Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanya Zaman
Hi Tanya, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hello Voyage LA readers, I’m Tanya. I got started here in LA 9 years ago, working as a VFX artist on movies like Star Wars the Force Awakens, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Star Trek Beyond. I then transitioned to working at FOX in post, and not shortly after, took the plunge to become a full-time freelance artist. The bulk of my freelance work is illustration and storyboards for advertising, theatrical marketing campaigns, and VR gaming.
And as much as I love the work I do as an “artist” in entertainment, I still needed a creative outlet, so I started oil painting. My first teacher out here was a very renown artist, Christina Cooper, and I used attend her classes as often as I could.
Since then, oil painting has become an obsession, and I’ve pursued it by taking classes all over the city, but once I maxed out on those, I spent a few months in Florence, Italy studying the Renaissance painting masters in the style of traditional realism.
After I got back from Italy, I was missing having a community of painters, and there isn’t really one on this side of LA, so I decided to create one. So I launched my brand, Artskool, which was initially a DTC e-commerce store selling oil painting kits and classes taught by me, but have since pivoted to in person classes, as a way to really connect with the community here in LA.
Painting, and specifically oil painting, is not an accessible or affordable artform to master. I’ve personally invested tens of thousand’s of dollars to learn and pursue this passion, but I’m fully aware of this privilege I have, and the lack of BIPOC painters in this space is all too noticeable.
So my intention with all of this, is to create a space where we can come together as a community and learn oil painting, while keeping it accessible and affordable to anyone who wants to try. Rather than having someone invest in all the supplies and classes, I’m offering a low cost way for anyone to try it.
I also see oil painting as a new form of self care by ways of entering creative flow. In an increasingly tech driven world, we need breaks from our screens to connect to ourselves and our innate creativity.
So it’s my promise, that I will show you that you ARE an artist, oil painting is easy, you just need the right instruction and an affordable opportunity to learn. That is what artskool is about and my mission is to create a sort of renaissance of new painters here in LA.
I instruct all the classes offered at my studio space in the Echo Park/Elysian Heights area. All supplies are provided.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been challenges. I personally did not want to paint just because I didn’t understand the financial opportunity for myself. I realized that my creativity did not have to always make me money. And that was helpful because, I could continue to support myself with my freelance work, and oil paint purely for the sake of it.
It can also be hard to find oil painting specific classes. Sometimes the spaces are not nice, or they are really far, or the instruction is not clear, or it’s very costly and I have to lug all my painting supplies along. So having experienced the breadth of these challenges, I want to eliminate these pain points for first time painters.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Artskool (@artskoolbox on instagram) is here to create a renaissance of painters in LA. Oil painting can be lonely, hard to self teach, and has always leaned more towards an aristocratic audience.
Starting February, I’m offering oil painting classes 4x a month here in Los Angeles, with supplies provided (and sometimes snacks). Pricing ranges from $60-70 (sometimes we will be working with a live model which increases the cost). Just come and try it! It will suck you in and you will be surprised with how talented you are. Or you can realize it’s not for you, and it didn’t cost you too much to figure that out.
We are a city of working creatives. There is a dire need to create for art for art’s sake and that is what I am here to provide. All classes are beginner/all levels friendly. I come around and offer individual feedback as well. Come paint with me!
Any big plans?
Creating a community space for painters would be a future goal, but right now I just want to connect and show everyone the magic of oil painting and how to access your inner artist.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artskoolbox.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artskoolbox
