Oil on Canvas, Ink & More by Tamara Arzumanova

‘Mirroring’ (Collage, Acrylic and Oil on Canvas, 36X 48”)

Double mother and child portraits that draw parallels between the artist and her mother. This double portrait was initially meant to tell the faded, sepia-toned story of her mother becoming a doctor and PHD while she had children with a war brewing in the background and an eventual escape to a then hungry and angered new Moscow. She is surrounded by dust, along with the ideologies of a socialist USSR.
The mother and child self-portrait to the right is colorful and stands atop new fights to be h

Portrait of woman and mother who balances a free spirit with the need for order and balance. She evokes a modern take on the Madonna and Child.

iloveus (Mixed Media: collage, watercolor, ink, acrylic, foil overlay and oil on paper, 22X30")

Portrait of husband and wife. A play on the notion of public and private self is displayed within the composition, pose and repetitive linear background. 3D flower overlay and collage reflect the way in which what a person consumes and creates can easily become their identifiers. Overall, warm tones fill the space and are juxtaposed against a rigid and removed pose and composition to indicate a private love. Collage textile prints combine the couples' ethnic backgrounds blending into one.

Closeup displays newspaper clippings, academic writers authored by subject and 3D flowers made from torn fashion ads.

A man and woman partnered in an embrace. There have been and will be many more embraces and each one will strengthen her and define her. She is the supportive trunk and the memories and partners fade in and out only to give a woman what she needs in that moment.

Portrait of a San Francisco native poet and writer. Her stare is reserved. She comes up close, but does not let you in. Instead, her work is displayed for you to learn.
This was the initial portrait that led me to the the private versus public face portrait series.

a dance to before (Oil on Canvas,20X30")

Portrait of a dancer, illustrator and mother. The subject is caught in between poses, lifting her chignon with a soft and subtle upward motion- a timeless gesture practiced by many a women in bygone eras. She is the coming together of the traditional old world and her carefree modern self.

A smiling face with patched and covered surfaces. She is not perfect, she merges with her ancient roots, but a light spirit draws forward and dissolves the past, the history and challenges.

Portrait of a young girl. Her hurt is displayed in her deep stare and folded gesture. a climbing rail and transitional color story gives us hope of where she is to go.

Captures the moment of absolute peace and quiet when you allow yourself to sink down to the bottom of a pool. You are weightless. As a new mother, I yearned for the weightlessness and calm of this sensation.

A complex grid of the love, companionship and sometimes confinement and loneliness that is experienced in marriage.

A response to the police brutality that has been placed in the forefront of media (2020). This painting illustrates a couple holding each other and their child. It is meant to draw attention to the fact that mother's of black children can never reach far enough to protect their families. It is a call to action for all mothers to teach their young children about the horrors of systemic racism because no single woman's reach is great enough to protect her child against the world.