She’s been an interior designer, a fashion and commercial model, a TV host and even a fitness coach and nutritionist. This time, Marilen Faustino-Montenegro is stepping into her painter era.

“I’ve always been into arts and crafts,” Faustino-Montenegro told Lifestyle. In fact, she took up painting lessons when she was younger and would make Valentine cards that she sold in school. But it wasn’t until 2022, when a painting she did garnered a lot of comments and attention on Facebook, that she realized it was something she could seriously get into.

“We were moving house and I wanted to make an artwork for our own house,” said the artist, who is married to former model/TV host Hans Montenegro, with whom she has two kids. “And then what happened was that it got sold and I never got to keep it.”

That got her painting more as a passion and an outlet.

Trial and error

As she is wont to do whenever she gets into something, she started to immerse herself in learning more about the art scene. “That’s when Tim Yap and I started talking. The next thing I knew, we were planning this thing together and he said that he would help me out.”

Curated by Yap, her exhibit titled “Sa Simula (In the Beginning),” which opens May 18, has been a year in the making. In the intervening months, she devoted herself to self-studying, researching, cultivating her art more—there was a lot of trial and error—and finding her identity as an artist.

She took time “looking closely, zooming into paintings, wondering how it was made, experimenting on my own, coming up with different textures.”

Faustino-Montenegro even recalled Yap joking that it was like she was studying for the Upcat (University of the Philippines College Admission Test) with how much effort she put into preparing. “‘You’re ready,’” she remembered him telling her.

For her debut solo exhibition, Faustino-Montenegro embraces her love for nature. The title of her exhibit means two things: “The launch of my art career as well as Creation, because the series is all inspired by nature.”

She added, “When I’m around nature—the ocean, the beach—I feel so calm, I feel rejuvenated. Even around grass, hiking in the forest and all that, I really enjoy it and I feel a connection with nature.”

Intuition

Aside from nature, Faustino-Montenegro said she also goes with by intuition, letting her emotions guide her when painting.“I would describe my art as something that comes from within me, my soul, inspired by the things I see around me,” she said. “I want my art to uplift people, and make people feel happy and inspired and relaxed. I don’t like dark negativity.”

In “Sa Simula,” Faustino-Montenegro let the water guide her works, following where it flows. The resulting images in acrylic and oil reflect scenes from a world that inspires tranquility and introspection, serving as a respite from the daily hubbub of life.

“It took me a while to come up with my so-called identity as an artist because I would try different things and my artwork evolved from one style to another until it is what it is now,” said Faustino-Montenegro. “I just go with what feels right.”

These days, she finds herself painting almost every day, getting lost in it for hours. “I really look for it. Like now, I’m in Manila and I’m not painting because my studio is in Subic, and I miss it already.”

At the cusp of her newfound career, she reiterated her love for painting, declaring her intention to be a full-time artist.

“I think I love doing this. I think I can do this until I’m older. Hopefully, it’s the beginning of exciting things to come.” INQ

“Sa Simula (In the Beginning)” will run from May 18 to May 31 at J Studio in Pasillo 18, La Fuerza Gate 1 Compound, Chino Roces, Makati.