Latest Studio Happenings

I'm happy to say that so far, 2016 has started out very pleasantly. Currently, five of my soft pastel paintings have been juried into area shows! The Pastel Society of North Carolina's Winter Exhibition at Ambleside Gallery in Greensboro is on exhibit until February 27, and I have two paintings there.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Live Fearlessly - soft pastels on Richeson Premium Board 5" x 7"

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - The Poetry of the Earth - soft pastels on Sennelier La Carte Pastel Card 5" x 6"

From February 24 through April 23, the Fine Arts League of Cary Annual Juried Art Exhibition will be on display at Page-Walker Art and History Center in Cary, where I will have one pastel hanging. The Opening Reception will be Sunday, February 28, from 2 to 4 p.m.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Touch the Sky - soft pastels on Pastel Premier 10" x 13"

And finally, March 4 through 26, Tipping Paint Gallery in Raleigh is hosting their Spring Forward Juried Show, where I will have two pastels on exhibit. The opening reception for this show will be Friday, March 4 from 6 to 9 p.m.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Windows of My Soul - soft pastels on Canson Mi-Tientes 8" x 10"

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - If First We Dream - soft pastels on Richeson Premium Board 8" x 10"

Hopefully this momentum will carry on at least for a while! And if you're in the area, would love to see you at the receptions.

Why I Paint What I Paint

Recent conversations with some artist friends about inspiration, styles and methods ignited my own questions personally about why I paint what I do and what prompts my choices of subjects, painting sizes and so on. So I figured I'd post about it, mainly just thinking out loud, but also in case anyone ever wonders. ;-)

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - As Long as Life Lasts - soft pastels on Ampersand Pastelbord 8" x 10"

I used to think I just painted things I thought were pretty and used whatever surfaces I had available. But on deeper inspection, I realized I do consciously and purposefully select not only my specific subject matter but also the specific sizes and surfaces I use, and it’s become clear to me that it’s much more than just random choices.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Give Peace a Chance - soft pastels on Richeson Premium Board 8" x 10"

With regard to the sizes of my works, they are small. Some artists would even call them “minis”, as I tend to be most comfortable painting in the 4x6 to 9x12 range. I used to think the main reason for that was due simply to ease of storage of smaller works, especially those requiring glass when framing like the pastels I do. Or the reduced intimidation factor of a smaller surface. But on really thinking about it, I believe there is more to it than that. I’ve always watched in dismay as our society has focused so much on the “more, more, MORE” and “bigger is better” mindset. Perhaps my resistance to “painting bigger” has something to do with wanting to show that small things have meaning too and can even be quite intricate, even though they are often overlooked in the never-ending societal quest for More.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - For the Love of Nature - soft pastels on Pastel Premier Paper 5" x 5"

Subject matter is another issue that on first glance belies its deeper meaning. Yes, I paint pastoral landscapes, a seemingly benign and typical subject. But on closer inspection, you’ll notice it’s very rare to see any architecture or manmade structures in my works, and rarer still to find any human figures in them, if at all. That is not by accident. Although I’m not naïve nor jaded, and I do believe the world is full of kind, compassionate and wonderful people, all one has to do is watch five minutes of world news to see what a heart of darkness so many of our species have toward one another, animals, and even the earth itself. My landscapes are painted as an homage to Mother Nature and envision a world sans the destructive forces of man, with scenes welcoming the viewer in as the first one to see them. These are quiet works, speaking with more of a whisper than a shout. There seems to be so much noise in the world already, with everyone and everything screaming constantly, so I find that I’m drawn to paint a quieter, softer, calmer world, the kind of world I want to see.  

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Windows of My Soul - soft pastels on Canson Mi-Tientes Paper 8" x 10"

And on that note, I’ll leave things with one of my favorite quotes from the immortal Bob Ross who best stated my overall purpose in painting: "That's why I paint. It's because I can create the kind of world I want, and I can make this world as happy as I want it."

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Lost in the Melody- soft pastels on Richeson Premium Board 9" x 12"

Art of the Carolinas

I got a call a couple of weeks ago from an artist friend here in town, asking me if I'd be willing to be the pastel demo artist for Art of the Carolinas, the annual art expo hosted by Jerry's Artarama. As I always take my vacation during AOC, I was already off work that week so agreed to do it. Once the date grew closer, I began to get quite nervous - What was I going to paint for the demo? Would I be able to answer questions about process and materials satisfactorily? Am I good enough to even be doing this??

Before I knew it, Friday morning had arrived and I was at the Hilton setting up my booth. For that first day, my booth mate was a very experienced painter, Dick Ensing, so I was initially a bit intimidated and worried about my serious lack of experience at less than three years painting compared to his lifetime as an artist. Dick was very friendly and engaging, however, so I soon relaxed, and the fact he was demoing oil paints gave me something interesting to watch during my less busy periods too. Being the first day of the expo, Fridays are always a madhouse and this year was no exception. This turned out to be a good thing, though, as I was too busy to worry about much of anything other than talking to people about art and doing a little painting as well. My first demo was a 9 x 12 soft pastel.

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - One Touch of Nature - soft pastels on Sennelier La Carte Pastel Card 9" x 12"

Throughout the day, I got to talk with so many interesting people, along with a lot of my artist friends who were kind enough to stop by my booth during their shopping, and it was a blast watching people try pastels for the first time. I think many folks had no idea how much fun this medium is until they tried it, and it was wonderful seeing those big smiles break across their faces as they played with the soft pastels and the oil pastels - and more than a few headed straight over to buy their own starter sets of pastels and surfaces!

Saturday was a little slower, and I was delighted to see some of the same people stop back by my booth to let me know they had either taken a pastel workshop or signed up for one, and were having loads of fun. I enjoyed talking with more new folks as well as having additional artist friends come by and visit, and managed to turn out three mini demos Saturday. My booth mate for Saturday and Sunday was one of the regular staff at Jerry's who has helped me with my shopping in the store many times prior, Greg Halloran. Greg was demoing oil paints and created some very intriguing paintings with the help of any visitors to the booth he could persuade to pick up a brush and join him!

After the two long days on Friday and Saturday, Sunday was a little shorter and quite a bit less busy, so I actually had time to do a little shopping of my own, picking up some pastel paper and several frames during my break. But I still got another mini demo done, and even had a pencil artist stop by who had never tried oil pastels but wanted to see if he could do a painting with them. He ended up painting a lovely little snow scene which I had him sign and take home to keep. I don't have a picture of that one, but I did put four of the little minis I did over the weekend on my easel all together for a "group photo".

© 2015 Tammy Kaufman - Clockwise from top left: Quietude, oil pastels on Ampersand Gessobord; Listening, oil pastels on Richeson Premium; Melodious Thoughts, soft pastels on Richeson Premium; The True Nature of Things, soft pastels on Richeson Premium - all 5" x 7"

It was an honor to be part of Art of the Carolinas as a demo artist, and I am forever grateful to Kimberlee Maselli, Ophelia Staton, Sharon DiGiulio and everyone else responsible whose name I may have missed, for providing me this opportunity. I'd also like to extend my gratitude to Jerry's Artarama as well as their vendors who make the event such a success year after year.