Thursday, Jul. 29 2010 6:38PM
Q&A with artist Tina Garrett
Julie Scheidegger, Journal Staff
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ReprintThe exhibit, “Women of Lee’s Summit,” by Tina Garrett features hand-painted soft pastel portraits on display from July 29-Oct. 27 at the Gamber Center, 4 S.E. Independence Ave., Lee’s Summit. The exhibit is presented by the Lee’s Summit Arts Council. When did you first start drawing? What drew you to it?
I’ve been making art for as long as I can remember, very young. Honestly, drawing especially was a way for me to play make believe. I used to draw pictures of myself on stage singing, or living in a mushroom house high on a cliff above the sea. It is a great way to transport myself out of reality and into hopes and dreams.
Why do you work with soft pastels and your fingers? How is it different than using a brush, pencil or pen?
For the Gamber exhibit, I worked with soft pastel mainly because the finished product is most like what you would see in a museum type exhibit. It was important to me to make the work as close to museum quality as I could and for me I’m better capable of making the pastel translate the image in my head than I am with any paint or brush. As a professional illustrator, I use whatever media the end product requires from a pencil to the computer.
Why did you choose to do portraits of women? Specifically, everyday women of Lee’s Summit?
I’ve never felt more at home than I do here in Lee’s Summit. A large part of that is due to the women I know, some featured in these paintings. They are beautiful, not just outwardly, but they laugh beautifully and/or they’re clever or know just what to say when you’re down. And what is even more wonderful is the people featured in the Gamber Center exhibit are just a small sampling of the women I know and love. I’m fortunate enough to say that if I took the time to paint all the great women in my world it would take my lifetime.
How challenging is it to capture a subject’s mannerisms and character in a portrait?
I can’t say that I’ve succeeded in that. Most of these paintings haven’t been seen by the subjects or their families yet. I’d like to ask them if they think I’ve succeeded in capturing their character.
How do you choose a subject?
For the Gamber exhibit I started with the women closest to me, Trisha Drape and Leslie Green, and worked my way through my book club friends and so on trying to think of the whole exhibit and what it needed in order to feel complete. Time, unfortunately did play a factor in whose painting I was able to complete. What is the relationship like between you and your subjects? Do they sit for a portrait?
It would take multiple sittings and a controlled lighting environment to paint a portrait from life. I don’t know a woman today that has time to sit for a portrait. The paintings are made from a photograph that I or someone in the subject’s family has taken. But now that you mention it, I may ask my daughter to tough through sitting for a portrait.
Where do you paint and what do you prefer the environment to be like when you work?
I paint in the studio in my home. My husband has made a beautiful sunny spot for me. I love to listen to audio books and every type of music while I work. I like the occasional interruption when someone pops in and asks ‘how’s it going,’ but I hate when the cat jumps up and threatens to run his tail across the clay board.
How long does it take you to complete a portrait from start to finish?
The fastest time out of these dozen pieces was 15 consecutive hours for the portrait of Edie Dozier. The portrait of 5-year-old Ava took the longest. It took four weeks.
Do you have a favorite portrait? Why?
That is like asking if I have a favorite child. I put so much of myself into each one of them, I couldn’t choose a favorite, but I can say my self-portrait is my least favorite.
What will you begin working on next?
First, it’s important that I have balance, or as my husband would say, a pay check. So, by the grace of my publisher clients, I’ll be getting back to work on my next freelance project which will give my hands a chance to rest and my mind a chance to think in another direction and then come back to the painting with something to give.
To reach Journal reporter Julie Scheidegger, call 816-282-7016 or e-mail jscheidegger@lsjournal.com.
