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Silver Jacinto Cariño

Leah C. Salterio

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1768794388296att.FKWmZAuIp9cvXU0Mc8hi_Q6vpCQdWz322sZjVKGXFq0.jpeg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>Silver Jacinto Cariño</div>Predicting Silver Jacinto Cariño would turn to painting when he grows up was a no-brainer for those around him. At four, he started doodling and following his hands. He eventually sketched images in pencil before gradually progressing to watercolor and acrylic when he turned 10.Over time, that journey from the bedroom has continued to evolve, showing Cariño’s increasing maturity, depth and confidence at such a young age.His mother, PR maven Gwen Jacinto, has been a constant source of support, faithfully accompanying her younger of two children to every art session until she herself was inspired to also go into painting. She has a painting on exhibit at the second floor of Kapitolyo Art Space in Pasig City, where the son opened his first painting exhibit that runs only until January 19. His debut solo exhibit, “Silver Linings: The Emergence,” introduces him as a young visionary.“I found a true hobby through painting and I found out I actually had the skill,” Carino told ABS-CBN News. “My mom helped me sign up with Maestro &quot;There was this particular art style that I started doing and it was melting crayons and letting it drip,” Cariño said. “I really loved doing that when I was four,” he added.At nine, he enrolled in formal art classes with Sena, whom his mom discovered while looking for a teacher for her son. “I really saw that Silver had a gift and the talent,” the mom said. “Then I researched there was someone who is regarded as the Godfather of Philippine painting workshops.“When I researched, I found out his studio in Tandang Sora, Quezon City was only seven minutes away from the house. He was giving art classes and workshops. One Saturday, we went there and I enrolled Silver for summer.”That was in 2022. On Cariño’s second or third lesson, Sena saw something in his young student that he wanted to develop. “Mr. Sena requested for him to come an hour after his class, before everyone else arrives,” shared the mom. “He was always saying he [Cariño] is my next Elmer Borlongan.”Contemporary Filipino painter Elmer Borlongan is also Sena’s former student. When Carino first entered Sena’s studio, the young boy brought only two early paintings – “Galaxy,” his first-ever acrylic on canvass, and &quot;Forest.&quot;Cariño flourished as a protégé under the esteemed mentorship of Sena. He religiously attends Sena’s Saturday art lessons at Buenas Artes, Sena’s studio, that reflect a mature understanding making him realize that dedicated practice.“I always found it easy to balance my work in school-work related things on a Friday [he is in Grade 8 at Ateneo de Manila University],” Cariño said. “We have an earlier dismissal time in school and when the topics in school weren’t so complex, I have time to rest my hands and balance school, art and even sports.”He plays badminton and volleyball, although he is not affiliated with any particular club. He regularly plays with friends and classmates.Specializing in acrylic and watercolor, Cariño focuses on subjects drawn from personal inspirations, experiences and even dreams. His art works promote positivity, while allowing him to continually hone his craft.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1768794448836att.eiioHbEOVZMPCl3V6H4ZQrDh4ZwRJd6Ywx9QwXIxsCk.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>(From left) Maestro Fernando Sena, Sabine and Silver Cariño, Kapitolyo Art Space curator Eghai Roxas</div>Equally admirable is Cariño’s strong sense of discipline and completion. He approaches every art work with dedication, focus and genuine love for painting.“The inspiration comes from a basis where I find peace and happiness in things,” asserted Cariño. “When I feel like people lack basic empathy in things that can help cope or stuff that has been happening in the world.“One of my paintings, ‘Tribute to Gaza,’ the one with the watermelons, is a tribute to people who have been suffering or people who have been abused or people who live with toxicity.”His most expensive painting on exhibit is the lighthouse, “Beacon of Hope,“ pegged at P24,000, quite an odd price. The piece was immediately sold on opening day of the exhibit.<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1768794620559Beacon of Hope.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>“Beacon of Hope“ </div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1768794556977IMG_2644.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/>“It’s Never Quite As It Seems”</div>The least expensive art work is “It’s Never Quite As It Seems,” showing a girl inspired by one of his favorite artists in the &#x27;90s, The Cranberries, that Cariño priced at P14,000.“I love the &#x27;90s,” admitted Cariño who was born in 2011. “I feel like I wasn’t meant for that time. So my paintings are so niche.“I have an obsession with old music. I love Billy Joel. I love Abba. I love The Cranberries. I love Queen. I love Kiss. I also love The Beatles. I’m going to be honest. I enjoy more the songs from timelines or generations ago, than now.”Cariño was also inspired to paint an Amorsolo-inspired “Mangingisda,” as well as waterfalls in “Serenity” and a peaceful, solitary teacup in “Your Majesty.”“Twins” was about finding people who match your energy. “And how you always want to have someone to be by your side, be it a family member or a friend,” explained Cariño. “Someone who always watch your back.”<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1768794672178Mangingisda.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/> “Mangingisda” </div>The hardest painting that he did was the “Mangingisda,” that took quite a long time to fish. “I couldn’t understand shadows in the water,” he said. “How shallow water works. You see ripples of different colors, with moss algae. That was finished in 2025.”From nature, Cariño sometimes shifts to people when he feels the connection that makes him wants to draw. “When I see scenery, like nature or waterfalls, I switch my subjects,” he said. “Sometimes you see flowers, lakes, rivers and mountains in my paintings.“I did sheep in one of my paintings. I did that because it has a connection with Jesus because he was the shepherd. The Angel, ‘Miraculous Herald,’ was also done last year that came from a near-death experience. I was unmindful of what was I was doing.“Sometimes, I really get into things that I don’t have control of. I want to admit that. Although I don’t do it anymore. I place inedible things inside my mouth and chew it. It’s a bad habit. Sometimes, I nibble my shirt or I fidget with other things. That’s because of my ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder).“I started to chew the plastic cover of the correction tape and I swallowed it. I was choking and I was alone in my bedroom. I was coughing it out inside the toilet and I couldn’t breathe. My face started turning purple and I had blood-shot eyes. I was trying to pray and I heard the sound of trumpets. I’m just happy that my angels were on my side.”That Angel painting was one of Cariño’s hardest works. “That has so much texture and it was also tactile because I added texture in the shadows on the wings,” he pointed out. “How I used colors to make gradients instead of blending them. One stroke each and I had to find and match the color.”The sunflowers took him an hour to finish, the “easiest” for Cariño, which he did in 2023.The last painting Cariño did was “Counting Sheeps,” which he finished in December last year. Beyond the canvass, Cariño’s art is a commitment to social purpose. His first solo exhibition is a benefit for Kalma Art Foundation, an organization that provides art therapy and healing to abused children.“I would like my art to have a deeper meaning and at present, my heart is with those children,” he said.The teenager continues to take workshops for more than four years now. He expresses his desire to take up Architecture when he goes to college.“I also believe in manifestations,” Cariño said. “It’s like honing my craft. One day, I want to see my painting in galleries and museums and they are going to cost millions.”

Predicting Silver Jacinto Cariño would turn to painting when he grows up was a no-brainer for those around him.

Predicting Silver Jacinto Cariño would turn to painting when he grows up was a no-brainer for those around him.

At 14, painter Silver Jacinto Cariño holds first solo exhibit

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At 14, painter Silver Jacinto Cariño holds first solo exhibit

Leah C. Salterio

Published January 19, 2026 01:05 PM PHT

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Updated January 19, 2026 03:35 PM PHT

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Silver Jacinto Cariño

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