Ileta Buenaventura: Highlighting the unknown details drawn in her sketchpad

Before the pandemic, every day in our lives, even for once, we leave our house regardless if that’s because we have to attend school, go to the office, visit a friend, or buy something in the market.

We go out as much as we need to and that’s when we catch a glimpse of both the pleasantness and unpleasantness of the outside world — but not all of us completely see it all. Running late or just too focused on our own little world while we travel to our respective destinations, we often do not notice everything in our environment.

Some of us are busy scrolling on our phones, reading a book or newspaper, listening to music, or enjoying an extra half hour of sleep that we tend to not see small details like what might surround those sky-scraping buildings, big urban parks, and other large spaces.

We do not really pay much attention to the things that do not directly impact us like what could have been beside that building or what interesting object could be found in that park, but these stuff that we often do not notice has become the subject of this sketchbook artist’s holy grail.

Filling her drawing pads with sketches, Ileta Buenaventura has only one goal in mind: “To show the viewer something they may not have ‘seen’ or noticed as they walked by.”

At this point, Ileta will show us not only the things we missed out in our surroundings but also her story that not all of us knew about.

From magic slate to sketchpad

Ileta was born in Iloilo City but grew up in the bewitching and scenic place of Guimaras Island, a place where one can enjoy both black and white sand beaches. She was raised by her dad and mom who were an engineer and a nurse, respectively. Despite being in different fields, Ileta’s parents have one thing in common: They are both quite artistic.

Ileta shared that her dad used to draw, while it was her mom who sewed their own clothes, so it is really no wonder where she got her artistic genes and why she has been artistically-inclined since childhood.

She remembered her parents giving her that low-cost toy for children which consists of a drawing board with two sheets of filmy paper and a stick that serves as a pen. She’s talking about the ‘magic slate’ where one can draw or write on it as many times as they choose and simply erase everything on the board by lifting up the plastic layer.

“Since it saved paper I drew a lot every day. When the current one wore out, my parents would buy me a new one. I also used old notebooks as sketchbooks.”

With her magic slate, notebooks, and sketchbooks, Ileta kept on drawing and improving her artistic skills until one day, she got her first recognition when her school artwork got into an “exhibit” during their town’s fiesta.

When her interest in art ignited due as well to her parents’ encouragement, it became hard for Ileta to close her sketchbook and let go of her pen. Her love for art grew stronger over the years which eventually led her to obtain a degree in Fine Arts from one of the Philippines’ prestigious schools, the University of the Philippines-Diliman, in 1979.

After graduating, Ileta took jobs in graphic design studios, advertising agencies, and government publications departments as a book and graphic designer for eight years. Most of the books she designed, like “Lolo Jose: An Intimate Portrait of Rizal” by Asuncion Lopez-Bantug and “Intramuros of Memory” by Jaime Laya and Esperanza Gatbonton, were intended for the Intramuros Administration in Manila which was then under the Ministry of Human Settlements.

Starting anew, but in a different direction

Although Ileta had the time of her life designing books, she eventually had to leave her desk job to try her luck in another place.

During her years of working in Manila, it was not just her love for art that blossomed; a spark was also felt when she met a man named Armand, whom she soon after tied a knot and have a daughter with.

Their daughter, Rahani did not spend most of her life in the Philippines, though, as she and her parents, backed by her uncle, later on moved to Canada where a bunch of their relatives are living.

It was during the month of March in the early ‘90s when they were welcomed by the “cold and dreary” weather of Canada.

During their first days in Canada, Ileta and her family went to downtown Vancouver which, she said, somehow disappointed her because it was as small as her hometown that one can actually walk through it and reach Stanley Park.

“Our aunt and uncle took us to White Spot and we enjoyed that. Then our first night we checked out the Asian grocery store nearby and tried out the fish which was terrible [compared to those] from Iloilo where fish is very, very fresh. [The] next day we applied for the Social Security cards.”

Four days of strolling around, Ileta decided that it was time for her to look for jobs since they cannot depend forever on her brother. So she brought her artist’s portfolio with her and walked around the downtown to look for art studios and advertising agencies she got on her list and phone book.

She also tried talking to a few people but unfortunately, there were no job prospects for her. Toward the afternoon of that day, Ileta met a Filipino couple at a bus stop and chatted with them. Bringing up in the conversation that she was doing a job hunt, Ileta said the couple advised her to apply at a hamburger chain.

Although this job offer was far different from what she used to do before and that she had no experience working in a food chain, Ileta was hired right away by the store’s manager whom, she said, liked Filipino employees.

“Since I have a nice smile I can do ‘windows.’ I thought she meant I was going to clean the glass windows, but that was their term for ‘cash’ so I started working on the cash registers that week.”

“I liked it and worked there for six months but never got to make a burger.”

Ileta shared that her initial plan was to earn some money to get out of their rental place and then do some upgrading in her computer skills to match the industry’s needs and requirements.

Back in the Philippines, Ileta had temporarily taken time off work when her daughter was born, but when she was ready to return to being a book and graphic designer, the tools she used for designing were not the same as before.

“The Macintosh computer had taken over from actually cutting typeset strips of paper and pasting them with rubber cement to using a ‘mouse.'”

Although using the computer was much easier to use for her job, Ileta actually never got to upgrade her computer skills before they migrated to Canada. Developing that skill never happened even after she resigned from the hamburger joint and got another job in a bank, which she liked so much that she never left.

She may have gone the other way on her career path or failed to grab the chance to get better at using computers, but making art was still and will always be a “part” of her that ‘cannot be taken away.’

Working in a bank may just be seen by some as a source of their income but for Ileta, working in that financial institution was way more than that.

Inside the bank were not just bank tellers, bank marketing representatives, managers, or loan officers because the employees, there were also a community of “fun” and “supportive” creative people in various fields. Ileta shared that she was colleagues with knitters, flower arrangers, poets, musical people, the “popular” and “fantastic” cooks and bakers, and a crafty lady whom she said used to create over a hundred Christmas cards for their office every year.

“After I started working in the bank, sketching became my main outlet for my art as I was able to do it in between everything else. It was easy to bring just a pen and sketchbook during my commute and sketch during my breaks.”

Back on track

Continuing her passion regardless of her job position, lunch break and after work, Ileta enjoyed walking around and sketching. She just casually draws her surroundings, even when riding on the SkyTrain and buses. Through her artworks, Ileta said she hopes that people would see things they tend to overlook or not notice as they pass by the streets.

“I have this byline in my Instagram [account], ‘My aim is not to document but only to see.’ I see and experience something and though my rendering is not perfect, I want to share it.”

“I realized art is everywhere and sketching was a good outlet for me as I always loved to draw, more than painting, really.”

Ileta has kept an art blog since 2006 where she had been following some artists. One time, she heard about the Urban Sketcher’s Movement founded by Seattle-based visual artist Gabriel Campanario, an organization that “inspired” her to keep up with her sketching.

“My other sketch gurus are Cathy Johnson, Brenda Swenson, and Danny Gregory of Sketchbook Skool.”

Some usually begin their art with a guideline drawing using a pencil to guide them through the sketching process because it is easier to correct their errors if than making a mistake in ink which will be difficult to cover up. Preliminary pencil sketching, however, does not work for Ileta.

“My style is direct ink sketching. I also prefer sketching from life and not from photos, though I use my phone camera for recording the colours.”

If you are curious about what materials she has been using nowadays, Ileta said she uses a flexible Noodler’s pen or felt tip pens like Pigma Microns by Sakura and Sharpies. For someone who likes transparency of watercolours, she prefers non-water-soluble pen inks so she can add watercolour or any other colouring medium to her art.

Sketching in public has become a challenge for Ileta as she gets self-conscious whenever there were people around to watch her draw.

“If I lose my right-brain mode, the sketch doesn’t come out right. You have to be in a kind of ‘zone’ as I learned from a book, The Zen of Seeing: Drawing as Meditation by Frederick Franck.”

If there are struggles, there is, of course, the fun part on her process: the colouring.

“That’s why adult colouring books are so popular. Watercolour with all its inconsistencies and unpredictability really enhances a simple sketch.”

“I prefer to add watercolours at the scene but it takes more time and so I end up adding it at home. I can prepare dinner or even watch TV while waiting for the layers to dry.”

Every artist has experienced having a creative block that causes one to feel stuck or become disinterested in making an artwork.

So to prevent this circumstance, Ileta joined different art groups on Facebook and followed other artists on Instagram as well as their blogs. She also buys and borrows lots of art books and watches plenty of art videos on YouTube. Museums and art galleries in Vancouver also help Ileta to keep being inspired and imaginative.

“Nature, of course, is an inexhaustible muse. And my fellow Filipino artists in the Filipino Music and Art Foundation always inspire!”

Working as a full-time bank employee, sketching during her break time and during a commute, and being a caring mom to her daughter — this was what Ileta had been doing for 23 years. But getting an early retirement from her beloved job, Ileta dedicates most of her time consuming her drawing pads with tons of ink and watercolour sketches.

More time for art

As a full-time sketchbook artist, Ileta has exhibited her works in several local libraries and in some events line in “Pagtitipon 2019” at the Roudhouse, the “2018 Surrey Arts4All Festival,” and the “Land Trust Alliance of British Columbia Art & Photo Show.”

The most recent one was when she participated in the “How Green is your Muse (HGIYM)? Art Exhibit,” along with 11 other stellar Filipino Canadian artists, where she got the chance to pay homage to nature and advocate for a sustainable environment.

During the event which just ended last February, Ileta put on display her artwork titled “Contemplation” which showed an image of an old man in a park.

“I feel that contemplating nature is the best way to enjoy life in Canada. I see lots of old folk in the parks and being on the senior side of life now, I like to imagine what their life was like and see how they can enjoy their quiet moments.”

Now having more spare time on her hands following the HGIYM Exhibit, Ileta plans to finish her current project, a “Surrey Sketchbook” that was shown already in public libraries twice. With the urge to further develop her expertise in painting without having to depart from her “sketchy look” style, Ileta shared she will keep sketching her hometown and showing people what they have been missing out in the area.

“I just love how you can find artistic inspiration everywhere, especially in Surrey.”