Hi Tereza. First of all, we would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
Hi there. I am a painter, and I use realism to tell stories about the pressures of motherhood and childhood. I paint young beauty queens in ruffle dresses with sparkly crowns, and I thoroughly love all the little fashion I see this way. I live and create in Oxford UK. I have children of my own who inspire my paintings a lot.
When and how did you start painting?
I started painting when I was very young. It’s my oldest hobby, something I have been drawn to ever since I can remember. Though, when I got given my first kiddy paint set under the Christmas tree as a two-year-old, I exclaimed that it must be makeup. Glad it wasn’t. My parents still have my rendition of a snow owl from a Zoo using those paints. I was about 4 when I painted that.
What do you tell in your pictures?
Usually, there are stories about the inner world of a child wearing a beautiful dress. Backhandedly they are stories about motherhood, people pleasing, and social pressures to look and feel a certain way.
Which art movements were you influenced by when you started painting?
Realism, abstract expressionism, impressionism. When I was 19, I remember first coming across the work of Jakub Schikaneder, and I still love it.
Which art movement or movements do you feel close to right now?
It hasn’t changed much. The individual artists I admire may have changed, but the styles I admire have not. Not drastically. I still like stalking Egon Schiele’s backgrounds.
What are you inspired by when painting?
I’m inspired by other artists, my children, people in general and day-to-day events. It varies from painting to painting, but an artist’s work is often a bit of a diary. The other day I realized I could tell which season each painting was painted in because of the colour choices.
What do you do besides painting?
My young children keep me fairly busy. So I look after them and paint, and I consider myself very lucky if I have time to read. I also teach realism painting, mainly through online courses.
Do you have any projects that you plan to realize?
Yes. I am finishing a third in a series of paintings for the LA Art Show with Arcadia Contemporary Gallery. Next up, there will be more of these paintings with ruffle dresses and sparkly crowns, but the new ones will vary in size. Each image features a different dress and crown, which I am excited to paint.
https://www.terezabarnard.com/
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