Blank canvas… unlimited potential or utterly terrifying in all the right ways. Or, perhaps it’s a resonant surge of both. It’s a quiet unsettling call for a challenge, one you either answer or you don’t. Nothing sends the blood racing through the veins of an artist quite like the promise of an empty canvas.
The exhilaration of such a moment was enough to have Fresno artist, Tifferz, pursuing it full time. She dove in, took the plunge, left her career, and is now chasing down that dream like it’s the last bus out of town.
Did that make you uncomfortable? For a second it did, admit it. The mere mention of leaving a career you’re good at to pursue something of the uncertain would make most people squirm in their seats. But that’s the point. Tifferz makes it her business to bring out the thing that sends you shifting awkwardly under your skin through her artwork.
“For Tifferz, it is important to embrace uncomfortable thoughts and images for what they signal to our emotions. Things which we initially recoil have valuable, and often misunderstood, significance.” Stated in an excerpt from her website. She’s not going for shock value, it’s something a little more subtle than that.
“It’s being too comfortable that makes me uneasy. I feel that pulling yourself out of your comfort zone is all about growing up and expanding your horizons… Every day I sit at my canvas I’m uncomfortable. My head fills with thoughts of ‘Am I good enough?’ ‘Will my work sell?’ Can I really make this dream a reality?’ That’s my fuel, that’s what I thrive off of. I love that every day I am challenging myself to build the dream I want more than anything. To share my art with the world,” says Tifferz.
Three years and counting, Tifferz is successfully making her dream a reality. Things are more of an adventure these days and she finds inspiration everywhere she goes, absorbing the potential in everything she sees.
“I think, sometimes, I drive my boyfriend crazy when I tell him all of the different ideas I have going on my head at one time. When I’m out and about… I stop and take pictures. I sketch them in my sketchbook or save the image for further inspiration down the road. Music is also a big inspiration… I usually paint to Louis Armstrong,” shares Tifferz.
The New Orleans spirit is present in Tifferz’s work, but not entirely because she’s listening to Satchmo while in the zone. It isn’t necessarily pulsating in the actual subject matter of her work, it’s the overall presentation of how the piece was assembled. Tifferz’s art is typically found with loud and bold colors that waltz over the canvas with zero apologies.
“When you walk down the streets of the French Quarter, you can see history all over the place and at the same time, you can feel so much life running through its veins… I feel like my work reflects my time in the city,” offers Tifferz.
Currently, Tifferz is working on a set of new pieces and as a result, taking a break from shows. She’s been very fortunate and has actually run out of her original artwork for viewing. Now is the time to go back and hit the blank canvases running, and she’ll be doing it in a different way this time.
“I’ve started to work on larger, more elaborate pieces. I’ve recently started doing collage pieces and I love it! … It challenges me to think outside the box and not be too focused on one area of the painting,” Tifferz states.
Of course, previous works are still available to view online by visiting her website www.TifferzArt.com, but there’s no timeline yet in when her new series will be ready for showing. In the meantime, fans of her work may actually commission Tifferz for custom, personalized pieces of art. Just visit her website and start the conversation, she’s happy to take on new challenges as clients are always helping her stretch the artistic muscle and move in directions she never quite anticipated.
“I’ve had some clients this year test my artistic limits and it was great. I’m learning what I am capable of through my commission work. For instance, up until this year, I had never done figure work… I didn’t realize that I’d like painting the human form, and now I’m loving it,” says Tifferz.
Stay connected with Tifferz’s artistic journey by following her work on Facebook under ‘Tifferz’ for her artist page and ‘Tiffany Salter’ for her personal page, on Instagram @tifferz_art and on her website, www.TifferzArt.com.
