Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Tucker.
Elizabeth, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
While I’ve always worked with my hands in needle arts, it was my husband who got me started in painting when he gave me an easel as a gift. He had seen me drawing but to me it was totally out of the blue and I had no idea what to do with it so I put it away. A couple of months later he gave me some money for art classes.
So, I did two things. I signed up for a workshop and to prepare for the workshop I took a class at Barnsdall Art Center. The teacher at Barnsdall was super encouraging and when I got to the workshop, that instructor also encouraged me not stop what I was doing.
I continued taking classes and I asked my Dad what he thought about me quitting my job and going to art school full time. He told me to go for it! As I wanted a classical education I ended up at LAAFA (Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art) where I took as many classes as I could, and painted and drew every day either there or at home. I made daily painting/drawing my regular practice and continue it to this day.
Has it been a smooth road?
Working as an artist always has ups and down. The carrot is forever in front of you and being comfortable with being uncomfortable is a practice one has to learn along with the fundamentals of drawing and painting. Some days the gods are with me and other days they seem to like playing havoc with my abilities.
As a working artist, I need time to study and sometimes that takes away from painting time. But I’m really drawn to the fundamentals of my craft and I have to remind myself that while I may not be producing ‘finished’ pieces in, the studying will show itself as I go back to my easel. For example, I spent over a year copying a painting and studying the color theory behind it which then led to another huge block of time studying compositional design. While I didn’t get a lot of finished paintings completed that I could sell or rent, I use what I learned during that time every single day, and it was a huge leap forward in how I now approach my work. In addition, it allowed me to develop more classes to teach.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the E. Tucker Art story. Tell us more about the business.
I teach painting and drawing privately, at Art Centers, and in workshops. I also sell and rent my work. In addition, I run an art group, Angeles Crest Art Guild (ACAG) and am a juried member of Women Painters West. Additionally, I’m a certified instructor in the Michael Wilcox School of Colour out of England.
As a teacher, I’m known for teaching students how to think for themselves and giving them tools that allow them to solve problems. I’m a big believer that there is not one way to solve a problem or go about creating a piece of art so I try to give as many options as possible and tell the pros and cons.
I’m on YouTube – Elizabeth B Tucker Art (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuud0-WEeUTyP5DL0iSvGMw) and also teach a color mixing class, “Understanding Color and How to Mix It: Teaching Your Colors to Play Well With Others” on Udemy (https://www.udemy.com/understanding-color-how-to-mix-it/)
As an artist, my collectors primarily describe my work as calming. I work with a limited palette of colors which allows color harmony to take place naturally. I also tend to work small (under 18 inches) with allows for an intimacy.
Because I really believe in the value of having original pieces of art I have a variety of sizes and prices which allow almost anyone to be able to have art in their home or even their dorm room!
In addition to oil, I also work in charcoal drawing anatomical skulls of animals. The architecture of a skull is fascinating to me and I love the nuanced lights and darks. Each drawing takes about 40 hours and a lot of sharpening of the charcoal pencil!
I rent a lot of my work to the TV industry. Living in Los Angeles is a great place for artists as there are so many avenues for us to share our work. My paintings have been on everything from “The Muppets” to “American Horror Story”
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The internet and social media has been a huge bonus for artists.
Websites are super easy to create and maintain because of ready-made templates and drag and drop. Instagram allows us to not only show our work but to see others and create wonderful connections. Facebook is terrific, though I still can’t quite figure out their algorithms. All of these let us sell our work outside of a gallery format. That’s not to say that galleries aren’t important, as they can be very helpful. But it does mean that for the average artist we have much more control over how we show our work.
I think that galleries will have to take advantage of all of the different ways available that are outside the traditional methods if they are to survive and make money.
While the internet is a ready viewing platform for artists the biggest challenge I see is that there are so many bandwagons we can join that it can get very confusing and ‘noisy’. To me, it’s important to pick what works easily and is effective. If I’m constantly chasing the next great thing, I’m not working on my art. I need to stay open to ideas, but I also need to be judicious in choosing how to spend not only my money but my time.
Finally, personal service is going to be what sets us apart. Relationship building will never go out of style. People like working with people they like. It builds trust. One can be large, like Amazon, or small, such as your local yarn seller, but without feeling like your voice and concerns are being heard and that the person who you are buying from really cares about you, the business will ultimately fail.
Pricing:
- Oil Painting range from $65 to $2,400
- Charcoal Skull Drawing range from $850 to $2,400
- Small watercolors and Ink Paintings range from $25 to $65
Contact Info:
- Address: 5120 Earl Drive,
La Canada, CA 91011 - Website: www.etuckerart.com
- Phone: 818-517-2406
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/etuckerart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/E.TuckerArt/?pnref=lhc
- Twitter: @etuckerart
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/art-and-portraiture-of-elizabeth-b-tucker-montrose-3
- Other: https://www.udemy.com/understanding-color-how-to-mix-it/
Image Credit:
Elizabeth B. Tucker
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