EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 14 © 2016 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

5 LEFT: Bunny Girl (2010), oil on linen, stretched over panel, 18” x 24”, from the Bunny in the Moon series. BELOW: Sometimes I Just Want a Hug (2005), acrylic, 12” x 26”, done for the ‘Sometimes I want a Hug’ group exhibition at the Jonathan Levine gallery in NYC. a heartbreak and can’t express their love anymore. Yet they aren’t desperate and suicidal figures filled with anguish, but rather the contrary: they seem at peace, though devoid of emotion, bringing a somehow mysterious and serene tranquillity to the whole setting. As to the origin of the character with the cut-out heart (since named Orion), Tara says: “Well, originally, I went through a really horrible break-up, and I painted the very first one. It just helped me get through a very rough time emotionally, and really get out what I needed to get out. It was very cathartic. That’s initially how she started. “And then I just really liked the character, in and of itself. With seeing Text continues on page 9