2010

Feb. 27   Plein Air Event - Chadds Ford Historical Society,    Wet paint sale 5 - 7 pm. Show continues through March 19
Feb. 6 - 28 Abstract Show, Bishop Stock Gallery, Snow Hill, Md.
Feb. 6 - 28 Abstract Show, Ocean City Art League, Md.
Feb. 12 - 14 - Cancelled due to weather Lewes Historical Society, Lewes Ferry Terminal
March 4 - 28 The Art of Jazz, GoggleWorks, Reading, Pa.
April 11 - 25 Membership Show, BAA, Reading, Pa.
April 16 - 18 Paint Snow Hill, Md.
May 7 - 16   Immaculata University Art Show
May 7 - 7 Plein Air Rehoboth
July - Annual Longport Show
August 14,15,21,22 Rehoboth Art League Outdoor Show
Sept. 3 - Oct. 4 The Garden and the Sea Redux, Rehoboth Art League
Oct. 6 - 8 Paint Onancock, Va.

It's final! I've moved my 11 year Rt. 1 location to my new home studio. There is a sadness in closing that chapter but new opportunities and refreshed dreams are now possible. I am so thankful for this experience. It  has been the best meeting all of you and sharing life and painting ideas. An ocean full of thanks for your thoughts, support, encouragement, and patronage for all these years!

I look forward to your visit to my new studio and as always, wishing your sand in your shoes and joy in your heart!

      I am an explorer, inventor, and discoverer. I love the journey and not knowing where it will lead. I am so excited to be alive at this time in history where anything is possible. After moving from my studio of 10 years, I am again reinventing my dream. I love painting en plein air where I try to capture the immediacy, majesty, and awe of nature. I love working in the studio where greater color, texture, and surface exploration is possible.

     I grew up with the New Jersey boardwalks of Atlantic City, Ocean City, and Wildwood in my backyard and began my art career painting seasonal themes on boardwalk store windows.  I received a B.A. from Chestnut Hill College and teacher certification from Kutztown University.   I am a signature member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society and continue to participate in many solo and group exhibitions.

     I love teaching and consider myself both an artist and teacher. I blend my love of travel and teaching by conducting workshops to France, Italy, Ireland, England, and Switzerland and also teach in my studio in Bethany.  

                              Recent Juried/Invitational Exhibitions

Paint the Cape - Cape Coral Florida - 1st Place
Paint Onancock - Artists Choice
Rittenhouse Square Fine Fine Arts Annual – 2nd Place – Watercolor
Pennsylvania Watercolor Society – Signature Member
Immaculata University Art Show
Philadelphia Watercolor Society
N.J. State Juried Show – 1st Place Watercolor, Honorable Mention
Philadelphia Sketch Club
South Jersey Art Show
Yellow Springs
Reading Community College
Perkiomen Valley Juried Exhibition – Harleysville National Bank Award
Wyomissing Institute of Fine Arts
Lebanon Heritage Days – Purchase Award
Trump Plaza
Perkins Juried Watercolor Show
Lehigh Valley Art Show
Berks Art Alliance – Purchase Awards
Ocean City Juried Show
Scenic River Days – Purchase Award

Art Teacher Certification - Kutztown University

Pope Pius X H.S. - Art - Fresh. & Sophomores - 3 years

Wyomissing Institute of the Arts - 10 years - All levels of watercolor - beginning - advanced

European & Mexican Travel Workshops 15 years - present. 10 - 14 day painting excursions

Kripalu Yoga Center - 2009, 2010 - Express your Personal Vision Through Painting: Focus on the journey of finding and expressing your vision with acrylic paints. You will learn the language of art and the tools and skills of basic painting techniques, color theory, and composition. You will record your art-making process and document your artistic growth by using a visual sketchbbook for personal exploration and expression. The Kripalu experience is desgined to engage your body, quiet themind, and nourish your artistic spirit.

Tara's 3 Day Workshops - 8 years - Ongoing

Brush-up, Beginners, and You've never painted with acrylics  
   This class is designed for all of the above. Bring a smile, comfortable shoes, old clothing and a willingness to try everything! We will explore some basic painting techniques, paint mixing, and color theory while we paint merrily for 3 days!
   
Painting Abstractly with Paint, and Collage  
   Three days of non-stop fun layering line, paint, and collage while we approach abstract painting through composition and the abstract expressionists.  We will be making choices by responding to intuition, improvisation, and developing your own personal color choices while we integrate collage papers and paint. Some painting experience is necessary!

Surface Complexity & Seductive Surfaces
   Three days of building the surface of both canvas and paper using various support textures, collage,and using various non traditional tools while working towards developing your own content. Be prepared for lots of not knowing and great fun! Previous painting experience necessary!

The New Color Wheel and Creative Color
   We will work with Robert Burridge’s new color wheel with personal adjustments and translate your sketches from home or travel into creative, inventive, and dynamic new paintings. You must have your own sketches and you must have some painting experience!
   
Painting Abstractly with Paint, and Collage  
   Three days of non-stop fun layering line, paint, and collage while we approach abstract painting through composition and the abstract expressionists.  We will be making choices by responding to intuition, improvisation, and developing your own personal color choices while we integrate collage papers and paint. Some painting experience is necessary!

Reinventing the Still Life
   We will work on translating the still life into a more abstract, inventive, and dynamic painting with emphasis on line, shape, composition and inventive color. We will work with paint, surface complexity, and collage. Previous painting experience is necessary!

Plein Air Painting
                On location painting will focus on developing dynamic composition and inventive color. We will work in our sketchbooks for great ideas and then translate the sketch into a painting! This is perfect if you have always wanted to paint outdoors in your own style! Some painting experience is necessary!

    On the eve of great changes and what may be possible by dreaming the dream, I am reminding you to think seriously about what you would like to do artfully this winter. This is the perfect time to dream and commit  to a long term goal or personal change, a why not, or what if or I've always wanted to. Dream BIG or small but we will hold you accountable.  If you'd like to participate....just email me in paragraph form and we will check-in in @early April and see how it is going. Some ideas….working with figures, getting a painting group together, making richer surfaces, the ideas and possibilities are endless and this is the perfect time…just thinking about new intentions, inventions, and  endless possibilities  gets my energy level up!
        I have posted those that I have received so far on my website under  the heading of News and Events www.tarasstudio.com . Check them out and get going. More ideas are great for new dreams and goals!  Email me your commitment then start making it happen! If you have a friend who would like to do this, please invite them! It doesn't HAVE to be art goals!

Happy BEST new year yet to all of you!

Here they are so far!


My plan is to "stop the noise." Until we stop the noise in our heads and our lives we cannot listen, we cannot be open to receive. The first order of business in my new life is to cut the cancerous spin of thoughts caused by the Goggleworks. I have moved my stained glass shop home and will be moving all my painting studio back to my home where all is peace, love, and quiet by the end of February. I am offering private stained glass classes with session hours ameanable to both my student and myself. No more rigid hours, just a give and take of valuable leisure hours to quiet our minds and get to the task at hand, which for me is to create beauty such that will cause an eye and a mind to rest but a bit, therefore open to receive, then I am doing my job for the universe. We are bombarded with mindless distractions of insidious design. Games? Reality TV/ (Certainly not my reality, nor should it be yours to find entertainment at the expense of another human beings condition of life) the persersion of sexual images to sell anything from tires to deodorant.
     Since I have moved my glass studio home, I have created many many beautiful pieces that are mindful of the necessity of agricultural preservation. Most are indicative of tree lines and fence rows. In order for a soceity to sustain we must change the meaning of "highest and best use". Tree lines and fence rows aren't just wood and paper products, they aren't just more space to build cathedrals to ourselves, they are a necessary landscape feature in agriculture that provides refuge for small animals, prevents the erosion of precious topsoil and a filter area for pure water, the most valuable necessity for life.
     Once my painting supplies return home, I will offer one on one tutelage in my style of painting. By staying closer to home I reduce my personal carbon footprint on this earth. I make a refuge for myself and my loved ones that only the like-minded are invited to share. Therefore I will raise my consciousness and vibrate higher to bring forth a new world.
KAREN LESNIAK
I AM GRATEFUL TO BE ASKED TO SHARE THIS WITH ALL OF  YOU.



I plan on moving my painting from the back burner to the front burner this winter by creating a dedicated painting/art area in my home, by going to weekly art workshops near where I live, by painting at home on a regular basis, by surrounding myself with "artful" people who have similar goals, by making painting a priority. To do this, I also plan to use the photographs I have from foreign travel, as inspiration. A bigger goal I also want to work toward is entering one or more of my paintings in local art shows. Linda-Linda


My goal is to work consistently every week to produce quality work.  The outcome that will demonstrate whether I have met this goal will be an expanded body of quality work.
This goal is very important to me because, I get distracted by so many things and end up taking long breaks between painting cycles.  Painting for me is like playing a musical instrument.  The longer I stay away from it, the longer it takes me to warm up to quality work. That's my goal and the rational behind it. Ursula


I will have at least 10 paintings with complex surfaces. ... Working toward a smaller format. I will spend approximately 3 hours/day painting or drawing--diligence. I will hang a new show at Pearmund Cellars each month--finish, frame and exhibit. I will work towards a new comfort with drawing and painting the figure. I will rework my web site to make it fresh and reflect my best work. Linda


Okay!  Here are my goals for at least the first three months of 09:
work on contour drawing
explore textures in acrylic collages
just finish the damn thing! Morgan

After a 6-week hiatus while we had the innards of the house painted, I am BACK (!) in my studio!  The contour drawing is still waiting to be done, I have been exploring some really cool surfact textures with collaged textures, acrylic mediums and webbing spray; and I have finished about 16 (mostly small) of the niggling paintings that have been hanging about the studio.  I can't say that they are Superb Paintings, but they are finished, and I have learned a great deal from them.


Well- my first goal is just to paint. This has been a very difficult year for me. My husband of 22 years told me he didn't love me and abruptly left. My two sons went off to college a week later and I was alone for the first time in 22 year. I'm finding my footing again and can finally see a life without him. Anyway- I haven't been painting so I just want to paint. I want to paint from my heart and soul. Developing
my spiritual side has helped tremendously. Beyond that- I don't know. I have to see where life takes me. Rose


- to paint at least 4 days a week
- to visit a museum or gallery at least once a month
- paint a series, paint another series
- learn to say "No."  ie stop volunteering my time into frustrating oblivion
- update my own artist bio,statement and of course portofolio
- learn how to download photos from camera to computer and then to send
- begin an internet presence ( besides inhalant awareness)
- take a workshop with someone new
- join the Torpedo Factory in Va.
- do more yoga, journaling and meditating
- worry less......Trust more
- paint from the heart  Janna


I have just set up a dedicated, organized space for doing art in my home.
Now all I have to do is go there and paint! So, my first goal is to JUST
SHOW UP at least 10 hours per week. My second goal is to use some of the
wonderful photos I took in Eastern Europe last fall as a springboard for my
work in the months ahead. Third, to explore how I might combine my writing
with my artwork. Penny



-More plein air painting

-Figure painting in acrylic, with model and work on European people painting with contrast and value.
-Abstract in acrylic and mixed media. Connie