COVER by Tanna Bellia

Coming Home (acrylic on canvas). Oakland painter Tanna Bellia is inspired by the art of the Bay Area figurative movement. It was the distinctive efforts of David Park, Elmer Bishoff, and Joan Brown that put the West Coast on the artistic map after World War II and later inspired Bellia to begin painting. The figurative school departed from “serious painting” by emphasizing the figure, with a bold, improvisational color palette. Bellia’s work, she says, represents her desire to connect with the deepest levels of herself and “from that place make the unseen visible on canvas.” Currently showing at the Epperson Gallery in Crockett, Bellia’s paintings can be viewed on her Web site, www.tannabellia.com. Contact the artist by e-mail at tannab@aol.com.