Tina LaRea Fine Art

Tina LaRea Fine Art Tina LaRea is an oil painter of representational realism.

Studio Pup. My Lola 💖
03/28/2026

Studio Pup. My Lola 💖

Portrait Commission, loading.....Our dear 86 years young Aunt Jackie has commissioned me to paint a portrait of her son,...
02/18/2026

Portrait Commission, loading.....

Our dear 86 years young Aunt Jackie has commissioned me to paint a portrait of her son, David Earl Wilkerson, when he was 12 years old. He didn't live much longer on earth after this picture (on my easel in the background) was taken in about 1980. As his last acts of kindness, compassion, and love for life and humanity, he selflessly and generously donated his organs to some very grateful recipients. It is my honor to breathe life again into this young man's presence and to honor his legacy.

I've decided to start this painting in an open grisaille and with the subtraction method. Since this is a portrait, one thing I will attempt is using a Terra Verde green as the undertone on the face. I have never tried this compilation of methods before, but will have fun learning from the experience.

As I have so very often in my art journey, I am referencing Todd Casey's book, The Oil Painter's Handbook, A Contemporary Guide to Color Mixing, Pigments, Palettes, and Harmony. Specifically, pages 312-313 have inspired me for beginning this painting in an open grisaille.

Jesus, take the palette and paintbrush. 🎨 🖌️🙏

We never know how high we areTill we are asked to riseAnd then if we are true to planOur statures touch the skies -The H...
01/21/2026

We never know how high we are
Till we are asked to rise
And then if we are true to plan
Our statures touch the skies -

The Heroism we recite
Would be a normal thing
Did not ourselves the Cubits warp
For fear to be a King

Poem by Emily Dickenson

This poem explores latent human potential, suggesting that individuals remain unaware of their capabilities until challenged, at which point they can achieve greatness provided they remain authentic.

I'm pushing onward, trying to leave behind perfection and operate in progressive excellence.

Sending love to all. ❣️

Lessons learned. Time to move on.My favorite thought-provoking quote this week has been: "What am I doing in my life tha...
12/02/2025

Lessons learned. Time to move on.

My favorite thought-provoking quote this week has been: "What am I doing in my life that is cheating me out of God's best?" ~ Dr. Charles Stanley

"On the first day of class, Jerry Uelsmann, A professor at the University of Florida, divided his film photography stude...
10/29/2025

"On the first day of class, Jerry Uelsmann, A professor at the University of Florida, divided his film photography students into two groups.

Everyone on the left side of the classroom, he explained, would be in the "quantity" group. They would be graded solely on the amount of work they produced. On the final day of class, he would tally the number of photos submitted by each student. One hundred photos would rate an A, ninety photos a B, either photos a C, and so on.

Meanwhile, everyone on the right side of the room would be in the "quality" group. They would be graded only on the excellence of their work. They would only need to produce on photo during the semester, but to get an A, it had to be a nearly perfect image.

At the end of the term, he was surprised to find that all the best photos were produced by the quantity group. During the semester, these students were busy taking photos, experimenting with composition and lighting, testing out various methods in the darkroom, and learning from their mistakes. In the process of creating hundreds of photos, they honed their skills. Meanwhile, the quality group sat around speculating about perfection. In the end, they had little to show for their efforts other than unverified theories and one mediocre photo."

Atomic Habits by James Clear, Chapter 11, pp 141-142

During that crazy time in our history, the year 2020, when we were all on lock down, we desperately needed our communiti...
10/28/2025

During that crazy time in our history, the year 2020, when we were all on lock down, we desperately needed our communities, but the governmental mandate was that we stayed home, isolated. It was during that time that David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, Jackie Kamin, and Stacy Kamin offered an online, intensive mentoring workshop, and I took it. We met LIVE and were critiqued LIVE with all students able to view the critiques. It was FANTASTIC!

Because this was an online workshop, I had a little bit of a relaxed attitude about my canvas, focusing more on studying than producing the next wanna-be museum quality masterpiece. So I chose to paint on Arches Oil Painting Paper. The paper was easy to stand up in a pizza box organizer to dry. 🤷 And if I didn't like my painting, I could throw it away without buyer's remorse (which can step up when tossing a board canvas or whatnot).

I've had these paintings laying around all these years, until yesterday when I mounted them onto boards, let the glue dry overnight, and then hung them today. I'd never done that before. It was surprisingly easy! Blick Art Supplies had everything I needed and I watched a video on YouTube by artist Kimberly Trowbridge who demonstrated how to do this. Her video was very helpful! Thank you, Kimberly! 🙏

I've heard that it's better for the artist to surround herself/himself with the art of artists who inspire you, and I agree, because it eventually infuses itself into you as an artist. But I also like looking at my progress and remembering those precious life moments that I had with those four amazing artists who gave of their time, wisdom, and heart... sooooo generously, so I hung my art as my rocks of remembrance. Those exchanges in my art community that week will forever be a treasure to me. I can never get that time back, and I wouldn't invest it in any other way. I am so grateful. ❣️

I have been blessed to be able to study with some of the best master artists of our time, but, sadly, I never directly s...
10/03/2025

I have been blessed to be able to study with some of the best master artists of our time, but, sadly, I never directly studied with Richard Schmid. Years ago, I created color charts after reading Alla Prima II. I purchased his books, studied his instructions, and practiced his lessons in my art journal; but this year, I wanted to truly understand Richard's compositions, his brushwork, his edges, and try to discover everything I could that made Richard Schmid, Richard Schmid. So I took on a master copy that Richard painted in 2004, his quick sketch of Roses and Carnations.

With my super hero (and dare I say FAVORITE) art teacher, fantastic art author, and incredible master artist, , at the helm of my artistic vision and desire, I started, stopped, trashed, started, stopped, trashed, and started again until I got a good running start at this painting and felt that comfortable ease when I know I'm on the right track. I hadn't painted in a very long time, so I bumped around a little in the beginning. But Todd gave his ALL for me; he continued to critique with wisdom when I had given him virtually nothing to even critique. Class was over before I ever got the first layer of color laid in. Again, Todd was encouraging. Always.

So I spent the next couple of months studying this painting of his and trying to understand HOW Richard made that brush mark, or decided what would hold together the composition, or how he decided to express light rays bouncing around the way he did. What I didn't expect to find were hidden, little treasures of love. But I paid attention. I zoomed in. If you zoom in and look closely, you, too, will find those hidden treasures! (Thank you !)

What a beautiful man he must have been... So intimate, gentle, thoughtful, insightful, with intentional and unexpected notes of value and surprise; and all expressed with freedom, inviting. He saw beauty and expressed it with ease. His palette, paints, and brushes were the vocabulary of the Divine. I wish I could have known him on this side of Heaven. Thank you, sir Schmid, for your life & lessons.



The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, announced the acquisition of The Cut Melon by Jean Siméon Chardin. Dated 1...
07/11/2025

The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, announced the acquisition of The Cut Melon by Jean Siméon Chardin. Dated 1760, The Cut Melon has long been recognized as one of the artist’s most remarkable paintings—rare in its oval shape and exemplifying Chardin’s mastery at its peak. The painting will be on view beginning Thursday, May 22, 2025, in the Kimbell’s Louis I. Kahn Building.

I smooshed around some paint today. First time in over a year. Glad to be back at my easel with a FULL palette. Lol! 🤣🖌️...
06/17/2025

I smooshed around some paint today. First time in over a year. Glad to be back at my easel with a FULL palette. Lol! 🤣🖌️🎨🫟 Wanted to document this date. So blessed and grateful. 🙏🙌💝🥰

We drove to Oklahoma this past weekend to celebrate my daughter's 30th birthday, but first we surprised my grandson when...
05/06/2024

We drove to Oklahoma this past weekend to celebrate my daughter's 30th birthday, but first we surprised my grandson when we showed up for his school field trip on Friday at the Woolarock Museum & Wildlife Preserve. We didn't know he had a field trip until the night before when my daughter invited us to go, so it was unplanned, and we were all-in for the fun! As we got into the second room of our tour of the museum of Native American artifacts, I stopped abruptly in my tracks, STUNNED at the painting hanging there on the wall. It looked like a Fechin, but could it be? Nahhhhh... In podunk Woolarock, Oklahoma? On a child's field trip? Impossible. Still, I had to go look. To my absolute surprise, it was indeed an ORIGINAL Fechin painting! I cried. And, yes, I touched the paint. My fingers touched Fechin's paint. Here I was at my grandson's field trip thinking how fun it would be to surprise him, when my Father in Heaven had a big ol' surprise up His sleeve for me! Grateful. Absolutely grateful. It wrecked me, in a good way of course! 🙌🙏❤️🎨🖌️

God cannot bless the steps you don't take. May your day be filled with the steps that create joy and growth in your life...
04/29/2024

God cannot bless the steps you don't take. May your day be filled with the steps that create joy and growth in your life. Love to all. ~ Tina🦋

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Conroe, TX

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Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
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