Gumamela (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

Art by Rio Sebastian

Prints of this original watercolor artwork are on sale on stickers and greeting cards at the celebration of the 125th anniversary of Philippine Independence, organized by the association of Filipino-French community in Midi-Pyrénées, France.

Art by Rio Sebastian

Prints of this original watercolor artwork are on sale on greeting cards, poster prints, together with other Filipino-theme gift items on my online shop via Zazzle.com.

The Hibiscus flower, locally known as Gumamela in the Philippines is one of the most celebrated flowers in the country. In fact, it frequently appears in local stamps. And if I’m not mistaken, also in coins, at some point between the 70’s and the 80’s.

As a kid, I remember picking its flowers and leaves, crushing them to mix in water for blowing bubbles.

Gumamelas always take me back to fond memories of my childhood in the Philippines.

The artist at Lucban Pahiyas in 2005

Hi I’m Rio! I’m originally from the Philippines, but I have lived and worked in Singapore as an I.T. Engineer for almost ten years, and then moved to Toulouse, France with my family since 2017.

As a watercolor artist, I had no formal training. I have only self-learned to paint via tutorials on the internet. Back in the early 2000’s, I took a crash course in photography back in the Philippines, and took a short course on Drawing at La Salle College of the Arts in Singapore in 2014.

For more of my paintings, visit springfugue.com/paintings and my online shop via Zazzle .com