Tasha Smith Art

Collage artist and nature lover, Tasha Smith has been grounded in nature since she can remember. Tasha has been hitting the trails, hiking, and backpacking in the Oregon and Washington Cascades since she could walk. The natural world is where she feels the most alive and connected.  She would take it all in, feeling joyful and curious, and continues to do so now as an artist. Tasha actively uses nature to not only inspire her floral and landscape work, but as part of her process. Tasha uses local flora and fauna in her work by creating monoprints on a silicone printing plate. You can find her regularly foraging for ferns, leaves, grasses, or flowers to create texture and interest in her paper. These colorful paper prints are then incorporated into her art.

Time in her home studio is spent mostly ripping and gluing. She starts with an acrylic under-painting on a birch panel. Once satisfied with her image, she proceeds to rip and glue paper. The paper has been painted and printed using acrylic paint to bring color, vibrancy, and longevity to the piece. The result looks like a bright and colorful painting, but on closer inspection the viewer discovers more. It is a painted paper collage!

Tasha graduated from Oregon State University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Business/Marketing and a Minor in Fine Art. That education has served her well in the past, but is a perfect fit for her career as a fine artist.

In 2008, Tasha became a mom and committed fully to the role of mother, wife, and eventually homeschooler. Her primary focus for the last fourteen years has been growing strong, capable, and joyful daughters.

Tasha and her family moved to Camano Island, Washington in 2018.  With a dedicated studio space on Camano, Tasha has been able to devote time and space to a daily art practice. Tasha took a step back from shows and sales for much of 2020 – 2021 in order to stay home with her three daughters as they worked remotely and homeschooled. The extra time in her home studio has been rewarding and Tasha recently celebrated the release of her first collection, Bountiful, in conjunction with the 2022 Camano Arts Studio Tour.