Tammy Crawford, Alcohol Ink Artist and Instructor

When the kids grew up and left home, I ordered the DVD series Watercolor Secrets by Bob Davies. I loved learning to watercolor. That was in the year 2010. Shortly after starting the series and ordering a few books on how to watercolor, I received an email that Bob Davies was starting a website called Art Tutor based out of the UK. I joined it and have been on a journey learning more and more art ever since. They different tutors on the site gave me a wide array of styles, techniques, subjects, and mediums to try. My alcohol ink journey started in 2014. I struggled because the ink was so uncontrollable but I saw the potential. So I took lessons online from Sheryl Williams in 2016 when I saw she was painting with control. I was attracted to the bold vibrant color of this very new medium.

Oh, I do like variety. I am up for challenges and am always learning and eager to try something new. I really love painting loose backgrounds with detailed subjects. I like variety in my subjects, too. I will paint almost any subjects except I don’t like painting city scenes or people very much, although I have tried. I’ve only painted a few abstracts. I normally paint from photos. Most of the references I use come from Paint My Photo website. There I am also the leader of a group called Flower Power. 

I love helping people discover art! I enjoy having both children and adults come to my house for little craft or art projects on occasion. I am amazed at the children who don’t want to try it. They say, “I just want to watch.” But then they try it and you can tell they are having so much fun and want to do another project.  It is fun to see their interests stimulated. It seems arts have been downplayed in the schools for the sake of sports.

My favorite art terms are color and tonal value. I love color and I love dramatic tonal changes with bright light and shadow. I like intensifying the color of my subjects slightly to make my paintings more artsy. I feel if you want hyper-realistic, take a photograph.

I still consider myself a hobbyist instead of a professional artist, but I have been improving as I paint most days. I’d really love to teach full time, but I live in the country so the internet is a better option.  I’ve been sharing my art journey on “Tammy Crawford Art” on Facebook.  I sell my art at https://pixels.com/profiles/tammy–crawford, farmer’s markets , local festivals, and One Stop Nail Shop in Missoula, MT.

Vera’s Art

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Contributions by Tammy Crawford