A glance of Janine Barrera’s painting ‘Finding My Way’

Qube Contemporary presents ‘Familiar Echoes’, an exhibition that highlights the talents and beautiful works of art by different Cebuana artists, on February 8, 2024.

You know I lived in the wine country in California. Our house where I live is surrounded by huge old trees, and they are amazing trees. They’re narrow, and twisted, they’re a hundred years old, and I walk every day. And in the process of walking, those images started to find their way into my studio

Janine Barrera
Artist

One of the artists who presented her unique story through her paintings was Janine Barrera, who began her formal art education at the University of the Philippines.

Oil on Canvas “Finding My Way” by Janine Barrera

Her artwork ‘Finding My Way’ was one of the pieces displayed at the gallery during the exhibition.

Exploring and developing a slightly different style into her work and trying to figure out how it’s going to work, the painting holds a very meaningful inspiration to Janine.

“You know I lived in the wine country in California. Our house where I live is surrounded by huge old trees, and they are amazing trees. They’re narrow, and twisted, they’re a hundred years old, and I walk every day. And in the process of walking, those images started to find their way into my studio”, she said.

According to Barrera, she is not interested in copying nature nor copying the trees, but rather she is more interested in painting the ‘treeness’ of the trees. “I am more interested in painting the ‘greenness’ of the hills, not so much the hills or the sky, but more the blueness of the sky,” she added.