By Kenneth Adrian S. Alabado

Far Eastern University (FEU) alumna Riva Louise Vicente was hailed as one of the runners-up for the Freelancer.com’s global Valentine’s Day contest with her entry entitled “I Love You Bear-y Much,” making her the only Filipino winner.

Vicente, a Bachelor of Fine Arts major in Advertising Arts graduate, expressed that being a student in FEU, along with her past experiences while in the university, gave her an edge in the competition.

“I think ‘yung pagsali namin noon sa mga various painting contests like Shell and Petron dahil doon it helped me na ma-improve ‘yung skills ko and ‘yung confidence na kahit ‘di ka manalo okay lang kasi you tried your best and nag-enjoy ka (I think my past participation in various painting contests like Shell and Petron [helped] me improve my skills and my confidence that even if you lose, it is still okay because you tried your best and you enjoyed [the experience]),” she shared.

According to her, she drew inspiration from artists on Instagram and Pinterest that have a resemblance to her likeness with “pambata (for a child)” and “cute” art style that can give a feeling of happiness.

“I didn’t expect na makukuha ako as a runner-up since sobrang dami ng sumali then from different countries pa tapos may pa post pa pala online after nung contest. ‘Di rin naman ako ganun kagaling sa digital art compared sa batchmates ko (I didn’t expect that I would be chosen as a runner-up since there were so many who joined from different countries and then there was also a post online after the contest. Also, I am not that good at digital arts compared to my batchmates),” she explained.

The 22-year-old artist stated that it was a matter of luck that she won because she had a struggle with digital arts and her “fortè” is layout. She furthered that she joined multiple times in freelancer contests and this was the first time that she won.

Joining Vicente as a runner-up is a New Zealand neophyte graphic designer Toni Freebairn while the top spot was secured by a United States native, Devon Harrah among 1,300 contestants worldwide.

The competition was a crowd sourcing by Freelancer for the search of “The World’s Greatest Valentine’s Day Greeting Card,” to celebrate Valentine’s Day 2019.