Drawn Together
Kristina Collantes
“I am 22 years old, and I’ve never been to Disneyland,” shares Kristina Collantes, as she sits in a café in downtown Riverside, California, our two worlds connecting through cyberspace. It’s probably a good thing that Mickey Mouse never got his sneaky, white-gloved hands on this young Fil-Am artist’s heart and mind, otherwise we wouldn’t be ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the same offbeat, yet gently whimsical illustrations.
Though she left our shores in ’97, her family seeking greener pastures in sunny San Diego, dreams of Asia can still be seen in Collantes’s work. Bright watercolors splash across oriental patterns for cloud and sea; fantastical creatures walk amidst landscapes from a Chinese ink painting; Hindu palms, tsunamis, and lotus flowers adorn funky females and the odd feline pet. “I love looking through the bi-directional patterns in the Japanese silk section,” she says, affirming her Eastern orientation. “Jillian Tamaki, my favorite illustrator, has never failed to inspire me.”
For Collantes, creativity is a never-ending work in progress. “I like going back to older work and new layers, either with a new drawing technique I learned or perhaps a pattern I just made.” But it isn’t just about visual art either; aural inspirations also resonate in her imagination. “When I’m not making art, I play music,” says Collantes of her love for the upright bass and cello. “I was in the orchestra all throughout middle and high school. It’s very therapeutic.”
Plans for her own wallpaper and fabric line aside (and perhaps a secret dream to finally prance about hand-in-hand with that furry vendor of happy endings), Collantes “would love to have an art show in the Philippines in the future.” Here’s to hoping her art will one day be reunited with its native land.
– Nicola M. Sebastian
