I had a flurry (I’m cracking myself up…just wait) of activity on my blog last week, setting up my home art studio and the studio portion of this website, and then went dark for a week. I was traveling to and from Denver, Colorado, for my other passion, following US Soccer. My family and I went to “The Battle of the Hoth,” a snowy soccer match between the US and Costa Rica in qualifying match for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. If you’d like to know more about our soccer travels, head on over to Soccer Family Style, and follow our adventures there. I’ll be back to work on the house soon, I promise….right after tonight’s game vs Mexico.
Overtasked, Seeking Peace – Hatton House Artist Tanya Keith March 18, 2013
We’ve been working on Hebrew study for my Bat Mitzvah, which I promised to accomplish before Aviva’s on August 15, 2015 (tick tock, tick tock, tick tock) and I’ve been working on incorporating some Hebrew into my work. I love the connection to my ancestors that I feel when I’m studying this ancient language. This canvas was about Shalom (which is what the white letters spell), or peace, and started with the bird that I found in my scraps from when I used to design kids rooms. I was thinking about how hard I used to work at my company, and how sad it made me to be away from my kids. I went through my antique photo file looking for a photo that would fit the painting. I found this lovely bit of a woman, slaving away at the books, and it captured my mood perfectly. Then I flipped it over, and the photo was titled “Overtasked,” I word I just love! It was Beshert…”meant to be” which is my next word to incorporate!
Acrylic and mixed media on 12×12″ canvas, $90 (quintuple chai)
Aviva’s Love – Hatton House Studios Artist Tanya Keith
I spent the afternoon doing abstract art with my daughter, Aviva. We were having artistic disagreements, so on this round, we each did our own canvases. This is what it’s like working with Aviva: a giant ball of great creative energy that can’t be directed. Even when she makes me crazy smearing paint all muddy (on the previous canvas) I love her, and even love how she pushes my creative boundaries (to the brink).
Acrylic on 10×20″ canvas, $100
Paisley Clouds – Hatton House Studios Artist Tanya Keith
I don’t care if it won’t stop snowing, I have Spring on the brain. I’m going to will it to get all green and colorful outside (while I watch the snow fall.)
Acrylic on 12×12″ canvas, $70
Hatton House Studios – Works in Progress
A glimpse of what we’re working on right now, including a fireplace mantle I’m either restoring or selling, since I finally found a Victorian one for our house! I’m debating taking the canvas on the right apart and splitting it into two canvases. Tanya and Aviva were working on it together and it developed a split personality on us! We’ll see how it develops!
Launch – Hatton House Studios Artist Tanya Keith with Aviva
In the midst of my career as a shop keeper, I craved time with my daughter. When I asked what she wanted to do for Spring Break, she said she wanted to have an “art day.” So I booked time in my friends’ studio (before I got my own space at the Hatton House!) and off we went. We each created two pieces on our own, then collaborated on this piece. It was my first big break into abstract (and pallet knives, which I now love), and I don’t know if I would have gotten there without a shove from my daughter.
Acrylic on 54×61″ canvas, Not for Sale
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A progress shot, photo documentation that Aviva is slowly learning it’s OK to be messy as an artist, a lesson taught to me by Caren Raphael, a New York based artist who taught children’s art at my hometown Montclair Art Museum. I was her assistant my senior year in high school. One day, she said “Tanya, you’re a very neat artist.” I said “Thanks.” She said “It’s not a compliment.” We all have important lessons to learn, especially from our early mentors. I’m pretty sure she’d be proud of how far I’ve come, messiness and otherwise.
i carry your heart – Hatton House Studios Artist Tanya Keith
e e cummings’ poem “i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)” written in art pencil in the layers of this work from 2011.
Acrylic and Prismacolor pencil on 20×20″ canvas, $175
Lost in Space…Alien Survival – Hatton House Studios Artist Tanya Keith
Do you ever have pieces of your kids’ clothes that are too cute to part with once they’re outgrown? I loved the fabric in a shirt my daughter outgrew last summer for all it’s funny messages, including the “Alien Survival” bit you see here. It made me smile to think about how aliens might communicate with glass tiles or cool little snips of paint.
Acrylic and mixed media on 12×12″ canvas, $85
Smile…I Love You – Hatton House Studios Artist Tanya Keith with Aviva
This piece started with a day of painting with my 10 year old. I gave her a canvas that I’d painted while I owned my store. I didn’t like it, but couldn’t bring myself to paint over it. She took it and made this lovely design of stripes and hearts, then gave it back to me. I cut out her heart shapes to give them more dimension and clarity. We embellished them with beads I’d saved since my childhood (in little tic tac boxes!) and glitter (there’s never enough sparkle in our world. Then Amy, another Hatton House artist ponied up the handmade “smile” charm, which I painted.
Acrylic and mixed media on 12×12″ canvas, $85
Home Cooked Love – Hatton House Studios Artist Tanya Keith
We were searching for a fireplace when I came across a box of silverware and various household goods that I couldn’t pass up. I’ve been thinking about the impact of our new stove and how much more we are cooking at home. I like how food grounds us and creates a brand of family that’s unique. I knew this piece was finished when I discovered this photo at Second Hand Rose’s shop. On the back was written “Here’s to you (me)” It’s the perfect finish.
Acrylic and mixed media on 12×12″ canvas, $85
Hatton House Diaries 