SPOTLIGHT ON: Painter / Visual Artist - Tina Blondell

I saw my first example of Tina Blondell's work in the 2007 TCPride Art Show at The Soap Factory. The power of the painting she had on view was extraordinary, so much so that it left this viewer in a state of awe. Since then I've had that same reaction every time I've come across a new work that the artist has added to her gallery on mnartists.org or to the galleries on her own website. Her vision is well served by her masterful drawing and painting techniques, working with the mediums she chooses that help bring her subjects to life. A testimony to how well this works is that - at first glance - I find myself connecting with the life-spirit of the subject in the portrait - while the rest of the visual elements fall into place after that. It's uncanny. Certainly, there are men who will find Blondell's works to be highly confrontational at times - in that they are populated by women who've rejected the constraints of our patriarchal society and gone on to establish their own lives and on their own terms. I think there's a lot to be learned from their stories.
In approaching creating this collection - I realized from the outset that I am not prepared to write about this artist. I'm lacking the skills it would take to verbalize my non-verbal experiences viewing Blondell's works. So, by way of an introduction to this collection - I'm using (with permission) a recent essay/review of Tina Blondell's art by John Mendelsohn.
Thank you, James Michael Lawrence


Paintings In Watercolors And Oils By Tina Blondell

The current body of work retells the stories of women, mythical and biblical, real and imagined. These archetypal images inquire into the essence of human experience revealed in feminine form.
The watercolor paintings had their origin in the personal experience of realizing the ways that life transforms us. The artist's own realization of how she had been marked by events and emotions became clear in her identification with the fragile and fearless figures that emerged from her imagination. Through the creative process, pain had been transformed into beauty.
What began as an inward healing process moved outward to reclaim the history of images of the feminine, ranging from the prehistoric Venus of Willendorf to present-day women who embody the energy of their antecedents. They all have chosen a path of exposure of both their outward identities and their inner selves. For these women, the depth of their experiences has reached the surface, symbolically in the form of motifs that cover their skin. The tattoo lattice sometimes extends to the children the women hold, as an imprinting of the memory of ancestral female power.
The process of creating these images begins with a concept, first visualized, then realized through finding the right model, props, and lighting - with photographs used as an aid. These paintings depict real women, not idealized images, so that each model's real beauty is reflected back through the work. The completing of a painting is a labor-intensive process that can take many weeks.
These works embody a paradox: while rendering strong imagery, the delicacy of watercolor conveys the psychic openess of the whole process. Recent paintings in oil strive to realistically capture the human form, seeing in the lives of contemporary women an abiding spirit.
When the work, very personal in its development, is finished, it is ready to be shared. These paintings are a form of visual storytelling and they welcome the strong and involved reactions of viewers. This work speaks directly from the soul of the artist and invites viewers to enter into its transformative nature.

- John Mendelsohn


Introduction - Copyright John Mendelsohn / Used with permission

All Images - Copyright Tina Blondell / Used with permission

Tina Blondell On mnartists.org
Tina Blondell's home page on mnartists.org

Tina Blondell On The Web
Tina Blondell's Personal Website - Drawings, Paintings, Galleries, Artist Statement, Exhibition History, Biographical History, and assorted links.

Mixed Media