Artist Tina M Dimas shares with us her artistic journey and how she has developed her realism artistic style.

Be sure to visit Tina’s website. The link is located on the bottom of the interview.

Featured Artist Tina M Dimas

 

 

Dave – Hello Tina and thank you for joining me today. I first discovered you on Twitter and have recently visited your Artist Website Tina M Dimas.

How long have you been creating art and what inspires you to continue creating?

 

Tina – I remember being a very young child when I started to have a passion for creating art. I enjoy challenging myself and learning new things.  Learning to create new art with different techniques, media and subjects will be a life long journey of challenging myself and that inspires me to continue creating art.

 

Dave – How would you describe your art?

 

Tina – I describe my art style as realism. The subjects that I depict in my art are from everyday life. When creating a piece, I use multiple references, and my aim is to create art that feels and looks real.

 

Dave – What message do you hope your audience receives from your art?

 

Tina – I hope viewers find that my art, in some way, will make them feel emotionally uplifted.

 

Dave – What makes your artwork unique?

 

Tina – I think my artwork is unique because the subject matter is diverse and I emphasize a bit of drama in each piece by using sharp contrasts and vivid colors.

 

Dave – Your use of light and detail with acrylic paints is beautiful. Your paintings Road To Slide Rock and Peach and Cherries have so much texture and depth. Could you tell us more about how you learned this technique?

 

Tina – I learned my techniques from books, classes and teaching myself through practice for many years.

 

Dave – What advice would you give to artists just starting out?

 

Tina – Always challenge yourself, keep an open mind to change, practice, focus and have fun.

 

Dave – What art supplies are you using and what size canvases do you paint on?

 

Tina – For drawings, I have been using charcoal, graphite, pastel and colored pencils. When I paint I use a variety of paint brushes and use them to apply heavy body acrylic paint to canvases ranging in sizes from 5×7 in. to 22×28 in. also on 2.5×3.5in. (art card).

 

Dave – When did you start selling your art and how did you get started?

 

Tina – Throughout my early adult years, I sold a few drawings to people I knew. During those years, I didn’t share much with anyone that I was an artist. I gained more confidence and decided to try selling my art to the public. After weighing all my options to get started, I thought selling online would be best. I started on eBay in 2012.

 

Dave – You are using FASO for your selling platform. How did you become familiar with FASO and could you tell us more about it?

 

Tina – I felt it was time to have more of an online presence as an artist. I started searching online for what steps I would need to take to create a webpage. I found FASO through these searches. I chose FASO because they provide various templates for artists to create a webpage very easily. The templates were right in line with how I wanted to display my art.

 

Dave – Do you find it easy to keep your website up-to-date?

 

Tina – Yes, with a little knowledge, I find it easy to add/change text, photos, and links.

 

Dave – How easy is it to brand your FASO website?

 

Tina – I am still working on building my website.  I think having social media widgets, links, and consistency between my name, colors, design, and feel of my webpage will all help make it easier to brand my website.

 

Dave – How do you drive traffic to your site?

 

Tina – I use online platforms and business cards.

 

Dave – What tips could you give to new artists who are interested in selling their artwork?

 

Tina –  Know how you want to present yourself as an artist and stay consistent. When you decide to use a platform (social media, creating a webpage or business cards) they will be easier to set up and you will have fewer changes to make. It is more professional and less confusing to others.

Decide where you feel comfortable selling. You can sell online such as eBay, Etsy or sell in person at a local art show or fair. Start on one platform at a time so you can prevent feeling stressed and remain professional.

Be patient, but also be prepared to sell your art. Know all about pricing and how to properly package your art for shipment.

If you decide not to display your artwork online, always remember to take great photos of your art for future use.

 

Dave – That is some powerful advice. Would you mind sharing three of your favorite creations and share the story behind them?

 

 

 

“Fruit” – 2.5×3.5in. – Acrylic on art card

Two special things about this piece to me are that it was the first painting I sold on eBay and my first painting on an art card. It was very challenging to paint and surprising how much detail I was able to get to show on that tiny card.

 

 

“Cactus” – 11x14in. – Acrylic on Canvas

I was walking around my neighborhood one day and I noticed this cactus and the strong shadows. I took many photographs and stored them in a file, knowing one day this will be a subject of a painting. Years later, I created this piece.

 

 

“Avocado” – 2.5×3.5in. – Acrylic on art card

In our household, we eat a lot of avocadoes. I love the feeling of opening one up and finding it has no hidden damage and just has beautiful shades of green. My normal routine is to dice or slice the flesh of avocado while in its skin. Instead of creating this piece showing only the first cut, I decided it would be a little different to display the avocado diced and placed the light source behind the avocado to create a bit of drama.

 

Dave – What social media sites can people follow you on?

 

Tina – You can follow me by searching  tinamdimas on the following listed social media sites.

Twitter – https://twitter.com/TinaMDimas

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/tinamdimas/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TinaMDimas/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/tinamdimas/

Youtube – https://youtube.com/channel/UCze8xGToMQSMEKmc9mpQCBA

 

Dave – Where can people purchase your art?

 

Tina – My website is https://tinamdimas.com/

I sell my Original art on Ebay.com under https://www.ebay.com/usr/tinamdimas

You can purchase art prints and prints on various products through the following listed sites.

Fine Art America (Pixels) – https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/tina-dimas.html

Redbubble – https://www.redbubble.com/people/TinaMDimas

Zazzle – https://www.zazzle.com/store/tinamdimas

Cafepress – https://www.cafepress.com/profile/tinamdimas

Society6 – https://society6.com/tinamdimas

 

Thank you, Dave, for your support and for giving me the opportunity to share more about myself as an artist.

 

Dave –  I would like to thank you one more time for sharing your artistic journey with us and I look forward to seeing all of your new creations.

 

 

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