Tara Leaver | Richly textured mixed media paintings

Artist Tara Leaver works in mixed media, layering papers, textures, paint and words to create rich and colourful canvasses. Over to Tara:

Deep

I am largely self taught, since completing a foundation course in Fine Art in London in 2000. I have been painting and drawing since childhood, always experimenting with different techniques and materials alongside my day jobs. Moving to Brighton from London in 2008 marked a turning point for me creatively, and has led to me producing enough work to start putting it ‘out there’. I continue to study the work of other artists and sometimes like to take classes in all kinds of disciplines from silk screen printing to pottery to life drawing, all of which help to inform my work as it develops.

Don't Fight It

I am fascinated by the textural effects that layering materials and paint can produce, and often use papers, stamps, pens, pencils, pastels, charcoal and paint glazes. I love the idea of hidden or partly obscured elements, drawing you in as you step closer to see the details. I also use a lot of text in my paintings; words and their different uses and meanings continually intrigue me and I like to include them as another layer to each piece.

Let Me Not Fear To Go Within

Since qualifying as a Reiki master I am increasingly interested in incorporating healing into my work, something which is evolving the more I work with energy.