Tammy Lavern Walker is an artist whose distinctive pieces set her apart with one particular painting having garnered much praise on social media. That piece, ‘Evolution’, is one of two that are currently on exhibition at the National Art Gallery, Castellani House and for which she won the Promise Award at the Guyana Visual Arts Competition 2019.
“When I started and completed Burrowes School of Art, I was known mostly for doing portraits, but … I get bored doing the same things again and again. I ventured out and I got into landscapes and now as you can see from my last pieces, seascapes. I felt like I could never paint water and I really wanted to try it and to challenge myself. I’m known for going big and I’m ambitious with my art. I don’t like people telling me what I can’t do so I do work that makes almost everyone question ‘Did you do this?’ Yes, yes, I did,” Tammy enthused.
A resident of Cummings Lodge, the artist was born to parents who moved to the city from Region One after getting married. Her parents, she said, were instrumental in the things she loved doing. Her father picked up on her talent at an early stage and ensured that he got her enough colouring books and crayons to feed her obsession. Even at a young age Tammy could not deal with colouring outside the lines and got emotional whenever it happened.