Original watercolors · Anchorage, Alaska
Painted from the mountaintop
Andrea Tavenner paints the Alaska she hikes into: alpenglow on Denali, fireweed along Turnagain Arm, fog rolling over Mount Baldy. Every painting starts as a trail.
Original watercolors · Anchorage, Alaska
Andrea Tavenner paints the Alaska she hikes into: alpenglow on Denali, fireweed along Turnagain Arm, fog rolling over Mount Baldy. Every painting starts as a trail.
The making of an artist
One of my fondest childhood memories is of spending time in my dad's art classroom. He was a middle school art teacher, and I loved to spend my after-school hours there.
I thought every child had unlimited access to almost every art supply imaginable. I didn't always make art in the art room. Sometimes it was just about hanging out there and being close to my dad. But I believe that's where the artist seed was planted. An Instagram reel decades later inspired me to try watercolors, and with a cheap paint set and brushes from Michael's, I never looked back.
My initials just happen to be A.R.T. and I live in and love Alaska, so ArtAlaska was born.
"If you hear a voice within you say, 'You cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."
Vincent Van Gogh
Most of my inspiration comes from hiking here in Alaska. There is nothing like standing on a mountaintop, looking out over the valleys all around, or being surrounded by snow-covered, towering peaks. The beauty is breath-taking, and I try to communicate that feeling into my paintings.