Julie Tarsha

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Finding the Themes Behind the Work

Abstracting from my inspiration sometimes feels elusive. Am I inspired by nature, emotion, social justice, or a combination of these? For me, making art starts with thinking about what I'm trying to say. What do I want to communicate? 

There's so much complex information in my mind when I'm inspired. It's often a combination of ideas that are lighting me up and it can be challenging to edit all the complexity down to a digestible message. 
With the above painting, inspired by the photo I took in my desert neighborhood, I'm thinking of:

  • Water Conservation

  • The Harshness of the Desert Environment

  • Adaptation/ Renewal

  • Expansion of the Definition of Beauty

I feel like my job as an artist is to try to communicate this truth of mine to the viewer, and more importantly, to clarify it for myself!
Understanding the themes within my inspiration helps me find the meaning, title and description for my work

This knowledge tells me what I really care about and carries me along to my next painting, and the next!