These Artists Capture Everyday Scenes One Watercolor Postcard at a Time

(SPOT.ph) The art of letter writing may have gone out of style, but today's youth have found a way to bring back this staple of a time gone by. Whether it's to memorialize places they've been to or as an affordable means of consuming fine art, postcards are slowly gaining back their relevance in pop culture. Visit any convention, art mart, or fair, and you're bound to find a stall or two selling postcards or "prints," as they are more commonly called. 

The Postcard Makers is one such seller. True to their name, they carry cards designed with places and scenes in and around the Metro. But unlike the usual photo postcards or computer-aided designs, these prints resemble watercolor paintings. 

With prices as low as P40, is owning fine art finally within reach for young millennials?

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Here's how these local artists are making fine art accessible through postcards:

Full disclosure, upon closer inspection and discussions with the artists themselves, we found that they were selling a mix of reproductions and actual watercolor paintings. Obviously, those at a lower price point and in glossy papers were the copies, while those in cold-pressed watercolor paper were the originals. Regardless of their status— original watercolor paintings or reprints—these designs were original pieces painted by the hands of this duo known to art mart patrons as The Postcard Makers. 

Chloe Dellosa and Ken Ko are the two artists behind the brand Postcard Makers. They create postcards inspired by their travels around Metro Manila and other provinces.  Armed with their custom watercolor pallets, paint brushes, sketchbooks, and watercolor paper, the pair visit places around the country— from the historical to the mundane, find a spot, and paint for an hour or two. Yes,  most of their pieces are painted on the spot.

While the task is daunting, the two insist on painting based on what they actually see and not a photograph. "Iba kasi 'yong naka-capture ng camera sa nakikita mo talaga. Kunyari 'yung sky, iba 'yung kulay sa phone sa nakikita. So as much as possible, we want to capture what is actually happening." says Dellosa in an interview with SPOT.ph. "We want to capture the experience,"  adds Ko. 

After collecting a sizeable number of paintings, they turned what was initially a hobby into a business. Apart from the actual painting, Ko and Dellosa proceeded to curate a collection of postcards and watercolor paintings to share with others.

But it wasn't a business at first for these two. The duo's first selling stints were fundraisers in the hopes of providing aid to Dellosa's hometown in Gubat, Sorsogon, back at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gubat-tle COVID, as their project was called, was able to raise as much as P15,000.

They donated all these proceeds to the community. But one fundraiser wasn't enough. While Ko was sure of the idea from the start,  It took another project, this time for cats, to really convince Dellosa that there was a market for their art style. 

Their initial collections and most of their favorite pieces are those of places and things that hold personal meaning to them. Ko, being an employee of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, is particularly attached to the paintings in the CCP collection. 

Dellosa, on the other hand, favors the Boracay Collection because of her personal connection to the place and the beautiful sunsets she has seen while on a vacation there.

Check out some of the postcards and watercolor paintings designed by Chloe Dellosa and Kenny Ko, a.k.a. The Postcard Makers:

It wasn't always smooth sailing for The Postcard Makers. Sometime in June, a robbery almost left the business bankrupt. But in a display of Filipino resilience and bounce-back mentality,  the pair held a sale of their current designs and managed to earn back what they lost and then some. 

According to Ko and Dellosa, if they've learned anything in the past few months, it's that they not only have a market or patrons, they have a community. Followers ordered in bulk after learning of the unfortunate incident, donors selflessly gave their money to help them get back on their feet, and many people shared their posts and pages. If anything,  this is the sign they were looking for to push their business to a different level.

So what's next for The Postcard Makers? With the Christmas season looming, the team is revving up its preparations for holiday orders and a new collection for the season.

They'll also make a few appearances at upcoming fairs and hold watercolor workshops to encourage a larger community of watercolor artists.

Aside from visiting their booths at art fairs and conventions, you might soon see them in your local mall. They're looking to consign their works at some of the Metro's craft rooms and hobby centers. There are even talks of reaching out to government agencies to use their designs as official postcards and souvenirs.  It's an exciting time for the pair—a breath of fresh air following their recent roadblock. 

The duo is also open to accepting commissioned work citing that they have had clients who previously booked them for live painting sessions during weddings and creating custom souvenirs for parties and gatherings. 

While there are a lot of uncertainties about the future, there is one thing we are sure of: Dellosa and Ko are artists on a mission. They want to share the places that hold meaning to them, make fine art accessible and affordable, and keep their authentic artist spirit alive. So the next time you're looking for memorabilia, souvenirs, giveaways, or gifts for visiting friends or family, you might want to consider supporting this pair of local artists and their artistic reinterpretation of spaces and the mundane. 

Postcards can be purchased online. For the full collection of postcards on sale and more information, visit The Postcard Makers' Facebook page.

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