A body of work inspired by youthful dreams and childlike wonder

In this body of work, I wanted to pursue a practice of joy and play that I didn’t always get to express as a child. When I was young, my world was very chaotic, and yet I knew that there was always a sense of freedom and joy at the edge of my mind.

Though I make many kinds of art, visual art is my purest form of expression. I picked up a paintbrush and made the choice to step past fear and see what fully experiencing myself, my life, and my joy looks and feels like in vivid color. With each painting, I get to remind myself that life is not a curse—it’s a luxury I get to fully experience. If life is a luxurious gift, it feels wrong to view it as something just to be suffered through. In the spirit of this luxury, I mined the origins of my creativity to see where it all began, and I found unexpected joy in color and gesture in my childhood journal. I found pinks, yellows, flowers, and scribbled, fragmented thoughts and dreams. I took these gifts from my childhood journal and integrated them into these paintings, trying to honor the essence of that freedom and joy that was always waiting within me to be found.

Through this work, I invite my viewers to experience a sense of joy and dreaminess no matter where their circumstances find them. Despite the difficult parts of my childhood story, there were (and are) still parts of me that dared to play and dream—there was always vibrant joy alive in me. These paintings have shown me a different perspective of my story. Through their brushstrokes and colors, lines and fragments, they aren’t just works of art, but affirmations that even when my world feels like it is crumbling, I have the freedom to dream and create a life of color.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In my work, I focus on creating spaces where small moments and stories are made significant.

I am a multidisciplinary artist, but I predominantly work in painting and photography. I am drawn to photography because of the immediacy of the medium. Such a small shift in the way I manipulate the light, whether from the environment or in my camera, can completely alter the visual perception of a moment. In this way, photography as a medium reflects the reality that the light in which a story or moment is presented deeply influences the perception of the viewer.

Painting, by contrast, is more about the power of constructing something completely new in a deliberate way. I take a variety of elements like paint, glue, paper, ink, words, and photographs, and layer them with messy hands. This process reflects the complexity of my own experience, how I am made of many parts, and how I express those parts.

I aim to create work that invites people to move into a space they may have never been before.

About the artist:

Tarmine Guichette is a multidisciplinary artist based in Kansas City, Missouri. She has memories of growing up all over the country and experiencing some of the most amazing things. She loves being outside, deep conversations, and being surrounded by friends. Her inspiration for much of her work comes from the deep joys and pains she has experienced. She is grateful that art allows space for both, and that it creates spaces of healing.

In addition to her art practice, Tarmine is also an active photographer. She travels all over the United States to photograph weddings and other celebrations.

WEB: tarmine.com/art-design
IG: @tarmineguichette