My Calendar

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TARA WILL-

Art is a conversation between viewer and artist.

 I believe art is one of the few creative pursuits where anyone can participate. For artists, painting is simultaneously a selfish and self-less act. Selfish in that, through the process of creating, we are able to transform emotions like stress, anxiety, or agitation into peace, comfort, and fulfillment. And self-less because the artist can share that product with others.

Over the past 20 years, I have come to understand that my work is less about the finished product and more about the act of creating. It is through the physical act that I am able to transfer energy and emotion into my work. This realization has made me more attentive to movement, mark-making, and color, all of which are things that I love regardless of subject.

I’ve always strived for authenticity in my work and life. Yet there is a constant pressure to conform in this day and age. Initially I felt that pressure to conform. Until one Plein air event, I saw my work among my peers. I was quite uneasy about my work looking so different. That day I quit trying to be someone else and gave myself permission to fail, to not fit in. It set me free. Suddenly, I could focus on what authentically spoke to me. I found subject matter that sparked a sense of joy, intrigue, and wonder in me; I haven’t stopped searching for this since.

These days, what I paint must engage my mind and push my ability so that I’m always learning and processing my surroundings anew. Ultimately, what I paint needs to fulfill and soothe the parts of me that are stressed, or hurt, or in need of stimulation. 

Publications:

February 2022- How to Pastel

January 2021- Southwest Art “Artist to Watch”

Unison Colour Associate Artist

Henri Roche Pastels Featured Artist

Fort Wayne Museum of Art-Paradigm Gallery

Outdoor Painter

Nov 2020 American Art Collector

Education and Experience

2006    BA Visual Art and Philosophy, Mount St. Mary’s University

2022    Eminent Pastellist Status, International Association of Pastel Societies

2022    Juror, Pastel Society of Cape Cod

2020    Washington Society of Landscape Painters

2020    Juror, Pastel Society of Philadelphia 

 

Awards, Exhibition, and Publication

2022 Award of Excellence International Master Circle IAPS

2022 Dakota Pastels Winner Honorable Mention

2021 Artist Choice, 3rd Place 2021 Door County Plein Air

2021 Best use of Color, Olmsted Plein Air

2020 Best in Show, Easton Plein Air

2020 The Pastel Journal, “Touched by the Light” June 

2020 Plein Air Magazine, “Turning up the Volume” April/May 

2020 Lighthouse Plein Air Event

2020 Second Place, Dakota Pastels Quarterly

2020 Artist Focus American Art Collector, September

2020 Museum Collector Award, Fort Wayne IN

2019 Best in Show, Shades of Pastel National show 

2019 Wayne Plein Air Works on Paper Award

2019 Olmsted Park Plein Air Award

2019 Door County Plein Air Honorable Mention

2018 Ellicott City Gino Award

2018 Wayne Plein Air “Plein Air Magazine” Award

2018 Chestertown Plein Air Best in Show, Artists Choice

2018 Brandywine Plein Air Second Place

2018 PASTEL 100 Honorable Mentions, Landscape and Figure

2018 North Carolina Pastel Society, Second Place

2017           Chestertown, MD Plein Air Best in Show, Artists Choice

2017           Wayne Plein Air, Third Place

2017          Dorchester Center for the Arts Plein Air Annual, Third Place

2017          Bucks County Plein Air Merit Award

2017           Int’l Association of Pastel Societies (IAPS) Bronze Award

2017           Ellicott City Plein Air, Third Place

2016           Carroll Arts Council National Juried Show, Second Place

2016           Mountain Maryland Plein Air Quick Draw Competition, First Place

2016           Chestertown Plein Air Competion Quick Draw, Second Place

2016           Cambridge MD Plein Air Quick Draw, First Place

2015           Juried into National Shades of Pastel MPS Show

2015           Solomons Plein Air, Quick Draw, Honorable Mention

2015           Ellicott City Plein Air, Quick Draw, Second Place

2015           Frederick Plein Air, Quick Draw, Second Place

2015           Flag Pond Nationally Juried Show, Second Place