MANILA, Philippines - Writer-painter Migs Villanueva opens her first solo show dubbed as “The First Ages” at 6 p.m. on September 21 at Galerie Francesca on the 4th level of SM Megamall. It will run until Oct. 5. For this exhibit Migs explores a theme that is close to her heart – children.

The youngest of eight children with 15 years between her and her eldest sister, Migs had no playmates her age. Mostly she hung around with her sisters who were heavily into books and music. Cooped up inside the house, she fell into the habit of daydreaming. She created fantasies in her mind then wrote them down and illustrated them in “secret notebooks.” A sister gifted her with her first sketchpad when she was 12.

But these twin pursuits were momentarily interrupted in college. She wanted to take up fine arts or creative writing, but her parents advised her that these were impractical choices. So she studied psychology then did corporate work eventually becoming CEO in a manufacturing company. She wrote and sketched at lunch break or in the car on the way to work. “I’d be reading or imagine myself painting all the time,” she says.

The turning point came in 1996. With the rush of crimes in the country, she moved to the US with her family. She stayed there with her children and her husband shuttled back and forth between the US and Manila where he continued to manage the family business. This put a strain in their relationship. They separated when the family returned to the Philippines. To cope, Migs turned to writing verses and illustrating them.

In 1997, she went back to school to take up creative writing and attended a workshop with Fernando Sena and other personal tutors to learn the basic techniques of painting. “But as soon as I learned the basic (rules), I started to break them,” she says.

The exhibit will run until October 5 at Galerie Francesca on the 4th level of SM Megamall, Bldg. A.