“I went to The Louvre Museum in Paris in the early 1980’s and I fell in love with impressionist painting. Since then, the rest is history.”

Maria Cristina Valencia Taruc or “Tiinz” Taruc for short is a Filipina master painter whose art is fresh and modern. The vivid color she uses is bright and her brush stroke is loose and freely comes from her soul as described by local art critic Gigi Cortez Balmaceda.

The artist is famous for her impressionism paintings such as her sunflowers, koi fishes, landscapes, Mother and Child series and her social realism modern style portraits. Tiinz Taruc art is contemporary and is reminiscent of Georgia O’Keefe style flower paintings while her beautiful landscape paintings and the changing effects of light are evocative of Van Gogh and Monets.

Impressionist artists were characterized by their visual impact influenced by nature and love for the environment. Such artist sought to depict whatever they happened to see at a given moment by using pure, broken and often unmatched color to achieve an appearance of improvisation. They usually painted ordinary everyday subjects and omitted detail in their subjects to create a striking overall effect.

Born in Tarlac and is a granddaughter of the late Huk Supremo Luis Taruc, founder and leader of the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon (Hukbalahap or Huk) from 1942 to 1954, after he led an insurgency group fighting for land reform even earlier in the 1930’s. Tinz Taruc is an impressionist whose paintings have been inspired by Philippine patriotism and Hukbalahap stories, a trait she is believed to have inherited from her grandfather.

Balmaceda noted that Maria Cristina studied visual arts and graphic design at the Parsons School of Design in New York City and became “a prodigy of masters Rafael Maniago and Bienvenido Sibug in Los Angeles, and also learned from Aris C Bagtas of Marilao, Bulacan.”

Tiinz is a prolific painter and her paintings have given her hope and life. She added that art helps her deal with the love she lost and face reality with a positive outlook. She will be coming back to the Philippines from New York City and Los Angeles to have her 5th Art Exhibition in Pampanga in December 1, 2015 showcasing her “Mother & Daughter” series.

***A selection of  Tiinz Taruc’s art masterpieces***

(pleas click image to enlarge)

Mother & Child Series

Sunflower Series

Koi Fish & Landscape Pond Series

 

All artworks used with permission. 

To contact the artist for art inquiries or acrylic/oil collaboration, please email her at Cvtaruc@yahoo.com.

Source Articles: Punto.com, Sunstar.com