Gigi Campos: on Watercolor


The artistic journey of Gigi Campos traces her evolution from childhood doodles to her latest passion for watercolor painting. Initially intimidated by the medium, Gigi's perseverance and exposure to different techniques transformed her perception, leading to a profound artistic exploration. Ultimately, Gigi's art transcends mere expression; it becomes a vehicle for resilience and self-discovery, echoing the profound sentiment that life's challenges can be confronted and overcome through creative courage.


Playing with Colors and Shapes


As a young girl, Gigi Campos already had a penchant for making images on paper. In her elementary years, she recalls “doodling in class”. The doodles eventually became more formal free-hand drawings, where she sketched mostly faces and hands. In group projects, she was chosen to do the artwork;   she was asked to design costumes for school plays. 


Those were merely signs of things to come because if life were a book, the many chapters of Gigi’s pages would bear one common theme: to create.  An interior designer, a basket maker, a mosaic artist, a teacher. It does not end there. Since 2017, her rediscovery of painting has been her latest source of fulfillment and healing. 


Discovering Watercolor


Gigi’s first encounter with watercolor as medium, wasn’t love at first try.  


At a 3-day workshop with painter Edbon Sevilleno, who was a master at painting landscapes in watercolor, the fast-drying, delicate, transparent nature of watercolor versus oil, a heavier medium which she had dabbled with in the early 70’s, threw Gigi off.  


“I felt my output was a total disaster. I was intimidated because Edbon is so good and every stroke and effect looked so easy for him”, she recalls. She decided that the medium wasn’t for her and gave away all her watercolor materials to her sister, Baboo Mondonedo, who urged her to take the workshop and who by then, has had several one-woman shows herself. 


Gigi isn’t sure what pulls one back into an art form that one had seemingly sworn off.  “Maybe I was intimidated by Edbon’s work and style, maybe it was the timing, or my choice of subjects”, she guesses.  


But perhaps, it’s all simply a testament to the cliché that we never should say never.   Only a few months after that first encounter with watercolor, her cousin, the visual artist Beth Jarantilla held a travel sketching workshop at Gigi’s house in Bacolod City. There, she began to see watercolor in a different light.  


“Beth’s lessons were so simple and basic. She patiently showed us how to create different effects through various techniques. I was amazed at the results that happened mostly by accident”, she says.  Beth held five more workshops, and Gigi attended all of them. She never stopped painting after that.


Honoring Women: The Filipina, Mama Mary, Geisha Series


In most of Gigi’s paintings, women are a central figure. Her series called “The Filipina“ and “Mama Mary” are a visual ode to women. “The different facets of women continue to inspire me in my mosaic and my paintings -- and the deep, lifelong relationships with the women in my life; my mother, my sisters, my daughters, my granddaughter and my friends”. Gigi adds, “Also, because I am a woman.” 


In her “Geisha Series”, geishas are depicted in various ceremonial, yet tender poses, their kimonos in striking detail, hair styles adorned with traditional hair combs and pins, against iconic Japanese ornaments and accessories. 


“I’ve always had an affinity for all things Japanese – the culture, the arts, the food and people”, Gigi says of her inspiration.  “I spent a couple of months in Japan when I was fresh out of college on a grant to study educational TV. In 2017, I made three trips to Japan in one year and re-read the book ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ several times.”


In her series called “The Gardener”, women are portrayed in somber or relaxed poses, surrounded by plants of various origins and shades of green. Her inspirations derived from the natural world has taken on a fresh meaning. “It’s like God gave me new eyes. I discovered a special love for His creation - the beautiful blue skies, brilliant sunsets, and all the different birds and flowers in the garden. I saw beauty in every leaf, every flower, every bird and insect”.


Finding Frida and Me

Gigi’s inspirations also come from individuals whose life experiences sort of mirror her own, like kindred spirits.  This was how the “Frida Series” was borne out of.   “I saw certain aspects of myself in Frida”, she says, referring to the acclaimed Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. The series illustrates 27 portraits of Frida Kahlo in bold, colorful, traditional Mexican outfits, replete with jewelry and head pieces. “I could relate to her struggle with the revolution, as I too, consider myself an activist”.  


But she identifies with the Mexican artist more personally when around two years ago, Gigi was diagnosed with breast cancer.  “I can relate to the suffering she went through because of her accident”, Gigi refers to Kahlo’s bus accident that rendered the Mexican artist gravely injured, but from whose long period of recovery made her turn to painting.


Healing through Art

“It was the diagnosis of cancer that shook my world”, Gigi adds. “What distinguishes many of us who are actively pursuing a small piece of our dreams from those of us still on the couch, is that some of us have learned the hard way, that life is short”.    Since she was diagnosed with cancer, the role of art in her life has somehow deepened. From a way of expression to now art as healer. 


When asked why making art requires a type of courage, especially with a medium so unpredictable such as watercolor, where every moment of releasing paint with water on paper feels like an exposure to disaster, Gigi replies:  “It’s all about taking a risk, revealing something of yourself without fear of what others may think. The challenge is to find the right balance between control and freedom when working with watercolor”, she says. ”Just as in life, we need to find the right balance.”


Gigi Campos lives and works in Bacolod City, Philippines.