Tiffany Bohrer’s days as an artist and entrepreneur are as full as the historic building she and her husband own in downtown Guthrie. Inside the 10,000-square-foot Osage Building, her Tipsy Artist “palace” accommodates as many as 80 painters. The building also provides her home and living space for several tenants and AirBNB guests — plus a personal painting studio, sunroom and garden. LOKals retail shop sells handmade goods from the Osage Building, too.
On any given day, Bohrer may be leading a painting class in Guthrie or in front of hundreds at a large venue somewhere in Oklahoma or Texas. Or she may be painting quietly in her studio. Or she may be preparing for a live painting session, when she paints a piece on full display at a party. Though she stays busy, we were able to catch up with Bohrer to discuss her abundant art.
You paint so many different things, including abstracts, people, places, animals and spiritual works. Do you have a favorite subject?
Yeah, for sure, I do. I love to paint horses and cows and animals — and I definitely love the coastal cowgirl theme and color scheme. Of course, you can see the pink hues kind of running through everything.
Do your coastal cowgirl paintings reflect anything about you personally?
I just have a little soft spot for California, but I was raised primarily in Texas. We moved when I was about 5 years old. We would still go back to visit every year, which was also kind of torture. My parents moved because of the oil business, and they moved us to Midland, Texas. And I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Midland — and I don’t want to be unkind — but it is not California.
Why do you paint so many animals?
I just love the way it feels. There’s an experience that happens when you paint animals. When you’re painting humans, honestly, there’s so much pressure. It’s not nearly as much fun. The animals don’t really care that much if you get their exact likeness. There’s a real pleasure factor with actually painting an animal that’s very therapeutic, when you start to paint the fur … it’s just a very, very spiritual experience. I highly recommend it for everybody.
What are your painting classes like?
We always start with templates. I am a huge fan of those. I think it’s a lot to expect somebody to draw everything out, so the templates make it a little bit easier … I’ll guide them through the process of tracing, and then I’ll start teaching them step by step — how to actually paint each step. We’ve got a big monitor up above me too, so I can have a zoomed in close-up while I work. The templates give them a lot more confidence, knowing that they’ve got this recognizable, iconic shape in front of them that they can just kind of paint into.
What do you love most about creating on canvas?
On a simplistic level, [that’s like asking] “Why do I drink water every day?” I just have to. It’s a part of what I have to do for my soul, my passion. I just love it so much.
Interested in reading more about Oklahoma’s community? Check out our story on Kevin Ford: A Life Behind the Lens.
