Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamara Wood.
Tamara, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
Raised in the High Desert on a working Quarter Horse ranch, I have always been outside, up close and personal with nature. My Dad, being an educator, made sure that we experienced life. My education kept me connected to science and nature, and I chose subjects to study that kept me grounded to my amazing childhood. After I earned a BS in Biology/Wildlife Management, I continued my education in Emergency Medical Services and became one of the first women Paramedics in CA. I have since raised a family of 3 children and travel extensively with my husband. I have always admired art but never had considered being part of the art world as I could not even draw stick figures. I was given a paintbrush and a set of oils as a gift and discovered that I didn’t need to know how to draw, but just see contrast and value and translate it to canvas. What has developed since that day 12 years ago has surprised even me. I can enjoy my childhood again, the smells of the earth and the textures of the ranch life. I can paint to my hearts’ content landscapes, seascapes, and wildlife. I have realized that each step is a journey, and there is always another step if one is willing.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I mainly paint in oils on linen canvas, small to very large sizes in a style that is Realism with a “hint” of Impressionism. I am drawn to nature from Landscapes to Wildlife and Seascapes. I work from my own photography or with permission from friends and family’s photos.
I enjoy the process of studying the photo, figuring out the perfect composition and executing a texture-filled, somewhat detailed painting. As every artist known to man does, I too am always asking what can I do different or what can I do better. It is not the final product that is important to me, but the question, “Can I encourage the viewer to experience my journey that I took getting here”? The canvas I create is dear to me and was painted with love and hours of studio time. Sending the art home with someone who is attached at an emotional level with it is everything to me as the artist. I enjoy commissions of all sizes and subjects. I am thrilled to say that my art is in homes from France to Beverly Hills.
Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
I believe there are two challenges for me as an artist. One: Keeping fresh and exciting work in front of me which requires always looking at life as a composition. How can I share this one moment from my timeline with the world so it is recognized as the beautiful memory that has been made or will be made. Two: Marketing my own art. Getting my images out into cyberspace is a challenge, especially for an artist who lives to create and has no background in technology. The art world is changing, and the brick and mortar Galleries are getting scarce. It is a balancing act to encourage the would-be collector to actually walk into a Gallery and enjoy not only the image but the brush strokes and textures involved in creating the art.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
People can see my work several ways. I have a website, artofTamarawood.com
Also a Facebook site, facebook.com/artoftamarawood/
And Instagram, www.instagram.com/artoftamarawood/
My art is currently at the Quorum Gallery, 374 North Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach CA 92651
Contact Info:
- Website: artofTamarawood.com
- Phone: 909-631-1199
- Email: Tamaramwood123@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/artoftamarawood/
- Other: quorumgallery.com/collections/112407
Image Credit:
Photo credits : All original oils painted from several sources with Permission:
Personal photography
Imagine Kids Museum, Victor Valley CA
Douglas Love, long time friend
Ann Vineyard, long time friend
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