Hello!
My name is Tasha and I created the Painting the Starrs webpage about a decade ago. After many of my own trials and tribulations, I finally have decided to get it up and running. The truth is - it is hard to put yourself out there in front of people. I wanted to share a little bit of my background and hope to continue to share here, whether that be myself, my mom (Mary) or my sister (Haley).
I have always been labeled many things, but most have said - reserved, type-A, organized, high achiever, etc... and not artist. The fact is, I have an extremely hard time relaxing and enjoying the things I like to do. I have this deep feeling inside that if I do not get everything done or finished, that I haven't earned the time to play. I have gone through some more extreme periods of this in life and am currently working on un-doing it.
Featured in my most recent artworks are places I have been or things I have seen. Most of my paintings are set at a point in time where I felt true relaxation. For me that means - living in the moment, not thinking about what is next to check off the never-ending to-do list and just being. It is like when you look down at the clock and think "oops, where did the time go?"
As early as I remember, I was always doodling. I learned how to create a grid in the second grade for colored pencil drawings and have not stopped since. Often times, I would take a picture of someone out of a magazine and change their features or color them in one or two colors.
Later on, I did take one entry level art class in college that is where I have gotten most of my guidance from. I learned to paint watercolor, acrylic and oil - but we only did one painting of each. For my oil, I did a Van Gogh rendition and enjoyed every single second of it. I remember going to class and being excited to see what I was building. It turned out pretty well, so much so, that I had an uncle who asked if he could have it. It is currently framed in his and my aunt's home and they are taking good care of it.
From there, I moved to Hawaii on an internship for my day job (hospitality) and had no idea that I was starting what would be a thirteen year career. I was so blessed to have worked in many locations including the Big Island of Hawaii, Washington State, Lana'i Island, Florida, Toronto, and Wyoming. Each location I lived, I would paint the landscape and this was my relaxation.
After my career as a hotelier was ended abruptly due to covid, I went through a pretty dark period of about a year. I felt pretty abandoned by not so much my former employer, but the people who made the decision. Honestly, I spiraled a bit. Red wine became my best friend and negative talk was in my head for 23 out of 24 hours of the day. It was hard not to be negative.
We spent a year in Lake Arrowhead, CA where my husband had found a job. Nothing was coming together. In that year, we did not live in one location for more than 4 months - totaling 5 locations that I lived with my older son, Greysen, and two dogs in one year. Two of those locations, I did not even live with my husband as we were separated initially when he started his job for a couple months. My grandpa died that year. Someone close in proximity to us unfortunately over-dosed. And to top it off, I had my first ambulance ride due to an ectopic pregnancy.
Once some of the mask restrictions were starting to be lifted, I knew I wanted to go back to work. Fortunately, I have a very supportive husband who told me to go for it. On top of having Chase in my life, I had many dear friends who would reach out to me regularly to check on me.
I went to work in Montana for a quick two years. I needed to go back to work for my own sake and feeling of self-worth. I achieved that feeling in Montana. I also learned that my creativity may be one of my best assets to an employer and it was truly appreciated by this company. We were fortunate to have our second child, Maverick, and knew we were going to have to make a change again - as having to juggle everything did not make sense anymore. My husband was called back with a great offer from a past employer, so we decided to take it.
We have been in the Outer Banks since May now. Am I still working on me? Absolutely, yes. What is my biggest battle now? Trying not to add a million unnecessary things to my schedule just to be "doing". Yesterday was the first time in I cannot recall how long that I lost track of time. It was beautiful. I am working on being intentional with my time and what I do with it which I believe is a very important lesson for everyone!
Recently, I decided that it was time to get my artwork out there and into the universe! I love art and believe that creativity makes more creativity. I have always been around creative people - my entire family, so I wanted to include them with me on the website. I hope that you will enjoy our website and are inspired our pieces.
Thanks for your support and please give me a shout out if you have questions or want to see something on the website!