*The following was taken from Lea Wilkinson's
web site, from her "Model Horse Chrinicles" artist feature of the month.
Visit
her site!
Heather Tarr
CM Artist
Location: "The Valley"
A trip to a toy store with a relative years
ago developed into a life-long hobby for artist Heather Tarr.
Born in Nelson, British Columbia,
she has spent most of her life in the Slocan Valley or "The Valley" as
it's known in B.C.'s interior.
A slight bump in her geographical
placement took place when she was about two and her parents moved to Austin,
Texas, where they lived until she was seven.
"We moved back to The Valley
when I was seven," she says. "I attended public schooling until the eighth
grade, at which point I opted to take distance education courses. I finished
my grade twelve at home, self taught."
Her parents still live in the
house she grew up in and Heather lives only 15 minutes away, in a community
called Vallican. She'll be entering second year university in the
fall.
"Eventually I'd like to be a
vet," she says.
"My first memory of Breyers is
when my grandmother took me to Toys R Us in Dallas to pick out my first
model," explains Heather. "I chose the Our first Pony gift set with
the little leather halter. I think I was about four." She first came across
a Peter Stone horse several years later, but also in Dallas, in a Home
Hardware store where she bought Mesa Believer for $35.
"I became serious about models
when I was about 13," she says. "I reached an age where I wanted more to
collect them than play with them; though I still had (and have) some old
'beat 'em ups'! I began to paint around the same time and about a year
later picked up an airbrush."
She's been painting for approximately
nine years but only three to four with the proper equipment, she says with
a grin.
"I started with an airbrush that
would pretty much only support roans. My compressor wasn't much better."
But she worked with the tools she had available, and her equipment grew
with her love of painting. Heather says she's a big fan of Iwata air brushing
supplies.
The first CM that she sold was
a Phar Lap that she airbrushed into a bay and later sold for about $30.
"Making money was what really
prompted me to keep doing it!" she recalls. "And I felt a huge amount of
satisfaction on how quickly I was able to improve. My motivation has always
been painting models for myself, in the colours that I want. I always saw
how Breyer or Stone should have changed a colour. So I thought 'hey, I'll
just do it myself!'. I admired a lot of what other artists were creating."
While she was learning, a huge
resource for her was her "Just About Horses" (JAH) Magazine.
"I no longer subscribe (though
I might again soon!), but I got those magazines for years and the customizing
tips and photos in the artists' corners were very inspiring."
In her early years of customizing,
she asked a couple other artists for assistance, finding some to be very
helpful while others were hesitant to give any advice or 'tricks of the
trade'.
"I haven't asked for advice in
the last few years; not to say I wouldn't if I felt there was something
I hadn't quite grasped," she says, stressing the importance of sharing
information.
"I have given advice to a number
of other customizers as well," says Heather. "I feel that sharing information
is a great thing. It's silly to try and withhold information from other
artists, because everyone has their own style, so the competition isn't
really there." She has always admired the work of Sarah Minkiwicz whom
she says adds incredible depth to her models in any medium she uses.
"She's a master of oils (I'm
still playing with those!)," she says. "I also love the work of Pamala
Hutton, Eddie Gonzales and Tom Bainbridge. There are so many talented artists
out there!!"
The above mentioned are just
the painters and customizers she really admires. Heather hopes to one day,
try her hand at tack making.
"I'll never stop learning," says
Heather. "One of my biggest challenges is to keep from falling into a routine
of painting. I always want to try new things and grow in my abilities.
I would like to improve my use of oils and pastels. I'm only just starting
to learn how to use them."
Heather actually has time for
a few other things other than CM in her life. One of them goes by the name
of Logan.
"I own a Canadian x Morgan gelding
named Logan," she says. "He is, without a doubt, the love of my life! He's
just turned four and I've backed him for the first time this spring. We
have a whole summer of riding ahead of us! I'm also an avid bike rider
and I run several times a week. I thrive on physical activity."
Seeing her work make a
customer happy is something that's really important and satisfying to Heather.
"I also see how much I've learned
with each new model, and knowing that I taught myself is very rewarding."
Heather has the following advice
for new people in CM.
"Never stop trying new things!
If you don't get what you hoped for, look at what you have learned in trying.
It's the best way to succeed."
Logan has now turned 6 (as of May/07) and
he has far exceeded my highest expectations! A truely wonderful boy. Plans
are that he'll come to live with me as soon as I can fence this summer!
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HAT Studios
Painting the model equine since 1996.
Beautiful British Columbia, Canada
http://community.netidea.com/kodiak_fox/home.html
"I would give my life, my love, my soul, for
my good horse."-HAT
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