Teara Dillon
I am a local artist from Leavenworth, WA. I create in many different media, and I have a passion to teach others to explore their individual voice. Sharing unique views through art creates diversity and allows us to celebrate our differences. I am inspired by bright colors, human and animal form, and nature. Impressionism is a favorite style with loose, quick brush strokes, thick impasto texture, and generous use of color. Art styles like Cubism and Surrealism challenge the mind and remind us that even though we are looking at the same thing, we may see it differently.
I love to learn as well as teach. I hold a BA in Art Education, a MA in Curriculum, endorsement in Career Technical Education, and I am a National Board certified teacher at Cascade School District. My classes range from drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, digital media, and photography. I also do commission work and you can find my paintings at Sleeping Lady Resort, the Wenatchee and Moses Lake offices of Central Washington Oral and Facial Surgery, Tumwater Bakery, and in private collections.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by unique combinations of bright colors, the grace of the human form, the unusual proportions found in animals, and all of nature. Some of my artwork is aesthetically driven and I like to include a twist like juxtaposition of images, adding mixed media elements from nature, or working on a large scale. A lot of my personal art is more experimental. I allow myself to make “bad art” to express something that I can’t get out another way or to just see what happens if…this freedom is refreshing.
What inspired the artworks you submitted?
I was hiking up the Icicle and my eye kept being caught by the bright yellow-green Letharia vulpina, also known as the wolf lichen. I gathered some in my pockets because I thought the color and texture would be fabulous to add to a painting. The Red-Flanked Bluetail (Orange-Flanked Bush Robin) was the subject of my painting because of the bright flashes of color and the cute chubby body.
What art style do you most identify with?
I identify most with Impressionism because of the extreme impasto texture that I love to apply when painting. I also enjoy the loose splattering, dragging, and layering involved in conveying only an “impression” of the subject. It can be very challenging to simplify the forms but still maintain enough detail to let the viewer understand what they are seeing. For me, this is where the artistic voice or style comes across. I like to jump beyond the realistic rendering and into a stylized interpretation using color and texture.
What is your favorite art medium?
If I am rendering realistically I prefer charcoal or conte. If I am working with color and expressionism then acrylic paint with mixed media. I find combining media is really exciting- like sewing on photographs, combining ink and watercolor, or digital art with mixed media collage.