Ines Blesilda “Bessie” Jacinto is a published writer and artist.
Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts and Master of Arts in Literature from Ateneo de Manila University. She taught Journalism and worked in Advertising and Public Relations before migrating to the US in November 1981.
She held her first solo art exhibit while working as an Information Technology Manager in Los Angeles in 2001 and has since been juried into local and national shows as well as invited to international shows in London and LA.
Bessie’s passion for color and nature translates into images of joy and serenity, while her innate curiosity drives her to photograph scenes and explore old and new techniques in different media such as oil, pastel, acrylic and watercolor. She is currently learning surface design while coordinating plein air sessions at the Foster Botanical Gardens (for the Hawaii Watercolor Society) in Honolulu where she resides at the present.
A former SVAA President and longtime Board member, Bessie believes in giving back to the community through art promotion and talent development of the youth and fellow artists. Currently a Board Member of the Association of Hawaii Artists, Bessie was also a Treasurer for the National PEN Women (Simi Valley Branch) and participated as an artist-speaker at the Cal Lutheran’s Women’s Conferences in the early 2000’s. Her drawings were featured in Virginia Hutchinson’s “Tracks in the Snow” book of poetry and her prize-winning short stories included in the “Philippine American Short Stories” published in Washington DC. Inspired by Renoir’s “Girl with a Watering Can” as a child, Bessie credits visiting art museums in her world travels and joining workshops conducted by different artists to help develop her skills. She is grateful to the many generous artists who have shared their time and talent, especially the late Pong Apinyavat whose half-day class was enough to get her started on exploring the joys of watercolor painting. When asked if she prefers painting to writing, Bessie says, “I feel like I’m writing a story or a poem when painting and I feel like I’m painting images when writing.”
