Hello again readers, Friday is here. The sun is shining bright this morning, it's looking like a perfect winters day. I am hoping to spot some elusive whales on the coast here over the weekend, fingers crossed this lovely weather hangs around for a little longer :)
This week it is my great pleasure to introduce to you an artist from one of my favourite regions in WA, meet the very clever creative Tanya Cole of Tanya Cole Arts!
I stumbled across the work of Tanya Cole quite by happy accident and am so glad I did. Her work is just fabulous, her images strong and I hope they resonate with you all as they did with me.
I really enjoyed browsing through her collection of works. Let me share some of my favourites with you now. The first piece is
"Enjoy all your life moments" - this should be a mantra for us all, I really adore this painting!
Next is "Forest Fairies Dreaming" - this piece reminds me of carefree childhood days where you would see magic all around. Sometimes we lose sight of that magic when we "grow up".
Finally, this mixed media work in progress is just so beautiful; don't you agree?
Dear readers, I invite you now to take some time out, put your feet up for a short while and read "The Palette of Tanya Cole Arts". I hope you enjoy this feature as much as I did.
Happy Reading x♥o
The Palette of Tanya Cole Arts
Who is Tanya Cole Arts? I am a Mixed Media Artist, OT and Expressive Art + Wellness Facilitator (Hope Illuminator, Spirit Inspirer + Soul Bloomer); based in Dunsborough, Western Australia.
Tell me about your creative side, how did you get started?
I have always loved the practical aspects of using my hands to mould, make and create. I remember cutting up my dads Emu Export cardboard beer carton to create a two storey house for my barbie doll, with a string-pulley lift inside lol! I also had one of those spirographs that kept me enthralled and fascinated at the shapes that appeared. I'd spend hours sketching my family as they watched TV and loved art classes at school; right up to the end of year 12.
I wanted to and had aimed to do fine arts at uni, however my parents very much encouraged me towards the sciences. I studied Occupational Therapy as it was the only course which had a creative side (I loved woodwork and acrylic design). Fortunately I fell in love with being an OT, as it opened up my heart to give and help and heal. I have specialised in Hand + Upper Limb Rehabilitation, so I got to make thermoplastic splints, melting and moulding, cutting and adhering and adjusting.
I dabbled in my art, painting a few acrylic paintings here and there over the years (mostly when I was inspired by the highly creative places I was living; like in Broome, as well as here in Dunsborough. Once I hit the magical 40 and had completed all of our baby making and birthing; I started to think about what brings me deep joy and contentment (other than my children and of course my hubby).
I knew I had to rekindle, evoke and reunite with my artist within, to give me back my soul nourishment. So almost 3 years ago I passionately got going and haven't looked back. The surprising gift that came from not completing a fine arts degree, is that I didn't have any structure to follow, so I just followed the fire in my belly and the things that got me so inspired that I stayed up all night to pursue.
When I declared myself, a Mixed Media Artist; it was liberating, freeing and joyful, as I was able to incorporate my former love of sewing with painting and drawing (my mother-in-law taught me how to sew ragged quilts and from there I became addicted and started making a lot of hand-made ruffle bum bloomers and art dolls and owls, you can see my old fb page here bubbleandbear.
It has a few of my earlier paintings on it but if you look in photo albums you will see all the sewed items. I stopped using that page after getting spammed and scammed!).I love the freedom MM art provides. It's like a disclaimer…if I get uninspired by creating one way, I can always change things up, learn new techniques and not feel locked in. I'm libran…I have to feel FREE lol!
In addition to my MM art, I am also an Intuitive painter which allows me to incorporate my deep need to help others, to inspire women and young girls to find their happiness and joy in life. I love to create pieces with messages that speak to them, that uplift and open windows flowing to deep personal growth. You can find my current Facebook page here tanyacoleartist. Would love you to come and say a little hello.
What inspires you, what are your current sources of inspiration?
Very often I will be going about my day preparing food for my three boys, or pottering around the house, or in the shower and my mind will drift off to something I discussed with a patient or friend. Some insight from our discussion…their expressed suffering or experience in life and my reflective listening and it will inspire a saying or message that kind of sums up what we talked about.
It ends up being the name of the next painting and then I sit down and start sketching or splashing paint or inks around and a piece transpires with a quote or saying on the painting. It's usually a personal growth insight that I need to harness also, but mostly I feel like if I can share it out there in the world, hopefully it will move someone and help them.
And it does. I often get very moving messages from people expressing how a certain piece has touched their life, or moved them forward in some way in some aspect of their lives. I feel incredibly moved and honoured and excited that my art can reach people like that. It totally is my intention and it totally motivates and inspires me to keep growing and keep creating. I am very much drawn to creating whimsical girls and animals and various aspects of nature.
My three boys inspire me, but in a negative space kind of way lol! They are gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but because the masculine energy is so dominant in our house, I am driven to paint very feminine based paintings with lots of pink! It's weird because I don't see myself as really girly but obviously there is something inside of me needing expression, so I just go with it. I love, love reading and absorbing art magazines and book and having new art supplies arrive to try out and experiment with. The other amazing thing is that my inspiration spikes just before ovulation…totally blows me away how our creativity can ebb and flow in sync with our menstrual cycle.
What mediums do you work with - do you have a favourite ?
Acrylic Paints, Graphite Pencil, Pen, Ink/Stencils + Water Soluble Crayons + Coloured Pencils for detailed shaded faces, paper, fabric, sequins and beads. I love them all!
Do you have a favourite technique?
I love the freedom and the not knowing side to Intuitive painting. Basically, you just get in front of your substrate and start playing with paint and colour and mark making and then something you had absolutely no idea would appear comes to the fore. It is totally captivating and I do believe that the spirit of our ancestors start making themselves known when you are in the zone and start guiding you to find what it is you are needing to express into reality.
It's really quite an enlightening experience. It brings such joy that I want the whole world to experience that joy too and that’s my plan…paint and wine nights with other wondrous women. I have grand plans! :) I love the dancing and the intention setting and meditative process involved in Intuitive painting…it helps keep me on track in how I should be living my life in a much more holistic, healthy and fuller way.
What kind of things do you make, create?
I create large intuitive paintings on canvas, mostly using acrylic and I also do smaller illustrative drawings that I then turn into mixed media pieces; often on canvas but sometimes onto wood or canvas board.
Do you have a favourite piece that you have created ?
I love the journey I went on when I created 'Hope. Believe. Embrace'. It's quite a sentimental and symbolic piece for me, so I chose to keep it in my private collection. I was very surprised when I came out of the zone (painting trance), as the painting evolved very quickly and I was surprised to see what was there. It was definitely something deep within, that was in a rush to be expressed before my ego mind squished that lovely nowhere~everywhere space I was fortunate enough to be inhabiting.
I also drew/created a whimsical girls face of a family friend for her commission piece 'I am with you' (pictured at the top of this post). I love that I captured a little bit of the essence of her. She is just love and light and has those squinty eyes that smile. I see her when I look at it, so I that’s my favourite face so far.
There is also a meaningful bunny piece I drew around Easter. I was kind of contemplating the deeper meaning of that time for my kids sake and created it when I was deep in feeling~thought.
It's called 'The Hare That Cared'.
I haven't done anything with it yet but plan to incorporate it into a mixed media piece. I keep thinking of it, so I know I will come back to it at some stage.
What are your future plans,dreams,aspirations ?
Ooh! I have many future plans, dreams and aspirations. I plan to keep consistently building my business, learning, persisting with the bits that aren't so compelling to engage in (structured paperwork stuff), I plan to develop 'how to' videos on tips and techniques, run small workshops for women, as well as teenage girls. I plan to bring my OT into it a lot more and provide 1:1 counselling with art expression to help people deal with such things as depression, eating disorders, life events, life dissatisfaction, growth and personal evolvement.
I dream of building a big mezzanine level in the kids playroom, to become a larger studio where I can run my paint, wine ~ with ~women nights and paint to my hearts content. I dream of doing my first solo exhibition in an art gallery. I dream of painting becoming my full-time love~job. I dream of being published in art magazines, of publishing a book and hopefully one day, offering online classes. I dream of connecting with my community and bringing the love of creativity to shine in everyone's lives…particularly kids, those who are suffering and the heart + mind locked-down people. I aspire to being a better artist every year. I aspire to my art making shifts in peoples lives for the positive. I aspire to healing the world and our planet. I've got a lot to do! :)
Do you have any exhibitions or markets coming up?
I currently have some of my artwork exhibited at a local winery The Growers Handcrafted Wines (thegrowerswine). Phil and Doreen who run the winery are just gorgeous and the wines are divine! Phil is a tremendous supporter of art and artists. I am also hoping to exhibit at Clancy's in Dunsborough again this year and will be entering the Vasse Art Awards once again and hopefully other nationwide art competitions. I am also currently in negotiation with a local Tearoom, to start putting some prints and smaller, originals in their shop. I will be taking a break from commission paintings for a few weeks, so that I can immerse myself in creating a body of work for exhibit. Very exciting times and I'm excited!
Thanks so much for this opportunity to share with you Samara and your readers of your blog. In writing this, it helps crystallise a lot of hopes and dreams for me. Best wishes and happy creating.
X Tanya
Here are some other places to view Tanya Cole Arts:
Website:
