User:Arttist/Tamara Natalie Madden

Tamara Natalie Madden (born August, 1975) is a Jamaican painter. Madden paints pictures that are geared at empowering people of the African diaspora.

Biography
Madden was born in Jamaica. Her mother migrated to America when she was young to make a better life while she stayed in Jamaica with her grandmother. She moved to America from Jamaica permanently when she was a teenager.

She attended the Frankfield Elementary School in Manchester, Jamaica. She studied at several universities. Madden became ill with a rare disease called IGA Nephropathy] in 1997 and suffered immensely during that time, artistically and physically. Her illness inspired her to paint again. She received a transplant in 2001. In an interview with [[James Auer in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2004; Madden stated that, " I paint to survive."

Madden relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in 2004 to further pursue her artistic dreams. She met her mentors Charly Palmer and Kevin A. Williams, WAK while living in Atlanta and their support helped her to master her skills and develop her own artistic style.

Her recent works focus on empowering 'everyday folk' by turning them into royalty. Her goal is to give these individuals an opportunity to be viewed for who they are intrinsically. She gets her influences for her recent works from Gustav Klimt, West African Royalty, Egyptian and Asian influences, and from the clothing that's worn by everyday African women. Madden currently lives and works in the Atlanta area.

Career
Madden was never formally trained, however, her works have been featured and exhibited in many universities and galleries. She is often described as a self taught artist, but her works are intriguing enough to draw attention from many people, including academics. Vanderbilt University in Tennessee has collected several of her pieces and they remain in the permanent collection of the university. Alverno College in Milwaukee Wisconsin has collected her art, and her work is in their permanent collection. Her exhibition at Syracuse University in New York yielded a positive review from the Syracuse newspaper, The Post Standard. Madden has had many articles written about her work and her paintings have been featured in the New York Times, Upscale Magazine, and the North American Gleaner. She is currently represented by Avisca Fine Art Gallery in Marietta Georgia, Just Lookin' Gallery in Hagerstown Maryland, Spence Gallery in Toronto Canada, and was her work was recently added to The Bridgeman Art Library in London.

Awards
She received an award from the Puffin Foundation for her project focusing on combating poverty called, Never Forgotten.