Sant Barbara Tilka is a self taught Artist, acquiring her education primarily through art books, nature, and many years of practice. Further, she feels blessed that she has received priceless advise and direction from highly talented artists she has admired and sought out. Her use of vibrant colors in many of her paintings reflects her Spanish heritage. But she also loves the elegance of Black and White Drawings and Paintings.
In addition to being an Artist, she is a practicing Occupational Therapist. Occasionally she incorporates her art in her therapy sessions to improve areas such as standing balance, endurance, perception, and coordination. She finds that it even helps with uplifting her patient’s spirits.
Her interest in art started as a child, She would occasionally draw her classmates. By the time she was a junior in high school she was commissioned to paint a mural of her school mascot on one of its walls and was named Artist of the Year. Around the same time, Margaret R. Grundy Memorial Library in Bristol, Pa. offered to buy her very first Oil painting to exhibit in their library.
Mrs. Tilka obtains much of her inspiration from nature and beautiful local settings. These include but are not limited to: Botanic gardens, local historic areas, museums, and even her own backyard. Also, she loves animals, and as of 2024, has started accepting Pet Portrait commissions. Presently she has Artist Embellished Specialty Greeting Cards as well as Handcrafted, Made in U.S.A. Freedom Ceramic Mugs and Hand Made in U.S.A. Pottery Mugs at Napoli’s Italian Kitchen & Market in Historic Downtown Grapevine, Texas. Her Specialty Greeting Cards are also available at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden in Fort Worth, Texas. These 5″ x 7″ Greeting Cards are printed on 100# Acid Free Card Stock, blank inside, and are mostly of floral topics and local scenes. They are especially unique since she personally brushes a layer of a heavy gel medium over their images for texture and durability. No two are identical secondary to this special touch. They can easily be matted / framed.
The Artist’s favorite mediums are Oils, Graphite, and Coloring Pencils. Oils allow her to easily add impasto effects for added texture and depth. Graphite as well as Coloring Pencils are very portable, allowing for spontaneous, on location sketches which can be framed as finished works of Art or which can be used as studies for Oil Paintings. She works from photographs, her own sketches, imagination, or a combination of these. All of her photographs are ones she has personally taken except, for example, when commissioned to paint or draw a Pet Portrait. She will then use the Pet owner’s picture if for any reason she is not able to personally take a picture of the Pet herself. All of her Paintings and Drawings are truly Originals from Start to Finish. Only the best materials are used to ensure enjoyment of the Artwork for many years to come.
