Posts by: Rica Espiritu

Perhaps this will be the last time I will draw the senator. Perhaps. She has inspired me throughout the years with these works. I’m not even sure if this is all of it. Who can forget her acerbic soundbytes? Everything in politics is politically motivated, didn’t you know? I thought you would have to be insane to go...

He actually didn’t like the caricature I did. It was a post I did on ManilaSpeak and it was based on one of the pics I saw on google. My classmate knew him and sent him the image. He asked for my contact and before I knew it, I received a request for a “re-draw”. It took several weeks before I finally had the time to do...

It was our last day in Baguio when a friend told me to meet up at The Manor. Camp John Hay celebrated its 25th year anniversary last Sept 10 and one of the limited-release items they had on their menu was the burger. This was the burger they served back when CJH was still managed by the Americans. So while waiting...

I was able to meet Thad Cabangon – Business Mirror’s publisher, during Camp John Hay’s 25th Anniversary. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to do a sketch or a caricature. I decided to do a mild caricature while I was hanging around The Manor’s garden. This is what it looked like when it was done.

And just like that I gave up. No – I didn’t ran out of ideas – I ran out of time. From juggling projects to wanting to improve my hand at painting – I chose painting over doodling. Oh well – there is always next year.

I decided to do a series – inspired by the kind of cabinet President Duterte formed before he formally began his presidency. In a way, I needed reason to do more caricatures to develop my own style. For now, this will be done via pen and ink. Perhaps after a few months I will start coloring my caricatures images...

He will always be Willie Wonka to me.

I created two studies of this precocious child and I believe I was finally able to catch her smile with the second one. It was a challenge to paint the first because it had two light sources. It was taken from a pic that gave the photographer her ready smile. I then saw another pic of her this weekend – she was...

What makes a good portrait picture? I can’t repeat this enough – it all depends on the photo you give the artist. If you give the artist thumbnails of your ID pic, don’t expect it to look like an Amorsolo painting. If you give them a pic that’s been blurred and beautified by an app – do expect to see another blurred and...

I like pesto so much that ever since I learned to make my own, I try to do it every time I can. In fact I make sure that I always have a bottle or two of pesto sauce in the fridge. This PERFECT pasta combination is one of the reasons why. It is quick, easy, tasty and healthy. I got this combination from a good friend...

How do you judge a life well lived? Is it through the memories of the people you’ve left behind? Through the countless lives you’ve touched? How? Perhaps we just live the life we’re given. Live it the best way we know how and let other people worry about the remembering and judging part.

My memories of makeup tattoo would be the grandmothers and mothers with green eyebrows and garish blue eyeliners that would always distract me in a conversation. There are just some things you don’t do to your face. Tattoos are one of them – or so I thought. I love putting on make up. I loved enhancing my features when...

One friends told me that this is one of those really good paintings that I’ve done. I agree. I like what I did and how I did it. And if I knew the photographer who took the pic, I’d credit that person too. A pic is different from a painting. A painting has to invoke emotions or else it will just be a mere copy of a...

I voted for her when she first ran for the presidency. I voted for her again when she ran for another senate position. Why? Because I believe in her and what she can do. Yes, she has a fiery temper. Yes, she has a foul mouth. Yes she can be condescending. But she can get things done the way things should be done.

I’m not saying that digital painting is easier – but dealing with watercolor, you get to realize how temperamental it can be. It can’t be too wet, too dry [depends on the effect] and your brush can’t be too thick or too thin. Most of all – you can’t really erase a mistake. You can erase pencil marks. But erasing and...