Lompoc, CA (January 27, 2019) – Flying Goat Cellars is hosting an artist reception for Teresa Pratt at the Tasting Room on Saturday, February 16, 2-4pm. All are invited to come by and meet the artist over a flight of wine and some snacks. Pratt’s paintings will be on exhibit at the tasting room through February 28, 2019. Flying Goat Tasting Room is located at 1520 E. Chestnut Court in Lompoc. The tasting room/gallery features new and established local artists and photographers so please contact Flying Goat at 805-736-9032 if you are interested.
Pratt says, “I didn’t seriously begin to paint until later in life. In college I had taken a few classes in drawing and color theory, but my education was in a different direction. ‘You can’t support yourself on art.’”
“When my children were young, I decided to freelance as a graphic artist. My sister-in-law worked in that field and gave me some small jobs to start. This gave me the confidence to go out on my own. I found a temp job at an Engineering firm in Pasadena, in their Art Dept. It involved mainly drawing schematics for various projects. This was before computer design and I became proficient using rapidographs and drawing everything by hand.”
“A local magazine in our valley was hiring paste-up artists. I went to work for them and learned a lot. After two years, I became an assistant art director. At night I took porcelain painting from Maria Escobar. This was my first introduction to painting with oils. Instead of using tubes of paint, we mixed pigment with medium first. Each layer was fired before the next was applied. Through an adult education oil painting class, I was introduced to John Ursillo. I studied landscape painting from him, learning new techniques and the importance of ‘looking.’ He encouraged me to continue.”
“When my children were grown, a friend and fellow artist introduced me to Julia Diller. I began studying at her Atelier in North Hollywood. I learned to paint A la Prima from live models. Her love of classical style was a great influence. It resonated with the direction I wanted to take. Portraiture especially intrigued me. The challenge of breathing life with a brush into a person’s expression and eyes is what motivates me.”
“Why have I painted so many women? The short answer is we needed wine labels for our wine. We were making wine in our garage with another couple and wanted to have our own private label. We called ourselves, CP Iconic Wines and came up with the idea of having paintings of iconic actresses on the labels. Today, we have become a commercial winery and make our wines as an AP under Norm Yost of Flying Goat Cellars. Our name has changed but the idea of having beautiful women on our labels has not.
The creative process in painting compels and completely absorbs me. As a painting develops, whether it’s a landscape or a portrait, there’s a sense of excitement as it comes to life. My hope is that the viewer has a glimpse of that as well.
