Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany OBrien.
Hi Tiffany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started creating “art” as a wee child. My dad was an artist and I would just paint or draw along with him. He mostly painted boats, airplanes and landscapes. Truthfully, I wasn’t much into that subject matter but just thought that was what people painted.
In my mid-20s, a friend of mine invited me over to his place for a painting party. It was a small party of two. He played music and had all the supplies I needed. Plus a huge selection of Juxtapoz magazines. I had never seen them before. What I saw on those pages opened my eyes to a whole new world.
I learned about painting what’s in my head however crazy it may be. I left the boats and barns behind.
After painting for a while another friend of mine encouraged me to show my work to Urban Artware, a gallery in my hometown of Winston-Salem. For years I sold work through that gallery and participated in group and solo shows around town.
Next was a move to NYC. I continued painting and showing in Winston-Salem, New York and Provincetown. New York was amazing for seven years. But those winters sure do get long and cold.
Tybee Island here I come! My husband and I had always wanted to live at a beach. My older sister lives in Savannah so we figured Tybee would be as good a beach as any. We’ve now been here for seven years.
It’s now about 25 years after that painting party and I am still painting and creating crazy things out of my head. I’m still showing in galleries around Tybee and Savannah. I do local pop-up markets, I sell online and I still have shows back home in Winston-Salem every few years.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It kind of seems like a smooth road just because it has been so fun. So maybe it has been more like a rollercoaster. Sometimes I’ve been chugging up that hill wondering if it’s all worth the effort of going to the theme park to begin with. Then next thing you know I’m zooming down the backside hoping the ride will never end.
My biggest struggle is having enough time to create, promote and sell my works. I work nearly every day. Living in a tourist community is a good thing and a curse at the same time. It’s great because there are so many different people parading through to present my work to. The struggle part is that most of them want to see paintings of oyster shells, lighthouses and Savannah squares. As you can see in my work… that’s not my thing.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I answer this question differently all the time because it is a difficult question. I do mostly oil paintings of cute creepy children. BUT I also paint Lover’s Eyes on antique spoons. I use antique photos for painting on or “bedazzling”. I do Gothic embroidery. I print my old photos on fabric and embroider on those. I draw. I use gold leaf… a lot. I do encaustic work…
When I see all of my work together I feel like I am visiting a flea market in a foreign land and I have stumbled on the last stall where a gypsy is selling some of her treasures from all her travels.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
Be persistent. It’s not easy to be a working artist but the harder you work the more success you might find. Having an interesting style or technique is key to stand out from what’s already out there. Get into some groups, galleries or classes of like-minded folks. Keep putting yourself out there.
Contact Info:
- Email: tiffanystarobrien@gmail.com
- Website: https://tiffanyobrien.bigcartel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffanystarobrien/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiffany.l.obrien.1
