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| Vigan House Façade - Watercolor by Lalaine Dela Cruz, 1999 |
Oriental capiz windows, thick brickwork, lime plastered masonry, clay or terracotta roof tiles, arched windows, wooden frames and cornices, intricate details of timber door panels, wooden balusters. . .All these spell a "beautiful shore" Hokkien term for Bee Gan and when Hispanized became "Vigan".
Vigan houses which existed since the 17th century, are very well preserved until at present and said to be the "Paris" of Philippines because of its charming streets illuminated with antique gas lamps and cobblestone walkways. During the earlier times, there were also cathedrals/churches and buildings that were built in the country. It was the Augustinian friars who introduced brick construction. Vigan, Ilocos Sur at the northern part of Luzon used to be a center where trades thrive during the Spanish colonial period. Majority of Chinese traders built their houses and they found wood and stone construction materials in abundance. The "Bahay na Bato" later became a type of house construction and precedent to it was the house on stilts made of bamboo and cogon, the "Bahay Kubo" or Nipa Hut. In 1999, Vigan was listed as UNESCO world heritage because of its Asian-European fusion of architecture.
This "obra" (work) in watercolor paper was painted in the same year when it became one of the UNESCO wonders. The elaborate details make a beautiful piece and composition. The artwork was more opaque rather than transparent to achieve that richness in colors and pigments. Lalaine used a Rowney watercolor as medium on Canson watercolor paper and a sable paintbrush, given to her as childhood gifts from her Father. Later, it has become a favorite medium aside from oil on canvas and pen & ink on paper.
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