Tamara Natalie Madden
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Biography
Acrylic on Board
24” x 30”
Tamara Natalie Madden was born in Jamaica. Madden was exposed to her first artistic influences during childhood. As a young reader, she found herself enthralled by the colourful illustrations. Heavily influenced by her uncles’ drawings and sculptors, the decision to be an artist came early. She won her first art award at age 14 and found further inspiration from an art teacher. She continued to pursue art through high school and beyond.
Tamara uses self-developed drawing and painting processes to create. She creates in honour of everyday survivors, her work heavily influenced by vivid memories of growing up in rural Jamaica. Tamara is also intrigued by the beauty and innocence of children and paints them often.
She has recently delved into abstraction and contemporary expressionism, welcoming the opportunity to indulge her love for color and texture.
Her works are in the permanent collection of institutions such as Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and Alverno College in Wisconsin. She was a recent recipient of an individual Puffin Foundation grant for her project, "Never Forgotten", which focuses on combating poverty worldwide. To her delight, an image of her work was used in the Macy’s Black History Month ad in the New York Times in February 2009.
Artist's Statement
These paintings represent my feelings and love for my countrymen and women. I have an inherent love and respect for the plight of everyday folk. My works focus on the working class, the children of the struggle and the hope for the future. I am very inspired by the hope that people possess and that despite their plight, they keep pushing on.
The quilts in the images represent the past and present melding. It represents familial ties of the past and its connection with our present and future. Quilts create a feeling of nostalgia and my hope is that they will bring a feeling of warmth and comfort to my paintings. My art is a reflection of my personality—vivid and buoyant.