Her Groundwork for the Native Flora and Fauna
Drawn to pay tribute to her childhood nostalgia, Cynthia BauzonArre began drawing flowers and fruits from her Quezon City residence. Shortly afterwards she printed her works on stationeries for sale, and for a wider reach, she posted her illustrations on social media. While they were warmly received, most reactions made her realized that ‘many don’t recognize the less popular Filipino flora anymore.” This planted an idea in her mind: “to create daily-use products that also serve as vehicles of information about Philippine flora and fauna.”
Utilizing her skills as an illustrator and graphic artist, Arre then began producing beautiful and yet very detailed renderings of the local flora and fauna. To stay true to her subject’s organic image, she chose watercolor since the medium gives her the opportunity “to mix colors that closely match the hues in nature” while “its flowing nature allows her to cover a larger image with color in a short amount of time and capture patterns of light and shadows quickly, especially in the outdoors.”
Her artworks showcase the natural beauty of trees, flowering plants, and wild animals in an effort to popularize them to today’s audience. “Native flora is naturally adapted to our local environment conditions so they are easier to maintain, and are more resilient to harsh climate conditions. They also provide homes to our endemic birds and other fauna. It’s important for us to know more about our own native species, so that we can be proud of them, as Filipinos,” says Arre. Through her artworks, she also underscores the importance of the environment, biodiversity, and heritage conservation through her artworks.
Arre also recognizes that some human activities are harmful and contribute to the degradation of our natural habitat. “In recent years, many invasive exotic species have been allowed to thrive in our forests and there wasn’t a lot of awareness regarding the harmful effects of growing non- native species in our forests and landscapes. If this continues, our flora and fauna will be endangered due to habitat loss, which in turn will produce an unhealthy and an imbalanced ecological system. While doing research on our indigenous species, I also learned that many are endangered due to deforestation, so I tried to communicate this fact through my designs.”
Her hard work soon paid off and her efforts eventually bore fruit after a partnership with the Forest Foundation Philippines ( FFP) came along. “I somehow caught the attention of and they invited me to collaborate on activities and projects to raise awareness on native species in conservation. Drawing our native species every day and getting to know them better deepened my appreciation and further cemented my resolve to adopt the cause.”
In 2018, Arre created the Philippine Forest Blooms planner that featured 12 Philippine native f lowering trees such as Narra and Banaba with added information on where they can be found, when they bloom, and its usefulness, among others. The following year saw the same design concept on desk
calendars.
In 2020, another project produced a 30- piece Philippine Forest Fruit postcard set that carried illustrations of 24 species of lesser-known native fruit- bearing trees. Each postcard includes details on locations, conservation status, and its useful properties.
In February, Arre was one of the featured artists in Uniqlo’s the Art of Philippines x Fiesta Collection where she designed UT t- shirts with Filipino native flowers such as Ilang- Ilang, Katmon, Narra, and Banaba, a personal favorite for “its papery petals and pretty lavender color.”
In April, Arre also participated in the Ipo Watershed Bantay Gubat project, enabled by the World Wide Fund for Wildlife ( WW F Philippines), by selling signed prints of
endemic bird paintings. The Bantay Gubat rangers patrols and monitor the Ipo watershed, a vital link in the Angat- Umiray- Ipo watersheds. It is this system that supplies about 96 percent of Metro Manila’s water requirement. “Thankfully, through the community’s help, we were able to raise some funds during the first few months of the lockdown, since they’re in need of equipment to do their work efficiently,” shares Arre.
More recently, Arre’s colorful illustrations of blooms, fruits, and leaves of Philippine native trees, native orchids, and endemic birds also found its way on canvas face masks that were sold online. Her followers online also got to participate in her stepby- step tutorial series on drawing flowers of our native species. They even held educational lectures and contests to support the cause during the workshop. A quick click on the #Drawnativetreesph hashtag would show the output of budding artists that were uploaded on social media. The tutorial series is still ongoing while an online painting session is in the works.
This month, together with her friend Chinggay Labrador of Practical Magic, Arre launched the Tanim: A Filipino Botanical Oracle Deck. This novelty item combines the artist’s watercolor paintings of Philippine native flora with Labrador’s words of advice that encourage inquire and inspire action.
Through these projects, Arre also got introduced to some native trees previously unknown to her such as the Antipolo, Parang, Malabagang, and many others. The FFP foresters and botanists also gave her valuable guidance and assistance in providing images she can use as reference of tree species that usually thrive in deep forests and high altitudes.
Raring to produce more works, Arre encourages everyone to learn more and do more for the environment. “Not just me, but I think anyone who is sincerely trying to use their skills in making the world a better place to live in—be it raising awareness for causes that help protect our environment, or actively nurturing nature and keeping our ecosystem healthy— can do their part, and these small actions can collectively help in preventing future pandemics.”
For donations, downloadable copies of Arre’s artworks, and more information on her advocacy, you may check https://cynthiabauzonarre. com/ and her social media accounts.