Half Naked Illusion - Limited Edition 1 of 1 Artwork

As she evolves as an artist, she gravitates towards figurative abstraction and paints intuitively. She paints genuine emotions using figurative postures, gestures, colours and brush strokes. She uses the female form to express vulnerability and strength. Colours and beyond is how she would simply describe her works. She wants her paintings to be open to interpretation. Titles are just for practical reasons. She wants her subjects to be about how the paintings make the viewer feel. She wants her paintings to evoke certain emotions, though not a particular one. She invites the viewer to a different way of seeing, whatever or however that may be. Ambiguity, why not, what if, transcendence, endless possibilities... are the reoccurring themes in her work, often challenging what is perceived to be real. The appearance of figure, is not particularly about that figure... but always about how the whole painting affects the viewer in a particular way. Gigi was born and raised in Manila, in the Philippines. She first started painting using oils in High School where she chose Fine Arts as an elective course, after which she decided to continue her studies in arts at the University of the Philippines, where she acquired her Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts, majoring in Visual Communications. As a professional artist, she worked at Fil Cartoons and Philippine Animation, initially as an assistant animator and then moved to the background department in favor of use of colours and paint. Worked mainly on Walt Disney and Hannah Barbera TV productions. Considers herself fortunate to have been trained by and worked with incredibly talented and generous artists from the US, Australia and of course the Philippines. It was as a background artist that she first discovered the versatility of acrylics and never looked back. While travelling she used markers, pen and ink until finally convinced herself to paint digitally, using her iPad and stylus. When she is not in her studio, you will often find her still painting in the coffee shop, on the plane, in a waiting room... She is married to a very talented British writer Neil Howarth. As a creative duo they have lived and travelled around Asia and Europe immersed in different arts and culture. While still traveling, they have eventually made the Southern part of Spain their home where Gigi has become a naturalized Spanish citizen and a full time painter. www.facebook.com/GigiEsmillaHowarthArtGalleryColoursandBeyond www.