About Tara

Tara Choate is a watercolor artist from Lincoln City, Oregon.  She’s drawn and painted her whole life. “Art has always been a force in my life. My dad was an art teacher; he taught me to draw, then refused to allow me coloring books. After taking a lot of art classes in high school, I let art drop from my life. I missed it. Then several things changed and I needed to find a creative outlet again.” While she works primarily in watercolor, she has recently added some acrylic, oil, pastels, and collage to her repertoire.

Her paintings are frequently of animals, particularly horses. “Animals hold a special place in my life. I work a great deal from photographs, but I often add vivid color or symbols to convey meaning. I enjoy the challenge of trying to make the viewer understand the story that’s in my head.” Her work tries to incorporate movement, power, and a story about what inspired the piece.

Tara is (by her own admission) easily distracted and has a variety of interests. Dog training, birding, gardening, bonsai, reading, writing, and knitting are the most frequent distractions, but there is no clearly defined limit to what interests her. In 2023, Tara’s design “Rosalie’s Cows” was selected by the city of Keizer for a roundabout. Since then, she has been dabbling in some sculpture as well.