Painting as a pursuit of happiness and purpose
View her latest works at the “Tapestry of Woven Dreams” exhibit on May 22-28
When someone tells you they “own a Vida Doria,” they’re likely referring to a piece of women’s clothing bearing the fashion designer’s name—a wedding gown or formal wear, for instance, or one of her many blouses in a burst of vibrant colors and prints.
To art lovers, owning a Vida Doria means having another of her creative outputs in their possession: an oil on canvas painting of flowers or other nature-inspired scenes executed in romantic strokes and hues reminiscent of the French Impressionist Claude Monet.
Longtime collectors of her work, as well as those eager to discover this side of the designer and Binibining Pilipinas Universe 1971 winner are welcome to visit Tapestry of Woven Dreams, a group exhibition that runs from May 22 to 28 at the Atrium on the second floor of The Podium in Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City.
Through this event, Vida fulfills the dream of exhibiting with her five co-members of Katha Art, a group of ladies from diverse backgrounds who share a common passion for arts and good food. Originally mentored by the late Nestor Villanueva, the ladies are now guided by Jeff Consumo.
Each will showcase a collection of 15 to 20 paintings, making the event a visual treat of colors, styles, and themes. In turn, Vida and the other featured artists will be contributing to making others’ dreams come true too. A portion from the proceeds of their sales will go to three of the ladies’ chosen charities: Sibol Ning Aeta Foundation Inc., Mary Queen of Heavens Missionaries, and Vida’s personal pick, ANCOP (Answering the Cry of the Poor), the non-profit founded by the Catholic family renewal community Couples for Christ, of which she is a member.
Eyeful of an exhibit
Whether you’re familiar with her works or are seeing them for the first time, you’re sure to get an eyeful from this exhibit. For one thing, the artist includes paintings on larger canvases—a request of her clients, she tells you. Then there are her colors and strokes, which have noticeably become less Monet and more Van Gogh.
“Even with his small works, his perspective is amazing. And his colors!” she gushes of the beloved Post-Impressionist Dutch painter. “He doesn’t mix two colors to get a third color. To him, if it’s red, it’s red; if it’s yellow, it’s yellow; if it’s green, it’s green. Also, when you look at his paintings, there’s so much movement, it’s like they’re swaying.”
The exhibit is an opportunity to explore new themes too. Apart from her trademark flowers and dreamy meadows and prairies, expect to see waterscapes in her collection. “My impression of the ocean and the deep sea,” she notes.
Yet as she continues to evolve as an artist, growing in confidence and being open to trying new things, one thing is constant: “When you see my paintings, there is emotion.”
Painting to heal, helping others heal
Indeed, emotion has always been integral to her art. Deeply affected by back-to-back deaths in her family in 2005—her brother due to cancer and their mother two months later—she took up a friend’s invitation to join a “Paint to Heal” class in Santa Maria della Strada Parish in La Vista, Quezon City. “The very first painting that I made during that session was a bouquet of flowers I titled ‘My Mom’s Bouquet,’” she says. “It’s still with me.”
That she took to painting easily in that first class didn’t come as a surprise. The fashion designer and boutique owner for five decades simply “migrated” her fashion know-how—from her penchant for bright, happy colors to her use of luxurious fabrics—onto a canvas.
Like her fashion, which has been around since the early ‘70s and continues to capture a market that’s into timeless, feminine apparel, there’s a great enthusiasm for Vida’s paintings—people just have to have them. In a previous solo show, an oil on canvas of a nature scene in autumn was purchased early by an art patron “who didn’t even haggle, not a single centavo,” she says. Turns out, other buyers had their eye on that painting too and were disappointed to know it had already been sold. In another exhibit, one guest snapped up three paintings; while others bought two each.
Perhaps people don’t just see beauty in her canvas; they see the artist’s earnestness and the purity of her intentions as well. Unknown to many, with each painting Vida sells, someone benefits.
“I have family members and friends who need chemotherapy or a PET scan, and it’s so expensive,” she says. The artist has even been known to donate to strangers seeking medical assistance. “So, I pray that people like my paintings so I can help others. Miraculously, people do! Even I’m surprised.”
Over 20 years ago, Vida turned to painting to heal. Today, the wife, mom of four grown children, and grandmother to three grandkids who cheer whenever they see her, paints both for art’s sake and to help others heal.
“That’s why if you see my studio, my canvas is always ready and mounted, and my paints are open. So, when I feel like painting, I can just go,” says Vida. “I have so many things I want to paint that I don’t think I would be able to paint them all even if I had forever!”
Vida Doria-Legaspi is joined by five Katha Art featured artists including Gracie Aranda, Clarita Lazatin Magat, Bebet Pastelero Sto. Tomas, Salie Henson Naguiat, and Rellie Liwag. The Tapestry of Woven Dreams exhibit runs from May 22 to 28 at the Atrium of The Podium in Ortigas Center.
Interested parties may contact Vida Doria about her art and paintings at 0917.792.6720 for mobile, Viber and WhatsApp, and via email at [email protected].
