Artist Tanya Hollifield will lead a free sketching session from 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12. It will include a break to socialize.
Community members are invited to come draw or observe. Participants will have the opportunity to sketch two models in fashion outfits, with assistance from Hollifield. Registration is required; sign up online or by calling (870) 536-3375.
Hollifield is based out of Little Rock and she combines art and activism, working on the 7th Street murals with the Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice, the Prison Portrait Project for Compassion Works for Al, and a collaborative project with the U.S. Water Alliance and Central Arkansas Water to address water issues and celebrate water that included a mural with a functional water bottle feature installed within the work.
Hollifield is the ARTx3 Campus’ artist-in-residence for the month of December. In addition to the drawing workshop, her residency will include open studio time for curious guests to visit the artist while she is onsite.
Tanya Hollifield is known for both her expressive, figurative drawings and her public engagement art projects. A Little Rock-based artist, she is active with her art and community. In 2022, she received an Artist Fellowship Award for Community Engagement Art from the Arkansas Arts Council and Peace Activist of the Year from Arkansas Coalition for Peace and Justice, primarily for her work with the 7th Street Mural Project in Little Rock. Her work is regularly shown for special exhibitions locally. Tanya’s art can be found in collections across the United States. She is a featured artist in 3rd Space, the gallery store at The ARTSpace on Main on the ARTx3 Campus. She is represented by M2 Gallery in Little Rock.
Artist Statement:
“I am drawn to the use of line. I am drawn to the human figure and the human condition as subject matter. In some of these pieces, I have moved away from the human figure as was my focus in my latest series, Human Thread, creating art of animals in the same way. The idea of depicting animals comes from my experiences at the St. Joseph’s Farm when I had a studio there, having visited the animals when taking breaks. It all begins and ends with my expressive lines as I try to capture the energy of a moment. What happens between those moments is where the story is built. Visual art is my language and writing does not come easily to me. I find creating stories is easier when cutting up things and mixing words, images, and materials. To add depth and to tell a story, I use layering with other elements such as collage. By way of the juxtaposition of words and images, characters emerge and the narrative forms and develops organically.”
Follow her on her Instagram account, @tanyahollifield
