenting with new subjects, media and techniques, though I lean more towards the impressionistic style.

I pray for every art piece I create, that the owner would be blessed with peace and joy, continuing to create ripples of blessing—giving back the glory to God who has given us all our talents, the Supreme Artist of all.