About Tessa
My creative journey began way back in Africa where I spent my early years, for as far back as I can remember I drew, painted, and observed, with curiosity and wonder at all that that continent had to offer, where the land was vast, and nature fed my soul. My personal creative voice took hold later in the UK, when I joined an artists' cooperative, I began my art practice, and ran a gallery jointly with 2 other artists in Cumbria. My desire to learn and push beyond the comfort zone led me to study under several leading artists, most recently under the guidance of renowned contemporary artist Nicholas Wilton. I completed the Creative Visionary Program 2020, and am currently an active member of the Art2Life Academy. My work is to be found in private collections across the world, and I am currently represented in several galleries in Cumbria. I am excited about the direction my new work is taking, and excited to share it with you!
Artists statement
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My life up to now has been a process of constant discovery and exploration, directed by wonder and curiosity at all the beauty that surrounds me. My many adventures climbing and walking among the planet's wildest places, among raw rugged landscapes, has built up for me a legacy of experience and memories that I try to recreate in my work. Above all I search to express a feeling - fear, awe, wonder, delight - to create art that moves and resonates with the viewer.
I work in series, that is several pieces at a time, building up layers following initial play and experimentation. Leading with curiosity, my paintings evolve through a process of exploration, experience and interpretation. I try to 'get out of my way' and open up to what is within ,to let the painting guide me, watching for clues as to where it might lead, so the outcome is unknown until the end. Staying open and loose, keeping the energy and excitement of the first layers, it is an organic and intuitive process, finely balanced, as in a dance, between intuition and sensitive analysis to bring a painting to its completion. My life as an artist can be likened to the path of a comet, my work being the arc of the comet, souvenirs of my journey, and I moving forward, open to change and directed by wonder, in curiosity and exploration.
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"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where others see nothing"
Camille Pisarro