Tatsy

I have never gone to art school or taken art classes of any sort. But I was always fascinated by color combination/contrast and enjoyed sketching/designing clothing and drawing models with long hair when I was a child. In 2010, I felt like drawing my boyfriend’s black cat in the field of unrealistic psychedelic flowers. I used colored pencils since they seemed less intimidating than any other medium. My boyfriend was extremely impressed by my drawing and urged me to draw every day. I created a few pieces in the next couple of years including some of my favorite ones while living in China for a year and being inspired by Chinese culture. At some point I started taking dance classes, then became a dance instructor and started performing at events/shows and stopped drawing. In 2015, I sustained a wrist injury which led to chronic regional pain syndrome labeled as the most painful condition known to mankind. I lost all function in my right hand, and could not even write my name. Then pain spread full body and I had to go on disability. Years of treatment and physical therapy helped restore some function to my hand. I decided to try drawing again when I moved to Austin in September of 2023. Even though the pain prevented me (and still does) from drawing as much as I want, I still felt so ecstatic to be holding pencils in my hand again. At that moment I knew that even though I could never dance again, art was going to be my new dance. So, I created my first piece after a 12 year break which was inspired by a fox I spotted every night on the beach in NJ while going through a very difficult time the summer of 2021. After receiving an overwhelming amount of positive feedback on social media, and people asking if they could buy the drawing, I decided to scan it and make larger prints for sale. Since then I have been slowly but steadily creating new pieces and selling prints and merchandise (tote bags and hoodies). In April of this year my fox piece (“Bond”) was chosen to be an annual poster of Art at the Bend festival. Such recognition motivated me to keep applying for various festivals/events/shows and seek more opportunities to bring joy to people with my art. You can also find the prints of my work at Healing Vortex store and the 3rd Eye Meditation Lounge in Austin. I feel blessed and grateful to be able to draw again and I’d love to inspire other disabled individuals with my story.