On the canvases, blurry bands of dark blue, azure, sky blue and mint evoke an imaginary seascape. Soft weeps of maroon, orange and peach with patches of yellow suggest a sunset. A yellow crown, peering through slivers of blues, pinks and oranges, references sunrise in the Mediterranean. A series of diagonal strips of yellow and green references hilly fields in Europe. Dainty strokes of pinks, whites and blues recall the sakura season in Japan.

Impressions of landscapes—real and imaginary, idyllic sunrises and sunsets are recurring themes in aesthete Marivic Rufino’s watercolor and acrylic paintings. After a seven year-pause, she will present her signature style and soft art—paintings on dividers and lampshades—at her 19th solo exhibit titled “Scintilla: Dreamscapes.” As part of the Art and Wine art series of Conrad Manila, it will run from Aug. 15 to Oct. 21. The proceeds will go to her favorite charities, Marian Missionaries, a center for abused women, and the Child Protection Network.

Rufino explains that the exhibit will show her range from the delicate and contemplative brush strokes derived from Chinese painting, the spontaneous washes of color of abstraction, the faint oval strokes of pointillism to the precision of realism.

One of the interesting pieces is the “La Mer (The Sea),” a wooden screen divider with pointillist and impressionist strokes of rocks and
waves on silk blend fabric.

“I love to watch the sea with waves splashing and the spray crashing on the cliffs and rocks. Over the decades, I have painted a series of seascapes in different moods in different media, in both the Chinese and Western styles. My version of the dramatic sea is a place from my imagination. It can be anywhere in the world. I can hear, smell and feel the ocean even if I’m in my small studio,” says Rufino.

Divine energy

In most write-ups, she waxes lyrical about the meditative process behind her works and how divine energy guides her brush strokes. In turn, viewers are calmed by her paintings, most of which capture the spirit of space rather than its true-to-life representation.

Better known as one of the It Girls in the ‘80s and early ’90s, Rufino considers herself more of a creative. Her mother Julie Rufino was a Carnival Queen in 1935, a beauty contest of girls from affluent families. Julie later became a developer who bought lots, built homes and rented them out. Her husband, Rafael Rufino, came from a clan who were called the movie magnates who owned several cinema houses and distributed films.

The sixth of seven children, Rufino completed her high school in Spain and Italy and went to college at the Assumption and Marymount College in New York. Between studies, she produced dinner theater shows at hotels, a trend then. She worked as assistant marketing director at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and as a banquet manager at Intercontinental Hotel Manila.

In the ’90s, she and lawyer Katrina Legarda set up a consultancy firm for advocacies, business and public relations. The consultancy folded up when she married Rafael Buenaventura, who became Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor and was named one of the world’s top bankers. When he died in 2006 after a long bout with cancer, Rufino managed her grief by immersing herself in the family’s real estate business, her column writing and painting.

She is very selective about the events she attends, and limits herself to the diplomatic circle to widen her horizons. She’d rather spend time with her son’s children whom she calls “my kids.” As vice chairperson of Red Cross Makati chapter, she is constantly looking for blood donors and helping to raise funds.

At the end of the day, she’d rather read essays and wield her paintbrush. “My paintings come from the heart. People may find the subjects too subdued, but I would rather be with the Sublime.” —CONTRIBUTED