e n i z ’ s e n e c s e h t d a ‘behin
featuring Nicole Tolentino! Interview & Captions by Kichee Pinera & Caleb Espia Documentation & Post-processing by Kimberly Dimaapi Layout by Nicole Tolentino & Kichee Pinera
a brief
background Nicole Tolentino is a third-culture child born and raised in the suburbs of Saudi Arabia who only recently moved to Quezon City in the Philippines. The impact of the chaos of everyday life in the city as well as the free nature of Filipino culture is well-reected in her art.
of the artist
practice
ist a self-taught art n e e b s a h le o Nic h . She began wit rs a e y 10 r e v o r fo ge etches at the a sk n e p d n a il c pen ithin the next W y. b b o h a s a 9 of led in various years, she dabb ablishing her st e ly te a im lt u , media at age 18. mixed medium
inspirations
She is greatly inspired by the diverse elements of a collage, wh ich she tries to imitate through her highly visual art style. She has drawn a good de al of inspiration from classical artists such as Salvador Dali, Claude Monet, and Al phonse Mucha, as well as Tumblr and Insta gram artists like burdgebug and tina.y u.
ster es use of po k a m ly in a Nicole m r paper, but lo o rc te a w n s paint o iums such a d e m r e th o also uses owerpoint P S M d n a p Photosho strations. for digital illu
e h t f o e m o s e what wer she used?
y n a e v a h e h s s e o d she employs? Nicole’s artistic process is divided into three distinguishable parts: pre-painting, the painting session itself, and finally, post-painting to production. She mentions that, depending on the complexity of the piece, it typically takes her anywhere from two to six hours to make.
pre-painting thumbnail sketching She makes thumbnail sketche s on paper that feature a juxtaposition of the pose to the dimension of the piece sh e is working on. This helps her explore the multiple approaches and ideas she ha s on the theme and tone she decided on.
color swatching She creates a comprehensive sample list of different colors of the materials she uses to compare and contrast which colors go together. Primary colors are often complementary while accent colors are either of a metallic or pearl ďŹ nish to add light to the painting.
sketching She sketches a preliminary outline on watercolor paper in pencil, which serves as a guide throughout the whole painting process. She uses 2H pencils in particular as they don’t smudge and contaminate the colors.
bordering The edges of the watercolor paper are covered with masking tape to create a clean border of her work after completing the painting process. This also ensures that the paint won’t bleed into other areas of the watercolor paper.
painting underpainting Nicole ďŹ rst paints with thinned out variants of colors, allowing her both to easily manipulate the lighting and shading, and to build up on the paint smoothly later on. She uses mid-to large sized brushes to cover ample area in a quick amount of time.
blocking She now starts to layer colors in different variants. Because this painting is moodier in tone, she deviates from the mid-tone of the underpainting by painting with darker colors ďŹ rst; these are applied in brief, broad strokes.
blending Midtones are employed to smoothen out the rough and uneven texture caused by blocking out the colors. Paint is diluted once again to break down the thick paints that was laid down.
dry-brushing Here, she is defining the elements of the painting by incorporating white or light-colored strokes on top of the layers of paint with a dry brush, thus, helping to illuminate the painting.
highlighting Final touches are added by adding subtle outlines of the same color family. Darker variants are used as opposed to the lighter colors of the dry brushing to make the subject “pop” and not recede into the background.
BLR HITS GREATE ST TUMHalsey’s Colors on a sticker pack
a sneak peek of her mockup!
post-production scanning Nicole prepares to transfer the work on watercolor paper and create a digital copy of it through scanning.
photo manipulation She does a series of edits to the scanned painting. First, she adjusts the color values to make the work look darker. She then makes dimensions by creating multiple copies of the picture, and then cropping each part out to splice it once more in a different order. Lastly, she creates line art with thick and bold outlines of the work to provide emphasis to the form of the subject.
c i t s i t r a r e h o d how ? y t i l a e r r e h m transfor “A very poignant theme to my life and my personal experience is the idea of transition—I realized that at an early age, there never was a feeling of being ‘settled in.’ Growing up in Saudi Arabia, I was always reminded that I was a foreigner in a place I came to know and identify as ‘my home,’ and that all that I was doing was just a preparation for the realities of the living situation in the Philippines. A lot of these sentiments regarding a longing for permanence and certainty manifest itself in my art. My subjects are typically portraits of people, who are always looking away from the audience, as if they were anticipating something. Oftentimes, I add details of bloodless injuries to symbolize the constantly transitioning nature of my life. This state always puts one in between the ending of hurt and in the beginning of healing. It is always an effort to rise and move on from the painful experiences of a change in our bodies, a fitting metaphor that best encapsulates the adjusting I have been doing since my move to the Philippines from Saudi Arabia.” Nicole Tolentino, Self-taught artist