Charina Cabanayan

Hello! My name is Charina and I am a fashion designer by training. I hold a BFA in Fashion Design from the California College of the Arts and created my own designer label and boutique shortly after matriculating from university. In 2008, I experienced existential crisis, and in combination with the financial markets crashing, decided to shutter the doors to my shop and leave the fashion industry behind. The past 10 years I changed careers and pursued teaching yoga full time. After the birth of my third child in 2017, I felt a creative surge and the fire to illustrate and paint was renewed. A creative force has driven me to return to paper, pencil and paint and birth memories, stories, visions and dreams into a visual narrative.

I feel I have come full circle while being re-birthed, especially in this time of the pandemic. My work is influenced by the experiences I had working as a fashion designer, but also in yoga and the travel I have done over the past decade. Thank you for reading about me and I hope you enjoy my portfolio!