Master landscaper blossoms into exciting visual artist
Moonlight bathes the languid waters, surrounded by reeds and abstracted water lilies. The stark contrast of black and white, with dragged strokes of white highlighting the scene, captures the mood outside the lodging of Koyasan, one of Japan’s holiest sites.
In another painting, daytime is expressed through a background of golden orange, with simplified forms of lily leaves floating on the water and pine tree needles. These are part of a series of artworks in the second major exhibition of Ponce Veridiano which opens on Jan. 30 at W/17 home store in La Fuerza Plaza in Makati.
The landscape artist is famously known for such works as the tropical Zen garden at Greenbelt, Pearl Farm Resort, and shipping magnate Doris Ho’s residence, which was featured in AD (formerly Architectural Digest). Last December, he did the landscaping for one of the year’s biggest society weddings, that of Luigi Exconde and Caterina Lagdameo at the family-owned Pearl Farm.
Although he spends more time painting, he still maintains his day job. Every day, he inspects the landscaping of the one-hectare property in Makati, owned by an influential politician. He also oversees projects in subdivisions within the city and by the beach.
Reinvention
Pushing 65, Veridiano is reinventing himself as a visual artist, having begun his artistic endeavor during the 2020 lockdown. At his residence in Nagcarlan, Laguna, he wakes up at 1:30 a.m. to paint. The quiet time enhances his creativity.
Titled “A Breath Upon Nature,” the exhibit was inspired by his recent trip to Koyasan, a revered pilgrimage site nestled in the mountainous heart of southeastern Japan. Chosen 1,200 years ago by the monk Kobo-Daishi, its location—a serene valley cradled by surrounding mountains—resembles a delicate lotus flower. As night descends, the velvety darkness engulfs the steep, tree-clad slopes, creating an atmosphere of deep tranquility.
The exhibition features some 50 pieces, including acrylic on paper and diptychs and triptychs in acrylic on canvas, focusing on the tranquil landscapes of Koyasan. This differs from his debut exhibition, which showcased a diverse range of styles, from figurative studies to impressionism and abstraction. However, his signature technique remains consistent: He utilizes a squeegee, a smooth and flexible blade, to drag, blend, and manipulate paints directly from the tube, achieving a variety of textures, and unexpected results. He avoids diluting or mixing colors.
Action painting
“Everything comes directly from the tube, which makes it an expensive process,” he explains in Filipino, noting that his canvases are well-suited for large homes.
In Veridiano’s early works, depicting abstractions of flowers and trees from his garden, his style evoked action painting, where paint is spontaneously dribbled and smeared onto the canvas, allowing for free and expressive movement. However, he also demonstrated his ability to represent human figures. The Koyosan series reveals an instinctive Oriental influence. Washes of solid color contrast with lines and strokes, suggesting shapes and negative spaces or planes of color that draw attention to specific areas.
His foray into selling his artwork was serendipitous. During the pandemic, a Chinese Filipino friend, accompanied by her son and his girlfriend, visited him for lunch. Veridiano showed them his geisha series at his old residence. The friend expressed interest in purchasing two artworks, but he was unsure of how to price them. Impulsively, she wrote him a substantial check.
Later, a colleague suggested that Veridiano should charge P15,000 per square foot for his paintings, given their large scale.
One day, his friend and client, the influential businessman Antonio Floirendo Jr., brought in Charlie Gonzalez, founder of Ulticon Builders, a company known for its large-scale infrastructure projects. Gonzalez was so impressed by Veridiano’s work that he eventually commissioned several dozen paintings to adorn his luxury resort, Discovery Samal in Davao del Sur.
Some art connoisseurs considered his prices to be high for an emerging artist. However, there were collectors and art enthusiasts for whom price was not a concern.
“I don’t care what people say. Painting is not my primary source of income. My 30 years of experience in landscaping have nurtured my imagination and found expression in my artworks,” he says, adding that he had successfully thrived for three decades without any media exposure. “I’m granting interviews now to share my creative process and the stories behind these paintings.”
