Meet Penny Rae Tuffendsam

We had the good fortune of connecting with Penny Rae Tuffendsam and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Penny Rae, how does your business help the community?
I’ve spent a tremendous amount of time concerned about this question. I think it’s in an artist’s nature to be concerned about “meaning”. It’s an especially difficult thing to grapple with in American culture because the value we place on beauty, for beauty’s sake, is so much less than in other, more ancient cultures where beauty is a high priority and it’s expression is deeply connected to their history and identity as a people. As I was growing up, my impression of the purpose of “beauty” was pretty shallow. At best, it was fun to look at beautiful things and pictures, and at worst, it was used to attract us to buy things. Since my biggest priority for my life has always been about my relationship with God, and doing what I believe he’s best built me to do, I’ve always had to wrestle with the realization that making things, especially pictures, is not only what I have the most aptitude for, but also what brings me the most joy. I feel called to it on a deep level, and it’s a compulsion that I can’t ignore without a lot of frustration. But I also believe that God has called me to love people in specific ways. It’s taken me a long time to figure out how making beautiful paintings, and serving people in this world through my personal act of expression, can be a blessing. When my painting practice doesn’t feel like an act of service to humanity in some way, it’s hard for me to fully enjoy it.
I’ve had to do a lot of investigating over the years about the purpose of “beauty” from a philosophical stand point, so that I can understand how my work is a blessing to others, even when I’m painting something for no other reason than that it’s beautiful, and I want others to enjoy it’s beauty with me. But I’ve also found many practical ways to bless people through my work. I love doing portraits the most, and I absolutely LOVE how personal of a connection it is between my subject and me, and also the effect it has on the people who receive them. To paint a person is to give them honor, to make them seen, and to show the world the value and the dignity I see when I look at them.
I also like to tell a good story, specifically about what hopeful things I see God doing in the world. My current project is a series of Baptism paintings, and other paintings of people in my church community where I see miracles happening everyday. I can’t think of a better purpose for my work than to tell those stories to the world.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I was a kid, I was always drawing and coloring. My parents were constantly encouraging my obsession with praise and art supplies. I can’t emphasize enough how grateful I am to them for that. As I grew older and started raising my kids I considered other careers, but always came back to working with my hands. When it was time for me to decide if I wanted to pursue further education as my kids became more independent, the pull of drawing became strong again and I realized I should dedicate my life to fine art making, and while I was at it, I may as well make my goals as big as possible. So at the age of 40 I started learning how to paint. I think my work is best described as Contemporary Realism, generally. The majority of it is figurative (meaning it has people in it) and because I have a preoccupation with “environment” it tends to include the environments those people are occupying and their relationship with it. This kind of translates to people in an urban environment, lately. Sometimes that environment is a literal place, and sometimes the environment is more of just an atmosphere. The atmosphere is extremely exciting to me, because I feel so personally effected by the atmospheres I inhabit. I also find it really interesting to show atmospheres in my work that represent the same unconventional relationship I have to those atmospheres. For instance, I love rain, storms, and overcast days. Rainy days represent calm, comfort, and provision to me. I love the power and the sensory sounds of storms. Living in LA means I don’t get to experience these as often as I’d like, but I can’t get tired of them either. When they happen, they have a profound calming effect on my mood. What is most exciting to me, is when I can combine all these elements, people, environments, mood and atmosphere, to tell a story full of meaning. My work is moving more in the direction of telling allegorical or metaphorical stories that make Biblical concepts, parables and principles come to life.
These days, I paint full time. I am grateful that I’m in a position to do this and I’ve had the opportunity to dedicate myself to it without the burden making a living. I’ve been a stay at home, homeschooling Mom for so many years now that our family is already adjusted to my lack of income. My dream would be to be able to keep this up for the rest of my life, while continuing to see my work influence people in a positive way. Having the complete creative freedom to explore what that means on a daily basis is a huge joy in my life, and gives me a sense of responsibility to be 100% authentic in making the art that I want to make, and not just what I think might sell. This has probably been the hardest part of my growth. Having to figure out WHY I’m doing this and WHAT kind of work best expresses what I want to express. And then even harder than that has been “what do I want to express?”. That is a question that keeps me up at night. Finding answers to that question has been the absolute biggest and most unexpected challenge on this journey. It’s also been the most rewarding. I feel like I know myself so much better for it. Creative freedom is a truly rare and valuable opportunity, and I’m grateful. And if I make some money doing it, I get to keep doing it, and that is enough for me. I can’t think of a better life than the one I’m living now!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I tend to gravitate toward the art museums in Los Angeles. The Getty is my favorite because of all the classical oil paintings they have. I love to take people to Huntington Gardens, and Magnolia Park in Burbank, where the Vintage stores are top notch! Yes Baby Vintage is my favorite. I take all my friends there! Urth Cafe in Pasadena is my absolute favorite restaurant in L.A. They have really good blended Boba Tea and the food is excellent! I also love hanging out at Romancing the Bean in Burbank.
If I have a friend come to visit whose never been to Los Angeles, I will usually drive them through the hills along Coldwater Canyon and then take Ventura Blvd. through Studio City, and past Universal, Warner Brothers and Disney in Burbank. And sometimes I show them the “Wonder Years” house. It’s even fun going to the grocery store I shop at, because it’s been the location for SO many scenes in shows and movies. Living in Burbank, I tell people, means living in a literal whole town that is actually a movie and television set. I’ve lived here 20 years, and I still find that cool.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My Husband and my Dad are my biggest cheerleaders. If it weren’t for their encouragement, I may never have realized that I was any good at this. I’ve also had a number of friends who really believe in me and love my work, and inspire me constantly to keep going. The feedback that comes from my friends on Facebook who have been watching over the years has been super encouraging. Social Media can drive me crazy in plenty of ways, but it’s been good having it to be able to share my art with literally all the people who’ve ever had an impact on me. I’ve never received a single critical, trolling or hateful response to my sharing it. I have some wonderful friends. I have had many teachers in the form of books and Youtube channels that have helped me learn how to draw and paint and how to think about art making. Some of my favorite Youtube Channels are….Andrew Tischler, The Undraped Artist Podcast, Ken Goschen, and Our Painted Lives.
And thank you so much to every single person who’s ever bought a piece of art from me. It gives me so much joy to connect with Collectors, and other people who appreciate this art form as much as I do. Also thank you to every single person who’s allowed me to paint or draw their portrait. It’s a brave thing to allow a person to analyze you for long enough to paint you. So thank you for the vulnerabilty. Oh, and thanks especially to my kids who not only keep encouraging me but continue to tolerate being my favorite subject.

Website: www.PennyRaeArt.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/penny.rae.art

Facebook: pennyraeart

Image Credits
These six paintings are all Oil on Linen or Oil on Wood. They all come from my own photo reference, except the one called “Eme and and a Baby Goat”. I saw a picture that my best friend posted and I couldn’t resist it! <br>