November 7, 2012

The Art of Giving Reception

Tessa Guzé, 2012 Wine Label In Context



The (no name) Art Grout is having a reception for their wine label fundraiser The Art of Giving. It is on November 11th, 3-7pm at Encore Lounge, 112 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. For more details click here.

This is the (no name) art group's 3rd annual Art of Giving wine label exhibit and fundraiser. The beneficiary of this fundraiser is Philabundance, a charity that is fighting hunger and malnutrition in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley area.

Tessa Guzé, Celebrate 2012 Wine Label, Oil on canvas,
40 artists have participated, each creating a different label on the same theme, "Inspiration: The Love of Place". My painting is titled "Celebrate" and is inspired by the Dogon festivals in Mali. The Dogon people have various festivals were the men dress up in costumes and masks. They take place at varying intervals some only once every 12 years and the purpose is the binding of the spiritual world to the living world. During the Dama festivals the men go into caves and mourn the deaths that have occurred over the past 12 years and carve their masks. They then don the masks and dance for five days. These masks now have the power to drive away evil spirites. To see the link to my wine label please click here.


You can see all 40 wine labels by visiting the (no name) art group's website


To see more of my work please visit my painting portfolio website or my fine arts blog. Thank you!

October 3, 2012

The Art of Giving, 2012 Wine Label Fundraiser



This is a painting is did for the (no name) art group's 3rd annual Art of Giving wine label exhibit and fundraiser. The beneficiary of this fundraiser is Philabundance, a charity that is fighting hunger and malnutrition in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley area.
Tessa Guzé, Celebrate 2012 Wine Label, Oil on canvas,
40 artists have participated, each creating a different label on the same theme, "Inspiration: The Love of Place". My painting is titled "Celebrate" and is inspired by the Dogon festivals in Mali. The Dogon people have various festivals were the men dress up in costumes and masks. They take place at varying intervals some only once every 12 years and the purpose is the binding of the spiritual world to the living world. During the Dama festivals the men go into caves and mourn the deaths that have occurred over the past 12 years and carve their masks. Then they don the masks and dance for five days. These masks now have the power to drive away evil spirites. To see the link to my wine label please click here.
Tessa Guzé, 2012 Wine Label In Context


Here are a few examples of other artists wine labels. 
E Bond, 2012 Wine Label
E Bond, a Moore Alum, designer and professor at Moore College of Art and Design.
Linda Mehnert, 2012 Wine Label
 A beautiful piece by Linda Mehnert.


Christina Hess, 2012 Wine Label
 Christina Hess, a professional illustrator and a former professor of mine at Moore College of Art & Design.
Deborah Larkin, 2012 Wine Label
Deborah Larkin, designer and another former professor of mine at Moore.

To see all 40 wine labels please visit the (no name) art group's website. You can purchase bottles of wine here with your choice of wine label. There is only a small window to make your purchases and a limited amount of wine so please make any purchases before Oct. 7th. 

For anyone living in the Philadelphia area there is going to be an reception on November 11th, 3-7pm at Encore Lounge, 112 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. For more details click here

To see more similar work please visit my painting portfolio website or my artists blog. Thank you!


August 30, 2012

Blue Sari - painting process

Tessa Guzé, Blue Sari 2012, 16"x20"


This is a painting of a young girl from Mumbai wearing a blue sari. This painting is currently on display at the Durham Arts Council. 

I took a few photos as I worked on this painting to show my painting process. 

I started by toning the canvas with a thin layer of blue oil paint because I knew I wanted this painting to have blue undertones. 

toned canvas
After the canvas was toned and dried I drew a rough charcoal sketch on the canvas. I like to do a sketch in charcoal instead of an underpainting because it is quicker, but it still helps to map out the painting and determine values.

charcoal sketch
After the sketch was completed I sprayed it with workable fixative, this stops the charcoal from running and muddying the oil paint. Then I did the painting in oil paint, using turpentine and linseed oil.

Finished painting

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my painting portfolio or my paintings, portraits and illustrations blog.

August 28, 2012

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

August 17, 2012

Walking to School

Tessa Guzé, Walking to School, oil on canvas, 2011
This painting is currently on exhibition as part of a solo show of my work, titled "Beginner's Mind: Painting with an Open Heart". It just sold to another artist! The reception for the show is this Friday, from 5-7pm at the Durham Arts Council, in NC.

This is painting of one of the students I taught when I was working in a shanty town in Jaipur, India.

If you are interested in seeing more of my work please visit my painting portfolio website or my general artists blog

August 14, 2012

Real People Exhibition

Tessa Guzé, Looking into Light 2012, oil on canvas, 16" x 20"

The Real People Exhibition is run every August by the Old Court House Figurative League. It is a national juried show of figurative work. The theme is "Real People - Celebrating the Arts through Faces and Figures." The exhibition serves two purposes. The first is give artists like myself a chance to showcase and sell their paintings, while competing for prizes. Secondly it raises funds for the Figurative League to offer year-round life drawing programs to local artists.

The Real People Exhibition is being held in the Old Court House Art Center, in Woodstock, IL. There is going to be an opening reception on Saturday, August 25th from 6-8PM.

To see more similar work please visit my painting portfolio website or my portrait painting blog. 

August 2, 2012

Beginner's Mind: Painting with an OpenHeart





Local Artist with a Global Perspective
Tessa Guzé, Painting featured in Painting with an Open Heart Exhibit, 2012
An exhibition of oil paintings by emerging artist, and Durham native, Tessa Guzé, will open at the Durham Arts Council on July 31. Entitled Beginner’s Mind: Painting with an Open Heart the show consists of 25 paintings portraying people from a wide range of countries and cultures, all presented in a way that address the themes of diversity, adversity, and humanity. Ms. Guzé’s objective is to communicate with as wide a range of people as possible, reaching across differences in culture, age, personality and knowledge. Her intention is to help viewers understand, and thus accept, people who seem different from themselves.

Tessa Guzé, Painting with an Open Heart Exhibition wall 1, 2012

The phrase “Beginner’s Mind” refers to the 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, even when studying at an advanced level. Living internationally, Ms. Guzé has found this attitude essential when studying different cultures and forming friendships and working relationships in various countries.
Tessa Guzé, Painting from Jugar, 2012
Ms. Guzé grew up in Durham and graduated from Durham School of the Arts in 2007. She won a scholarship to study at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2011. Four of her paintings were chosen for an exhibition at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia in the summer of 2011. Her work has also appeared in numerous other galleries in the United States, as well as in galleries in South Korea and Thailand.
Tessa Guzé, Painting with an Open Heart wall 2, 2012
The exhibit will run through September 9th in the Allenton Gallery on the first floor of the Durham Arts Council Building, 120 Morris Street. The opening reception is Friday, August 17th from 5-7pm.


Tessa Guzé, Painting featured in Painting with an Open Heart Exhibit, 2012
More information about Tessa Guzé can be found on her website: www.tessaguze.com.

June 20, 2012

Blue Sari

Tessa Guze, Mumbai Girl, oil on canvas, 16"x20"
This is a painting of a young girl from Mumbai wearing a blue sari.

If you would like to see more of my work please visit my painting portfolio or my artist blog

June 1, 2012

Korean Child Monk

Tessa Guze, Child Monk, oil on canvas,  30"x40"
In South Korea Buddha's birthday is a holiday celebrated on May 28th. There are many celebrations leading up to holiday one of which is a temple stay experience for children. They have their heads saved and get to experience living like a monk.

If you are interested in seeing more of my work please visit my painting portfolio website or my artist's blog.

March 21, 2012

Women's Works, 25th Anniversary Show


Tessa Guze, Lips, oil on canvas,

This painting is in the Women's Works 2012 25th Anniversary Show, in the Old Court House Arts Center in Woodstock, Illinois. This show is run by the NAAC (Northwest Area Arts Council).
The show opens on March 8th. There will be a Gala Night Opening Reception is March 24th at 7PM CST with over 500 people attending. The show will continue through April 29th.
For more information about the show you can visit NAAC's website: www.naac4art.org or the Women's Works website: www.womensworks.net. Anyone in the area please stop by and check out the show!
If you are interested in seeing more similar work please visit the portraits page of my website.

March 2, 2012

HeART for Hope


Tessa Guze, Determination, oil on canvas

The Duange Prateep Foundation is organizing an art exhibition and auction to mark the first anniversary of the Japanese tsunami. Artworks have been donated by artists from all over the world and will be auctioned. The money raised from the auction will fun a nine-day-camp for Japanese and Thai victims of the tsunamis and other severe hardships. They will learn that they are not alone in their present suffering. There are other victims who have shared similar fates. They will engage in activities of experience-sharing and mutual support so they can begin to emerge from their current suffering and find hope in their futures.


The exhibition and auction will be held on March 10-12, 2012 at the Central World Complex at Rajprasong, Bankok.