Portraits

My grandmother, Lucy Vergara-Fernando, was a still life painter and portraitist. I grew up observing Lola Lucy in her element, working whenever the sun is out, on a veranda beside her rock garden.

I remember that she used manual grids and had a unique, painstakingly meticulous, almost inexplicable technique with soft pastels that I never found anywhere else. She became relatively well-known among some artistic circles, I think, and sold a significant amount of paintings and commissioned portraits.

Lola's pastel portraits (a few)

I grew up in a tight-knit community, and their fascination with Lola’s work went on for years during my childhood. Interestingly enough, it never occurred to me that I could be capable of portraiture until I was around 16 years old, after I finished high school. Before that, I had drawn only stick figures, notebook doodles, and unimpressive line artwork. It all changed in the summer of 2000 when I attended a summer art workshop in the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts, which would then be my school a few months later. I just sat down and realistically drew the plaster statue in front of me. I can’t explain why and how I already knew how to draw, with no previous attempts in realistic drawing. My skill level as of now is the same as when I first started (this is actually both good and bad).

Because of that experience, I had thought for many years that I must have already been a portrait artist in my previous life. But something happened recently to break that belief- my younger first cousin started to draw portraits, too! So now, I guess I am inclined to think that abilities such as these are genetic. It’s cool that Lola Lucy passed her artistry specifically to me and my cousin. We will keep this for you, Lola!