LOOK: This place brings together artworks from seniors and teens


Artists got to explore different styles in creating landscape, seascape, still life, and portrait paintings

The Sunshine Place, a senior recreation center under the Felicidad Tan Sy Foundation, recently showcased the works of its students in a show titled “Flow.” The center offers classes to seniors, adults, as well as to teens and kids.

Bringing color to lives. Sunshine Place instructors during the exhibit opening. These include Art Association of the Philippines President and Acrylic Painting Instructor Fidel Sarmiento (3rd from left), Porcelain Painting Instructor Mee Lee Casey (2nd from left), Ikebana Instructor Marc Tomas, and Acrylic Painting Instructor Loida “Laiyan” Balubayan.

Mentoring sessions in hands-on techniques, application of different brushes and basic strokes, and color rendering, are at the cored of the workshops offered by the center. Participants get to explore different styles in creating landscape, seascape, still life, and portrait paintings.

The exhibit highlights "the beauty of accepting grace in starting over, peace in pausing, and growth in going with the flow," according to the exhibit organizers. The show also marks the fifth year of The Sunshine Place’s "Coloring Lives" initiatives for its members.

Sunshine Place's porcelain artist Tess Colayco holding her Gift of Nature, oil on ceramic.
Ikebana-Sogetsu works for Sunshine Place’s Coloring Lives Exhibit.

The exhibit brings together the works of 30 artists in four of the Sunshine Place’s art classes. These include works from the acrylic and oil painting classes of Art Association of the Philippines President Fidel Sarmiento, Ikebana Sogetsu arrangements with Marc Tomas, and the porcelain painting class of Mee Lee Casey, a Malaysian expat wife, who has been teaching Porcelain Painting in UK, Hong Kong, and Australia for more than 20 years.

Maria Helena “Ella” Bernardo, 14 years old, is taking lessons at the Sunshine Place under Loida “Laiyan” Balubayan and is a dedicated and diligent student. Her deep concentration and knowledge of colors and how to mix them sets her apart at such a young age. This is Ella’s first joint exhibit. The acrylic artwork “Only You” beside her (right top) is dedicated to her grandmother Conchitina Bernardo.
Ma. Elena Fernandez’s Flamenco, acrylic on canvass, (24x18)

The exhibit is ongoing and lasts until Nov. 15, 2022. All-in-all, the show features 86 artworks in acrylic, oil, porcelain, and Ikebana-Sogetsu pieces. Apart from featuring the artworks of its students, "Flow" also showcased the talents of new young artists Isla Le Brun, Maria Helena Bernardo, Rafael Tomas Tanglao, Stephen Rey Destura, and Amanda Atayde.

The Flow exhibit will also be available for viewing in Sunshine Place and online. Proceeds from the exhibit will be given to the Kanlungan Ni Maria Home for the Aged.

For more updates, visit their website.