Painting helped Ryza overcome depression

RYZA Cenon

In picking up painting, actress Ryza Cenon did not only find a new hobby she could be passionate about, but also an emotional outlet that have kept her from hurting herself.

Last year was bleak for Ryza. Acting projects were few and far between, and she had personal issues. She soon fell into depression and, at one point, she harbored thoughts of committing suicide. It was painting that helped her cope.

“I’m not perfect and life isn’t always happy… Some people go out and party, some people drink… but I am not a sociable person,” she told reporters. “I hurt myself; once, I even hit my head with a dumbbell. Then, I realized that I would rather paint, as a release—and to flush out the negativity.”

As a result, many of her paintings—there are about 30 of them now—have dark undertones. “I am more productive when I feel broken,” Ryza, winner of the second season of

the reality talent search, “Starstruck” said. “There were times when I could not help but cry while working.”

Ryza has always been artistically inclined, but it was not until last year that she took the craft seriously. With the help of an artist friend, the 28-year-old GMA 7 celeb finally started pouring her emotions and creativity on the canvas, first using watercolor, and eventually, oil and acrylic.

Initially, she meant to keep her art to herself, but some people had taken notice of her promise. Ryza, last seen regularly as part of the supporting cast of the drama series “Buena Familia,” recently opened her first art exhibit, “Independencia: Ang Panimula,” at Gueverra’s, a restaurant in San Juan City.

Many of her works are abstract—some of which inspired by her mother, who died when she was just 2, and her actress friend Chariz Solomon—said Ryza, who also has a penchant for drawing human eyes: “I want my art to make people wonder what I was feeling while I was doing them.”

Ryza’s exhibit runs for a month. And her next goal, Ryza said, is to have her paintings displayed at the Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo, Rizal. Is she ready for criticism, now that she has made her art public? “You cannot please everyone, so that is to be expected,” she said.

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