Tamara Smith had been painting in water color over thirty years when she first began using French dyes on silk. She has since become among the best and most technically accomplished artists in the field. The South Bay is proud to call her one of our own.

No other painting technique can produce the rich, bright, luxurious colors of French dyes on silk. Water color paitings can appear almost bland in comparison. By using bright colors to enhance light and form, Tamara creates striking images of almost supernatural beauty. The vibrant colors simply have to be seen.

By nature, the human eye prefers to see color. Because of that, consciously or unconsciously, our eyes seek color out. As a result, when a viewer enters a room with one of Tamara's paintings in it, that work instantly becomes the focal point. The rich colors of her paitings simply provide what the eye wants to see.

Tamara chooses subjects from places visited in her extensive travels. She is currently working on a Tuscany series, featuring bright sunflowers, still life, and of course, landscapes. Another of Tamara's popular subjects examines light through flower petals. “I want to show the image as I saw it” she explains. 

The technique of painting French dyes on silk is highly demanding and involves considerable artistic risk. First, one sketches on the silk with wax to block out areas where dye is permitted to flow. Under basic color theory, one paints from light to dark.  However, using wax to contain dyes can be challenging, and it makes silk painting a particularly unforgiving medium. “You get one chance and if the dye runs the painting is ruined.”

Tamara explains it took her years to develop the inner trust needed for her style to flourish. But the work itself has rich rewards. “As dyes dry, they are beautiful to watch, and can appear as radiant as sun through a stained glass window. The painting process, while slow, can actually be very exciting.”  

Tamara is a fourth generation artist. She started painting at three beside her grandmother, another successful water color painter. Tamara showed promise in high school - she won the art award three years in a row. She is a graduate of Otis Art Institute at Parsons School of Design, where she received her extensive training in gauche.

For the past twelve years, Tamara has made her home in the South Bay. She participates in numerous juried shows, and recently had her own one woman show. Tamara paints full time in her Manhattan Beach cottage where she lives with her son.  

Several of Tamara’s most recent paintings can be seen at the Klade Gallery, at 437 Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, and at Kolibri Gallery, across from the Theatres at 550 Deep Valley Drive in Rolling Hills Estates.