While I had doodled all my life (my old school text books will attest to this!) I never actually thought of myself has having any artistic abilities. The gift of an old abandoned painting box changed all that and started me exploring the wonders of colored pigments. This battered and scarred box has been my inner self. The first time I put some pink and white globs of paint on a canvas and low and behold, there was a rock was perhaps one of the biggest revelations of my life. Painting was magic, painting was illusion, and painting was truth. Life has never been the same.
With parenthood and a new 35 mm camera came an interest in capturing the moment. Freezing more than time, but emotions and a fleeting reality. Working with photos in a work environment developed an interest in the use of the computer as an art medium.
I worked as a drafter for many years. (One way to draw all day and get paid for it) Over the years, I often incorporated my talents as an artist and photographer with that of a drafter and designer. In 2001 I stopped working to pursue other goals, one of which is fine art, both painting and photography. Each feeds the other, Photos suggest paintings and painting suggest new way to look at and photograph this world.
When looking through my lens, I often see things missed by a casual glance. It enables me to take a new look at things seen every day and translating that look into works of art whether in oils, graphite or print. The computer is often a bridge between mediums, opening up an entire new world to art and artists. Blending these mediums has resulted in a truly unique body of work. I try to bring out the different, the often overlooked image and show the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.
Now I show my art and teach at The Renaissance Art Gallery, in Huntington, WV.
More work can be seen at
My website: www.tschantz.myexpose.com
blog: http://starrpoint.blogspot.com/
And at the Renaissance Art Gallery, 900 8th Street, Suite 20, Huntington, WV
Classic Antiques and Interiors, 14th Huntington, WV (Central City)
