MANILA, Philippines — With her numerous endorsements, billboard ads and TV shows, who wouldn't want to be in Heart Evangelista's shoes?
But Heart isn't nearly satisfied with being labeled as just an "artista."
A few years ago, Heart ventured into the art industry. Backed with her passion for painting and determination to establish who she really is—Love Marie, a visual artist—she has already had a total of four sold-out solo art exhibits and has successfully conducted her first ever gala fashion show with designer Mark Bumgarner.
Asked why she uses the name "Love Marie" in all her exhibits rather than Heart, "The art industry is a totally different world, and to be appreciated in that different world is what matters to me. I feel more accomplished when I use Love Marie than Heart," she said in a recent interview with Philstar.com.
"Heart is tied with a lot of controversies, a lot of heartbreaks in show business. With 'Love Marie' who I really am in the real world. I feel more free, I feel more clean. I feel like people don't judge me, and that is why I shy away from being Heart when it comes to my painting," she added.
According to the 30-year-old artist, pursuing her career in painting is not as easy as people might expect.
"Its really hard. You can't just look pretty and say 'I am painting.' They won't look at your face, they would look at your painting for hours," she explained.
Heart admitted that up to this day a lot of people would raise their eyebrows and say, "reaaaalllyy?" Nevertheless, she uses criticism to spur her to keep going.
"Somebody once told me that every year, you should just have one exhibit every year, until you get old and one day people will recognize your hard work. So yes, I will do that," Heart said.
"You know that feels different. Everytime you accomplish an exhibit. So whether they like it or not, I will continue to paint. If there's anything I can promise is that I'm gonna paint till the last breath," she added.