Tamara Rendell: Paintings with Meaning

She says that she has been fortunate to have parents who are a creative and eccentric pair. 

They always encouraged and supported the same behaviour in their children.

Paint, plasticine and story books were always close at hand throughout Tamara's childhood. Creative imagination and inspiration were given high value.

She enjoyed art at school and later travelled to France where she lived for a year. 

"My experience of the French culture and the way art imbues the atmosphere of daily life there was a kick-start to my motivation to retain creativity in my life", she says.

Tamara in her studio working on a new painting.

In the photo we see Tamara painting a portrait of the American poet Emily Dickinson.  

"Photographs of Emily show her in black and white, with strict clothing and sternly pulled back patted down hair."

"That head of hair was actually red and I imagine that linking with her wild words and unconventional grammar.

"I plan to paint her words crawling up her arms from the pen in her hand, and making their way into the hair: bright and flying about her head", Tamara explains.

Tamara's personal mission is to allow spontaneity into her work. She finds planning and study invaluable and says this sometimes allows the painting itself to fight back against all her intentions for it and to reveal itself in new and exciting ways.

'Myanmar' . Portrait on canvas - 2012 .

Tamara's portrait 'Myanmar' is inspired by the spirit and bravery of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

It captures the beginning of the freeing of Myanmar that coincided with her release from house-arrest after so many years of separation.

The painting shows the bold, direct style Tamara is using in her paintings at present. Her effective, simple palette adds to the immediacy and impact of what she is saying in her work. I particularly like the strong outlines in the paintings I have seen recently.

When I asked Tamara about what her art and creativity meant to her she replied, "having been born with one hand I appreciate that the 'potential without limits' idea is a part of creativity".

"I think that when you have something in your physical or your biological make-up that you may feel or have felt awkward about - as we all do - it is important to develop confidence with your creativity and what you are bringing from within yourself into this world".

Tamara welcomes commission work and can be contacted at tamararendell@hotmail.com

You can find out more about Tamara's work on http://tamararendell.wordpress.com/

by Pete Morris (July 2012).

Pete Morris is an occasional painter and an artlover. He is a freelance writer who has a particular interest in promoting the visual arts in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.