September Artist of the Month.

Tanna Rose is the Leeds Arts Council’s featured artist in September.  The public is invited to the opening reception at the Arts Center on Sunday, August 28, 2016, 1:30-3:30 pm, to view her beautiful paintings.  Admission is free.

From her earliest memory, Tanna Rose loved to draw. She seldom played with dolls or other toys; she would just sit and draw. In elementary school, she discovered new art techniques from her art teachers and often won ribbons for her work. In high school, she was fortunate to attend a school that had a good art department and a very good teacher. Again, she often won awards for her work.

 She decided to major in art in college, but through the prompting of her father, majored in Graphic Arts.  Her first year of college was at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Alabama. There, in an Art History class, she met two guys who were transferring to Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. Tanna Rose was considering transferring to the University of Alabama, but was fascinated by what Ringling had to offer, as well as the location. She discussed Ringling with her parents, applied, and was accepted.  Ringling, in the 70’s, had a very academic approach to art, even in graphics. Figure drawing was a required class every year that met for four hours, two days a week. Also, painting, drawing, and landscape were required classes every year that met at least once a week for 4 hours. Often, painting was done on location in Sarasota, whether it was at the beach, bay, marina, museum, or other choice locations. Tanna Rose grew as an artist at Ringling, and her drawing ability blossomed, especially in figure class. She was awarded her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Ringling School of Art and Design.

 Professionally, Tanna Rose has worked over 25 years in the graphics industry, including five years at Ebsco Media; nine and a half years at Southern Progress Corporation, working with both Southern Living and Cooking Light Magazines; and with Luckie and Company since 2011.  From 2004 to 2008, she executed numerous portrait commissions. Her favorite painting medium is oils and her favorite drawing mediums include pencil, pastel, and conte, though she has worked with a variety of other mediums. Raising a family, working, and a busy life style have limited the time she has been able to devote to her love of fine arts. She hopes that she will soon be able to express her passion for art more in her paintings and drawings.

Tanna Rose’s paintings will be on exhibit at the Arts Center through September 29, 2016.  The gallery is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. and during events. 

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