About Tanya Brown
Contact:
Tanya Brown may be contacted via email, info@tanyabrown.org.
Biography:
Tanya Brown is an illustrator and graphic designer working in fiber, with works that have been exhibited across the country and juried into international shows. A longtime resident of the San Francisco Bay area, Tanya studied and worked in the field of particle physics before embarking on a career as an artist.
An initial focus on digital media, particularly photorealistic 3D computer-assisted illustration, led to works commissioned for Wired magazine and shown at the Edward Hopper House Art Center. Her design clients have included Stanford University, the Carmel Bach Festival, and a major Silicon Valley hardware manufacturer. She collaborated with the late Paris Mannion on Create Your Indoor Fountain: Expressions of the Self and is credited as photographer for that book; her photos were also published in the successful 2001 sequel by North Light Books.
More recently, Tanya has turned to the tactile, sensual medium of fiber, creating a distinctive bold and graphical style informed by her experience as a designer.
Artist's Statement:
My work is a reflection of my whimsical view of life. I am inspired by the oddness and beauty of nature as well as humorous and often tacky motifs of the past.
I am also strongly influenced by Japanese aesthetics, including the use of balanced asymmetry and natural themes. In the manner of many Japanese artists, I employ flat areas of strong color, sinuous curves and bold, simple graphics.
Although I have moved away from photorealistic 3D pieces, computers still play a large part in creating my work. I make extensive use of Adobe Illustrator to refine initial pencil sketches, and Adobe Photoshop to design textures.
I often work with bold swaths of flat color, or may start with a plain piece of cotton and paint it to suit. I enjoy the tactile quality of different surfaces and add subtle meaning and structure with stitching.