Clumsy Cat

This is a painting I did for an exhibition and fundraiser for Philabundance, a charity the fights hunger in inner city areas of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley.

Tessa Guzé, Clumsy Cat, oil on canvas, 2012

If you would like to see more of my illustrations please visit my children's book illustrations website.

Kiva - make a $25 loan for free!

Tessa Guzé, My Umbrella 2012, oil on canvas

Kiva, an organization that allows people to make loans to people in need throughout the world, is having a promotional offer. Give a loan for free for a limited time. Follow this link and help someone at no expense to yourself. It only takes a couple of minutes and you could really help to chance someone's life for the better. http://www.kiva.org/invitedby/tessa9363

Nobel Sheepdog

Tessa Guzé, Noble Sheepdog 2012, Oil on canvas, 16"x20",

Tessa Guzé, Working Dog 2012, Oil on canvas, 16"x 20"

These are two paintings of a sheepdog I did for the Meeker Sheepdog exhibition that runs from Sept. 5-Sept. 9th. It is an art auctions and fundraiser for the Meeker Sheepdog trails in Meeker, CO.

If you are interested in seeing more of my work please visit my pet portrait portfolio website or my artists blog.

Jugar Featured in Exhibition

Tessa Guzé, Original paintings from "Jugar", oil on canvas, 2011

I am having a solo exhibition of my paintings shown at the Durham Arts Council in Durham, NC. The exhibition is mostly my fine arts painting but I have featured a selection of original paintings from a children's book I illustrated called "Jugar". Jugar is a children's book about an Indian street dog surviving his first monsoon. The opening for this exhibition is Friday, August 17th, 5-7PM.

Tessa Guzé, Durham Arts Council exhibition photo 2012

Tessa Guzé, Durham Arts Council exhibition photo 2012

Here a a few other pictures of the work in the show.  The show is titled Beginner's Mind: Painting with an Open Heart. Beginner's Mind is a Buddhist concept of Shoshin or "non-judging". It means having an attitude of openness, eagerness and lack of preconceptions when perceiving the world or studying a subject. The paintings in the show are mostly portraits of people from various places and cultures around the world.

If you would like to see more of my fine arts paintings please visit the fine arts portfolio page of my website or my artist's blog.

Jugar

Jugar is a children's book that I conceived while in India and then asked my mother Karen Guze to write for me to illustrate.

Book Description:

Jugar (joogar), n. The uniquely Indian concept, hard to translate, of inventively using whatever is at hand in order to get the job done.

Jugar is a young puppy living on the streets of a market in India. He is so young that all he knows is hot, dry weather—he has never seen the rainy season. He ignores the kind warnings of his friends Cow, Camel, and Monkey, and gets into trouble when it starts to rain.

He meets a young boy, and thanks to this boy’s creativity (or jugar), they both make it safely through the Monsoon.

If you would like to view the children's book illustrations in context a preview is available on blurb's website .

Tessa Guze, Jugar Book Cover Layout

Tessa Guze, Jugar and Mother Cow, Oil on Canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, Jugar in the Market, Oil on Canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, Jugar and Sonu the Camel, oil on canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, The Rain Drop, oil on canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, Laughing Monkeys, oil on canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, Testing the Water, oil on canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, Swept Away, oil on canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, Attempt to Climb, oil on canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, New Friends, oil on canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, Marooned, oil on canvas, 2011

Tessa Guze, Going Home, oil on canvas, 2011

Please visit my painting portfolio website to see more of my paintings!

Going Skiing

Tessa Guze, Going Skiing, oil on canvas, 36"x24"

This is a painting I did after going skiing for the first time.

This painting is currently on display at the Gwangju International Center in Gwangju Korea.

If you are interested in seeing more of my oil paintings please visit my painting portfolio website or my artists blog.

Portrait of Freddy: West Highland White Terrier

Tessa Guze, Freddy Portrait, oil on canvas, 2012

This is a portrait, of Freddy a West Highland White Terrier. West Highland White Terriers are small dogs, they are great with children and also protective guard dogs.
This portrait is small only 8" x 10". It is currently on display at the Art Shop at Moore.
To see more pet paintings, visit my pet portraits blog or more fine art or portraits click on these links.

Red Rainboots

Tessa Guze, Red Rainboots, oil on canvas, 2011

This is an oil painting of a cat and a little girl. This painting, along with other pet portraits and children's book illustrations, will be displayed in the Gwangju International Center, in Gwangju South Korea starting March, 10th. This is an oil painting of a cat and a little girl. To see more similar paintings please visit my pet painting blog or to see more of my general paintings go to my website.

First Snow

Tessa Guze, Ear Muffs, oil on canvas, 11" x 14"

I have always hated winter. I hate the cold. I hate winter clothing. However living in Korea, I have started to enjoy winter (I didn't really have a choice). I went skiing for the first time, and loved it! I also discover that wearing half a dozen layers of clothing truly does help to ward off the cold. Here in Korea there are lots of cute and fashionable winter clothing and paraphernalia, including the huge earmuffs I have painted in this picture. I  have learned to see the beauty of falling snow and of people struggling to protect themselves from the cold (while remaining fashionably chic).

This painting is currently on display at the Gwangju International Center. It is part of a solo exhibition of my work titled, Portraits of Life. All the paintings in the show are paintings I have done in the past few months since moving to Korea.

Harry the White Carousel Horse

Tessa Guze, Harry the White Carousel Horse Cover, oil and digital

Tessa Guze, Harry the White Carousel Horse Spread 2, oil and digital

Tessa Guze, Harry the White Carousel Horse Spread 6, oil and digital

Tessa Guze, Harry the White Carousel Horse Spread 10, oil and digital

This is a children's book I recently finished illustrating. The book is called Harry the White Carousel Horse. It is about the all white carousel horse in the carousel at the mall in Washington DC. The author of the book Karin Tetlow noticed that none of the children wanted to ride the white horse, they were only interested in the other colorful horses. The book is about Harry accepting who he is and learning to be happy with the way he looks.
The book is in the Public Library Association's 14th National Conference at the convention center in Philadelphia, PA. The book is in the IBPA catalog (Independent Book Publishers Association). Their website is: placonference.org/exhibits/exhibitors.
The book will be in the Library show and in the regional section for Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Jugar

Jugar Cover, Tessa Guze, oil on canvas

This is the cover and jacket flap of a children's book that I illustrated called Jugar. Jugar is a word that I learned while living in Delhi. Jugar is the uniquely Indian concept of innovating solving problems with whatever is at hand. This was my favorite word that I learned in India, and I really felt that it illustrates the creativity and spontaneity of life in India.
If you are interested you can see a preview of the entire book on the blurb website or visit my portfolio website.

Hello!

Tessa Guze, Lion Gets His Color,  mixed media, 

I am a children's book illustrator, currently doing freelance work from Korea. I love children, books and painting.

I have known that I wanted to be a children's book illustrator for as long as I can remember. Before I knew how to read or write I began by stapling pieces of paper together to make my own books and then drawing on the pages. I dictated my stories to my mother who dutifully filled in the words for me. For a book-making class in art school I teamed up with my mother, Karen Guze, on again to create "How the Painted Hunting Dog Got His Marks", which we both brain stormed, she wrote, and I illustrated. We worked so easily together that we decided to continue with "Jugar" for my senior thesis. To see a preview of the book please click here. Copies of this book are available in hardback at blurb.com/books/2106034 or in paperback at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/tessaguzeatgmaildotcom.