At the age of 75, Tina Anthony decided to finally pursue her dreams of being an artist. Now her art has enveloped her home and Long Island.
The soon-to-be 83-year-old Northport resident has been pursuing her passion for art for the last eight years since her late-life epiphany. During this time, her art has been featured all over Nassau and Suffolk County in various exhibits.
The latest is her title of “artist of the month” in the Jericho Public Library, where her art is currently on display for August.
“When you get older, most people stay in the house,” said Anthony. “I never do. I’m learning from teachers. I’m learning from the people I paint with. They learn from me. It’s been a wonderful, wonderful experience.”
Anthony, who specializes in pastel and oil art, has been featured in several shows across the island, with Jericho Library being the ninth. The artist says she has done about 100 pieces since she began her colorful journey, saying she’s been noted for her distinctive use of color, with attendees’ favorites of her work being her dynamic sunset pieces.
Eight years ago, Anthony threw caution to the wind when she told her husband she wanted to pursue art after having never taken formal art classes.
The artist says she has had an interest in art since she was a child; however, she was unable to pursue the passion due to her family not having funds for art supplies and the idea of pursuing art being non-logistical. Listening to her family, Anothny went on to be a teacher for 33 years in Bethpage, following the explosive need for teachers as a result of the baby boom.
“My family did not have any money to buy me a set of oils when I was 16,” said Anthony. “My family had few resources, and they didn’t have a vision for [these] things. My family didn’t think that way, [but] now they do. Now the kids went to school and everything, but I was the first one who went to college.”
At 75, with her husband’s full support, Anthony began her passion with some supplies and started attending a Northport adult education class with a central goal of painting something good enough to hang up in her house. During said class, Anthony fell in love with painting and made friends with her peers and instructor, who recommended that the beginner artist join the Suburban Art League, a non-profit art association in Syosset.
From there, Anothy went on to be a part of five different art leagues across the island, which helped her work be displayed in shows. The artist also went on to take numerous more classes and workshops, including a couple with Lana Ballot, a Stony Brook University graduate whose work has been featured and honored at different events across the globe, placing 4th in the Pastel Journal’s 24th Annual Pastel 100 Competition.
Anthony now paints a piece once a week via different sites across Long Island, such as her recent work based on the Stony Brook harbor, with 20 of her paintings hung up around her house.
Anthony became August’s artist of the month for the Jericho Public Library by reaching out to the facility to see if there was a spot available, sending in a few of her works. Nathalie Levin, the program coordinator for the library, says the staff were very impressed with her work and welcomes all artists to reach out for a feature.
“She’s just amazing, she really is,” said Levin. “All the artists who exhibit here are amazing, but that definitely stuck out to me, and it’s an inspiration that you know you can do this at any time in your life.”
The library held an art reception for Anthony’s work on Aug. 9. At the reception, she discussed a few of her paintings with some family members attending, who were surprised to see the number of pieces she had been creating.
Art has not only improved her life but her health too, according to Anothny.
“It must be doing something to me, because I’m really alert for my age,” said Anthony. “Painting is like solving a puzzle. There are things going on that you have to take care of within the painting. You have to look at the distance, you have to make distance, you have to do a composition, and your brain is really engaged.”
Due to her and her husband’s now older age, she says it will likely slow down the number of shows she can do due to the physical costs of transporting her work. Yet despite that, the artist has more shows upcoming, one more this year and three next year.
Her work will be featured in a Christmas exhibit in Cold Spring Harbor Library this year. Next year, she will be featured in Harborfields Public Library in Greenlaw during May, back in Jericho in October, and finally, in Roslyn Public Library for November and December.
Anthony says one of the best things that came out of this journey was the community she formed. She has what she refers to as her “little group” of 15 women who meet up weekly or bi-weekly to paint with Anthony. She hopes to do a show with them where they can all bring a few of their pieces to make it easier to set up.
Anthony’s art will be on display at the Jericho Public Library until Aug. 29.
