Bea Policarpio: Improving her well-being in vibrant colors
Colors excite me. So, like moth to a flame, I found myself staring with a smile at a very colorful oceanscape. I wasn’t even aware that I knew its talented painter until she was in between me and the painting. Last I saw her was when she graduated from Ateneo with my daughter Alexandra, 10 years ago.
The glow of her art reflects in the sparkle of her eyes, it’s like she and art found each other, prompting me to ask if painting improved her well-being. “Absolutely—100 percent. Painting has proven to me, time and again, that I can trust my own intuition and that it will always lead me to somewhere beautiful,” said the young and talented Bea Policarpio.
THE PHILIPPINE STAR: How did painting improve your well-being?
BEA POLICARPIO: Most of the time, I don’t meticulously plan my pieces—unless it’s for a themed series. I prefer to paint spontaneously, from the heart, as a collaboration with the present moment. This openness allows me to embrace the now—whether it holds joy, grief, or any of the shades of emotion in between.
Over time, I’ve realized that this mirrors how I move through life. Even in uncertainty, I’ve learned to trust that things have a way of unfolding — often in ways better than expected. Painting has helped me become more comfortable with uncertainty, and to see it as a feature, not a flaw, of a full life. Art has taught me that there’s no singular way to make sense of the world—only layers. Some are vibrant and nuanced, others quiet and deep—and all are worth exploring. To me, beauty is a kind of resilience. And as an optimist, I choose to see it everywhere—with curiosity and a palette that’s entirely my own.
Is there a reason why your paintings are in vibrant colors?
Yes, I simply enjoy the visual language of vibrant colors! Art has always been a portal into the unseen world. Certain color combinations can evoke nostalgia and playfulness, pulling the viewer into a moment that feels both personal and universal—and I love that. It’s fascinating to me how a color can evoke so many emotions, depending on who’s perceiving it. To quote Claude Monet, “Color is my daylong obsession and joy.”
Why did you choose painting as a hobby?
The summer after I graduated from Ateneo (Management, Batch 2015), I had a lot of unstructured time while waiting to hear back from job interviews. I filled my hours with painting purely for leisure. At the time, I never imagined it would turn into a career.
I just knew I enjoyed it—it felt relaxing, playful, and it helped me process my thoughts. Eventually, I started working in marketing for Red Crab Group of Restaurants, which was a hands-on creative role I enjoyed. But after a few months, I found myself missing the joy I felt when I was painting. So in 2016, I made a New Year’s resolution: to paint for 100 days within the year. The rules were simple:
- The days didn’t have to be consecutive, and I didn’t need to produce 100 paintings. I just needed to log in 100 days of actually putting brush to canvas. Even if it was only for 15 minutes, or for a few hours—a session was a session and it counted as a win in my book.
- I challenged myself to be brave and allow my process to be seen by others—which meant posting daily progress online. This created a sense of social accountability—if I disappeared for a while, friends and family would check in and encourage me to keep going. You can still find those early posts under #100daysofpolipaints.
Looking back, I have so much fondness for those first pieces. At that point, I had nothing to lose by exploring whatever subjects I felt painting— sometimes I would paint fruits, animals, self-portraits. Eventually, I gravitated towards abstraction after discovering the impasto technique and my favorite tool: the palette knife. That’s when texture became a key part of my signature style.
In the end, I was able to complete the 100-day challenge from January until October. I completed the 100th day on my birthday—it was such a full-circle moment. It was also the first time I truly stuck to a New Year’s resolution, and the first time I had turned a hobby into a habit. By focusing on enjoyment and playfulness versus perfection, I developed a skill—and I had fun doing it!
Did you take formal lessons or were you mentored?
Yes, in bits and pieces. I’m a business graduate, but art has always been part of my life. As a kid, I loved crafts workshops in the summer and art was always my favorite subject—I was awarded Best in Art twice in high school. When I was a freshman, my high school encouraged me to join a local art competition, so my mom enrolled me in acrylic painting lessons at Village Art Gallery with teacher Sam Lorenzo. That’s where I learned how to paint using references and grasped the basics of proportion. We often practiced with florals and landscapes. I didn’t end up winning the competition, but I genuinely enjoyed the process. Later in 2016, while midway through my 100-day painting challenge, my aunt invited me to join her acrylics class. It was held at Sunshine Place seniors recreation center and I was the youngest in the room, but I loved the peaceful environment. That’s where I met sir Fidel Sarmiento, who introduced me to more advanced palette knife techniques. He helped me develop my early oceanscape series, which eventually became the first collection picked up by galleries.
How did you get into abstract painting?
Whenever my family traveled, we always made time to visit at least one major art museum. I’m lucky to have seen the collections at MoMA, The Met, and many more. Over time, I noticed I was consistently drawn to pieces that were contemporary, colorful, and abstract. A turning point for me was visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney in 2014. That same day, we stumbled upon the gallery of Ken Done, a living Australian artist. His vibrant, joyful abstractions completely captivated me. That exhibit still lives rent-free in my mind—and probably nudged me closer to choosing this path.
