sketches
Kriztin Cruz
filipina hobbyist illustrator and multimedia artist.
Hello! I'm a passionate hobbyist eager to turn my fire into a career. While writing was my first love, visual art never seemed to escape my heart, either. Here's more about me!This portfolio consists of both old work and new since I went into HR after college. Either way, I'm proud of all of these pieces.
recent work
group exhibits
silakbo commissions
toraya commissions
I'm a Filipino freelancer who finally took a corporate break to pursue what she's wanted all along: to be unapologetically creative. I was born in Quezon City but now reside in Antipolo, Rizal. I love unconventional lines and obsessing over Hayao Miyazaki, Guillermo del Toro and Jan Svankmajer.My childhood consisted of books, movies, pencils, paper, and some imagination to spare. I wanted to be a journalist, but that doesn't bode well in the Philippines. So, I learned to sketch on my own and did it in my spare time. Eventually, this translated to a fire bursting to paint, mold some clay, and try anything I could get my hands on.
silakbo commissions
Silakbo (Tagalog for "an outburst of emotion"/catharsis) is a mental health advocacy group that strongly believed that art mattered in the dialogue of the state of mental health services in the country. I frequently volunteered in their group so I was a frequent contributor/commissioned artist.
toraya commissions
This was commissioned by a small Japanese-themed café in Quezon City back in 2016. Unfortunately, the café closed before the new menu became a reality. It's such an early phase of my art skills. but I'm still proud of this period in time.
lucent fair
This was for a small art show that featured small mental health advocates in the country. While I thoroughly enjoyed making these pieces, sadly, they're lost. I still don't know where they are, but I'm glad I have digital copies of them.
404 Theme Not Found - 1159 Creative Space, Makati Central Square (2025)
imminent burnout. 2025. 12 x 16 inches. acrylic paint, charcoal, watercolor pencils and oil pastel. wood backed canvas.
Exhibited as part of a group show for 1159 Creative Space in Makati Central Square.Artist Description:A rough portrait of a woman is seen behind throbbing circular lines, making the viewing experience dizzying and confusing.One of the imminent signs of a chronic burnout is a throbbing headache. Along with my bipolar diagnosis, I discovered that I get unbearable headaches when I'm close to a chronic burnout I'd need months to recover from. The symptoms include: a throbbing in my head, slight dizzying vision, and the urge to remove whatever I used on my hair (ponytail holder, clip, etc.) due to tension. I can't even put a loose braid on, because it hurts that bad.Oddly enough, I can still see things clearly, but I have to rest more often.I painted a rough portrait of myself during the year I experienced this sort of headaches. And it was only last year that I was able to connect this intense headache to an imminent burnout. I'm only learning to navigate this now.
ateneo psych x boxless art exhibit (2018) [student exhibit]
anatomical layers of a distorted mind. 2018. 6 inches x 10 inches. pen ink on cut tracing paper.
Apologies for both the resolution and the fact that this piece got lost.A impression of a cat's skull sits against various images of food, landscape, and anatomy. In here, the mind is distorted. There is no clear direction nor clear image.This is the space of a young person scrambling for her identity, for her place in a world unforgiving to the impoverished.Mental illnesses have been portrayed as brutal reds and dark blues with black hopelessness, but in reality, it's much more complex than that. The mind--the distorted mind--has underlying factors beneath it. Environmental factors, trauma, and biological factors come into play in the mind of a twisted man.This piece was for an event that raised mental health awareness. The psychology department of Ateneo, an established Jesuit university in the Philippines, partnered with Boxless Society, a support group for artists with mental conditions. While this was years ago (back in 2018), I am still proud of this piece.
