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.
Selected Publications:
Machine Quilting Unlimited, January/February 2012, Jaw Dropper
Studio Art Quilt Association Journal, Fall 2011, SAQA Provides Curating Experience
Art Quilt Studio, June/July 2011
Quilt National 2011: The Best of Contemporary Quilts
Selected Juried Exhibits:
Quilt National 2011
IQF Houston 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 (2nd Place, Art Painted Surface)
PIQF 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
Road to California 2011
Studio Art Quilt Associates Exhibit "No Place to Call Home," 2010-2011
IQF Journal Quilt Project 2007
IQF Journal Quilt Project 2008, "Journal Quilt Project II: Elements - Earth, Water, Air, and Fire"
MQX East 2010 Special Exhibit, "Humor is the Best Medicine"