Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Manning.
Tiffany, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been a portrait photographer in Jacksonville, FL for 11 years, and an abstract painter for four. My education was in business, which has been helpful in many ways, but don’t picture a tightly run ship. Though I operate from a growth mindset and maintain a sharp focus on my business, that’s where the control aspect ends for me. Can you imagine a life where you are completely out of control, and yet completely in control at any given moment? It’s a wild state to be in, but having lived this way for years now, I find it’s the only way to be. Ultimately the release of control provides me the most grace and the best opportunities. There is something to be said about that old phrase about bending like a reed in the wind. I spend my life in a perpetual state of flexibility. This is where the most growth happens. And this is where life has a chance to surprise you because you find yourself in situations you might not have planned, but there is a deep knowing that they are exactly where you need to be.
Four years ago, my life had been singularly focused on portrait photography, but my body was craving something more. I needed to be physical and make things with my hands, rather than my camera. So I began the journey into paint. In terms of inner joy, these last four years have been some of the best times of my life. Mainly because I am creating from a place of freedom and allowing my joy to express on canvas through energy and dance.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you
Struggles are a part of life. It’s how we choose to interact with them that dictates what our lives will become. I don’t dwell in the space of the struggle, mainly because I don’t see obstacles that way. Struggles are just opportunities for growth. They are life’s little way of nudging us out of our current situation so that we may walk through the door of something new. That’s the bending with the reed mindset I was talking about. I am grateful for all the opportunities for growth. The good and the not so good are all good in my book.
Please tell us about your work.
Joy is my guiding light and my driving force. As a portrait photographer, capturing the life of whatever subject is in front of my camera has always been important to me because preserving a moment in time, without losing the essence of it, is where great magic can be found.
My exploration into painting has mirrored the way I like to make a photograph.
As an abstract painter, I am interested in expression through color, movement and energy, as well as the discovery of the stories within the paint that occasionally materialize. Though acrylic and watercolor mediums are my go to material tools, I hope you will also feel an undercurrent of happiness coursing through my works because it is a very intentional ingredient that is essential in my mixed media process.
Life is too short to spend hours, days and years feeling anything that doesn’t serve your highest and best self. So why choose anything other than joy as your default setting?
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I recently did a live painting performance piece in one of Jacksonville’s most intimate venues while Jacksonville Symphony Bassonist, Anthony Anurca provided an improvised soundscape. It was an intensely moving immersive experience and I am eager to explore this medium further. In collaboration with Elena Ohlander and Anthony Cantonese, we have formed a group called Too Many Kimonos and will be taking this experience on the road.
I am also extremely honored to have been one of eleven artists selected to receive an Art Ventures Grant from the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida. With this grant, I will be producing a photographic exhibition titled The Feminine Soul Project at the Alexander Brest Museum and Gallery, Jacksonville University in 2020.
2020 is going to be a big year. I have already committed to five shows in Jacksonville, and am exploring exhibition opportunities outside of the city as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tiffanymanning.com www.lovetif.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @squareshapedlove
Image Credit:
All images taken by me.
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