I have been drawing and painting since I was a kid, as cliche as it sounds for an artist to say. I learned how to use my fingers in place of a paint brush, that blue and red make purple, and that I could redraw my favorite characters after not having enough of them from watching their movies 10 times over. I learned that I could create art to express my biggest pains, to share with someone how much I loved them, and that I could help others express their love for someone else or even, themselves. Through creation, I continue to learn-- about myself, my ancestors, and the natural beauties of the earth that at times are left unnoticed. I create to learn. I create to heal.

As life moves forward with technology, so do I. Traditionally, I create simply with pen or pencil while watercolor is my pigment of choice. Watercolor paints can be both controlled and uncontrollable, and just like life's challenges, I accept the things I cannot change and change the things I cannot accept. Digitally, I have been enjoying learning how to create work to appear traditional while expanding my knowledge on digital painting and illustration. Both methods of creating continue to excite and challenge me as new projects come to fruition.

Growing up, I have lived in a handful of different places but San Francisco will always be home. As a Pinay from the Fillmore, I have been a witness to all kinds of people from different walks of life. Compassion and empathy has taught me that my family and my neighbors were all the same even if we were different. Throughout the many stages of my life, I give thanks to the people in my community who helped water the seeds I have planted for my artist self. I want others to know that we do not have to be a product of society but instead are rooted in the community in which we will bloom.

Hello hello!

My name is ClarizeYale and I am a Pinay/Filipina-American born on Ramaytush Ohlone land, San Francisco, California, and am considered a mid-millennial. Throughout my adolescence, I have lived across varying parts of the Bay Area including Treasure Island, Daly City, and Suisun, and have also lived in Japan for about 2 and a half years. Naturally curious and a latchkey kid, I had a knack for exploring the neighborhoods and somehow, never getting lost. During times of solitude, I have turned to art and poetry in order to feed my imagination or express myself emotionally.

Unaware that art could one day lead to a profession, I focused my studies on Architecture and Interior Design at City College of San Francisco and eventually, simultaneously received a degree in Arts and Humanities and Interior Design. The following five years, I worked as a production manager at a local sign shop focusing on wide-format printing and installation. In 2019, I left the print industry to pursue my dreams of becoming a professional artist and illustrator. Prior to Covid-19 and some time after, I worked as an after-school program creative counselor teaching elementary school children the fundamentals of art and character development while pursuing freelance illustration work and starting my own creative studio and online shop. 

In 2019, I was selected as one of the participating artists in the Kearny Street Workshop APAture Festival in the Book Arts Showcase. In 2020, I became a grant recipient for my Pinxy Tribes works through Balay Kreative. In 2021, I worked with Kearny Street Workshop and Kristian Kabuay for the project Pilipinx Virtual Histories. In 2022, I was one of 28 artists selected in the API Artists Futures Fund through the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco. It truly has been a humbling and amazing experience so far to create work celebrating diversity and my own perspective.

I currently live and work in San Francisco with my partner and daughter, blocks away from the beach and parks where I rollerskate or play with my baby when not creating. I also love dancing, pasta, and Filipino food or watching fantastical TV shows and movies or journaling my thoughts away.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my work. I hope we can connect soon :)

*Pinay is a colloquial term for Filipina or Filipina American

Affiliations

Balay Kreative

Kearny Street Workshop

Chinese Culture Center of SF