Meet Tana Dowell of TanaBelle Watercolors in Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tana Dowell.

Tana, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My first experience with watercolors was in a little town called Arbroath, on the East Coast of Scotland. I was a student at Kansas State University and signed up for a short-term (3 weeks) study abroad class during the summer. It was a painting study and I purchased my first watercolor palette at a little store in that little Scottish town. By the end of my experience, I had a few watercolor paintings under my belt, but nothing to brag about for sure!

Instead, I decided to go another direction with my studies and pursue Graphic Design. I’d always preferred Fine Art but was told it would be easier to get a job in Graphic Design. My heart was never really in it, though. I wasn’t thrilled about creating from behind a computer screen. I’ve always been one to want to get my hands dirty.

I had a few different random jobs after college, still working on art here and there until I became a mom.

Once I had my first child (2006), I became a stay-at-home mom and started playing around with watercolors a little bit and really enjoyed them. However, I found it challenging to really put too much time and effort into my art.

Fast forward to 2018, after 12 years of staying at home with my two children, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself anymore. I had tried a few times to pursue my love for art but didn’t feel like I was “successful”. That is when I decided to go back to school and I got my certificate in Phlebotomy. I excelled in school, was good with people and drawing blood, and got hired right out of school. I hated every minute of it, and in my spare time, I started painting again. And I mean really painting. I was trying to find my passion for it again and not worry so much about selling and marketing myself. I decided to focus on a series of self-portraits because I knew nobody would have any interest in purchasing those. I did them for ME, just to give myself time to fall in love with painting again.

Once I realized that painting is all I really wanted to do, I quit my job and haven’t looked back. I work from home and don’t have a huge workspace, or following or anything, but I paint every single day, and I’m able to take my kids to school and be home for them when they are home. I feel most alive with a paintbrush in my hand. I wish I had known that back in 2000 when I was a young kid studying watercolors in Scotland.

Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t really believe in smooth roads. In all my experience, every aspect of life comes with its’ own challenges. Schooling, marriage (all relationships, really), raising children, careers, passions, you name it. Nothing meaningful comes easy.

Some of the challenges I’ve faced? Well… there’s always that debilitating self-doubt that has come with my being an artist. But also, there was a time when I tried to get into glass blowing. I struggled to find someone that was willing to teach me. I accepted it and realized quickly that it was a waste of my time and not really for me. There’s been a lot of trial and error with different mediums in art, but I always end up with a paintbrush in my hand.

I think the biggest struggle I’ve had as of recent was the whole experience of going into Phlebotomy. I’ve been struggling with the amount of time and money I put into doing that, only to quit after six months. But the conclusion I’ve come to is that it was something I HAD to do. After staying home with my kids for 12 years, I think I forgot who I was. I love being a mom, don’t get me wrong, but I felt I lost a huge part of myself and needed that reminder that I was smart and worth something outside of the home. In the experience of working again out in the public, I found confidence again. I found that art is where my passion always was and I was worth whatever it took to pursue that dream. And it was important to me that I pursue it WHILE being a mom. I want my girls to know that it’s ok to be a mom AND pursue their dreams at the same time. It’s not one or the other.

I’m one of those people that truly believe everything happens as it’s meant to happen. There have been other challenges and struggles, of course. We all have our own struggles in one way or another. But all roads have led to me painting, and I have no complaints about that.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a watercolor artist and feel like my paintings are different from others in the sense that I have a very “controlled” way of working with the pigments. It’s taken me quite a long time to find my own style, but now that I have, I strive to create daily. As I paint every day, I learn more and more. I also fall in love more and more every day with what I am doing.

I love to paint anything that sparks joy in people. I am mostly focusing on commission work right now and dogs are a much-requested subject. People love their dogs and want them to be memorialized. I am honored that I have the ability to do that for them. I also do portraits as commission work. When I am not doing commission work, and have the freedom to paint for myself, I like to focus on capturing memories. Specifically, memories of places that I’ve been. New York City and New Orleans are a couple of examples. I have photos dating so far back from traveling that I’d really like to focus on. Landscapes of Scotland, perhaps.

My style is a unique form of contour painting, similar to that of Melvin Clark. I prefer to paint based on shapes in a monochromatic scheme. Ranging from the white of the paper to the darkest I can get a color to go, and sometimes I will even add “black” to create the darkest dark, making it duo-chromatic. I never buy black paint, preferring to mix my own. Color theory is incredibly important to me. I love to paint subjects in a color that you would never expect them to be. A bright purple dog, for example. I paint from reference photos that I have either taken myself, or friends have given me permission to reference.

Overall, I’m just an emerging artist who is trying to build a strong portfolio while also wanting to get my name out there more. Someday I hope to be better known than I currently am, perhaps travel and be in art shows and galleries. Isn’t that every artist’s dream, though? Right now, I’m just enjoying where I am, hoping for continued commission work and the ability to paint and grow more every single day as an artist.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Scottsdale is a perfect location to be an emerging artist. There are so many galleries here, as well as in the Phoenix Metro area as a whole. It is my goal to start visiting those galleries regularly and meeting other local artists. There are also numerous festivals and outings that an artist or art lover can attend. I like to get out to the local art festivals as often as I can. I’m incredibly fortunate to be where I am today.

Contact Info:

• Email: tanabellewatercolors@icloud.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanabellewatercolors/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tanabellewatercolors
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TanaBelleArt

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