Recently I was on the search for abstract art by a Pinay artist and had the good fortune of stumbling upon the work of Jessica Dolorfino Alabia. Based in Valladolid, Negros Occidental, Jessica is a 36-year-old self-taught Pinay artist with Down syndrome. Jessica’s paintings are reminiscent of Klimt’s elaborate tiles, Picasso’s cubist strokes, and Kandinsky’s striking curves. Intrigued, I spent some hours perusing her paintings and watching videos of her in her creative process—gleefully calm and pensive while painting—which were posted by her sister, Jecelle, who manages her Facebook art page. It was then I immediately reached out to her sister.
I requested permission to collaborate on Slicing Tomatoes and feature one of Jessica’s pieces. The poem, “The Beholder” is an ekphrastic response to Jessica’s piece, “She.” While we consider Klimt, Picasso, and Kandinsky to be masters of their craft—old white men of the European avant-garde—Jessica’s work reinforces what Slicing Tomatoes has meant to me since I first started the website in 2017, which was showcasing a skill of precision not immediately passed down from anyone, but that there are things, like Jessica’s masterful demonstration of her craft, which proves how our gifts can be something we simply learn on our own, stemming from that inexplicable place, deep within ourselves.
Jessica is the 36th Pinay artist to be featured on Slicing Tomatoes, and it’s a great honor and privilege to showcase her work. You can read a brief summary of Jessica’s bio if you scroll down below the poem. For more information about Jessica and to view more of her art, please visit her Featured Artist page here, which has hyperlinks to her social media platforms.
I see a goddess with hair and eyes so grand —an amalgam of my dreams.
The maze of precision that runs through your process signals genius for those who look beyond the veil.
And while genius is present, maybe it is simply beauty that all one hopes to achieve.
Who’s to say exactly what any of it means, except an inkling of the true self is revealed.
Maybe this is the way you see us, more than we can ever see ourselves, stretched across lines, brilliance, and curves, of what feels due in the moment.
There is no hierarchy for the inspired as we all have been conditioned to otherwise believe.
These are doors you open to let us in.
May we have the privilege of beholding— the complicated, the simple, and alive,
where every brushstroke, every shade, every line originates from some boundless well of light ready to illuminate from deep within.
JESSICA DOLORFINO ALABIA
Born in September 1985 and based in Valladolid, Negros Occidental, Jessica Dolorfino Alabia is a gifted self-taught Pinay artist with Down syndrome. Jessica never received a formal education, nor can she read or write. However, surrounded by a loving family, she found her passion and joy in making art and has been prolific ever since. Her family isn’t sure what influenced Jessica and how she developed her gift. Today, her art is reminiscent of Klimt, Picasso, and Kandinsky, where she draws elaborate lines and shapes, and combines vibrant colors in an abstract and figurative style entirely her own. She creates her masterpieces on illustration boards with Faber Castel colored pens. To date, her Facebook art page, Jessica’s Art, has garnered more than 50,000 followers. Her family hopes to soon organize an exhibit of her works.
JESSICA DOLORFINO ALABIA
Slicing Tomatoes 