“To share these beautiful moments with others is one of the greatest and
most fulfilling benefits of all.”
Born in Ojai, California, Tamara has been painting since she was a child,
inspired by her mother who taught her to closely examine details, really
getting into the corners. She gave Tamara the tools growing up to realize her
potential in any discipline she chose.
In 2016, that ethos led to Tamara launching her career as an artist, moved
by the play of light and shadow on the weathered landscapes around her
adopted Flagstaff, Arizona. Tamara blends her love of adventuring under the
big open skies of Arizona with the joy of being completely in the moment
when painting to influence her work. Her paintings are truly a coming
together of the awe-inspiring beauty of the southwest with the heart of an
explorer.
“As a rock climber and hiker, I spend many of my days in these desert
landscapes with my husband, Pete, my biggest supporter. The years of
exploration, down the endless windy dirt roads, hiking and climbing to never
visited vistas and remote nooks and crannies, make me alive with
adventure. I feel like a true explorer. And it’s a beautiful thing to re-live fond
memories through my paintings.”
Self-taught Tamara primarily uses oil paint applied with a palette knife on
linen or cotton canvasses. She dabbles in mixed media, using color and
texture to enhance the natural rugged beauty of the landscapes.
She paints from photographs, memories, or directly from rapid watercolor or
pen and ink sketches she’s completed when out in the field. She revisits
these areas numerous times to see how the time of day and seasons shift
the hues and alter the depth of the landscape.
In 2021, Tamara was honored to be one of only 10 artists selected to
participate in the prestigious “The Art of Our Photography” exhibition. Given
access to Arizona Highways’ extensive photo archive, the artists were invited
to interpret their chosen photo in their own unique way. The exhibition was
held in Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West in Scottsdale,
Arizona from November 2021 through January 2022.
Tamara has a strong customer base in the US and North America, and her
paintings have found their way around the world, as far away as the United
Kingdom and New Zealand.