My art is often a personal expression of how I am feeling about myself and the world around me or an attempt to create a world in which I want to live. I began pursuing this craft more seriously in 2023 as a way to escape the aftermath of working in healthcare post-pandemic. I had no plans to develop a style or make art for others to see. I simply enjoyed getting lost in what I was doing.
My earliest paintings portray what I think would be an idyllic world, a place where humans and animals lived in harmony. I began painting women with traditionally large or dangerous animals.
I realized my aptitude for painting animals was better than my skill at painting humans and I decided to experiment with loose sketch and watercolor.
A relative gave me the idea of anthropomorphic animals, which combined the human and animal as one.
These animals became part of my absurd tavern scenes that I painted for my own amusement. Here, the bartender is a Lab. Obviously, his bar set up had to be a chemistry set.
The jester started to appear in my paintings, along with other symbolism and themes. Books representing education and growth, and clocks representing the passage of time. I liked my characters to wear either Converse or Doc Martins. Sometimes my characters are barefoot. Historically, going barefoot was a sign of extreme mourning, distress, or penitence.
Skulls represent our mortality and how we all end up the same in the end.
The jester became a symbol of myself, illustrating emotions that I could not otherwise express.
I asked my friends to send me pictures of their favorite animals as a drawing challenge. A lot of them sent their own pets and I began illustrating them and discovering that people were thrilled to see the result.
Sometimes I paint images of a Nordic, Celtic, or Pagan origin to get in touch with my ancient roots.
My mixed-media work combines dip pen, ink, and watercolor, and sometimes gouache—materials that allow for both looseness and unpredictability as well as control and precision. I enjoy experimenting with different media and techniques.
If you have questions, comments, or ideas, write to me at tjaskrenart@gmail.com