Tara is an artist based in West Auckland, New Zealand. Working primarily with pencils, she depicts native species, but also creates pet portraits on commission. She attributes her choice of artistic subjects to the freedom she had growing up as a Westie, spending much of her time climbing the neighbourhood trees, riffling through her parents’ garden and getting to know the local animals and plants. This curiosity about nature and the outdoors continued into young adulthood and led Tara to pursue further study in the field of science. She eventually found this to be unfulfilling however, and has instead completed the Bachelor of Fine Arts programme at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, majoring in Fine Arts. She now continues to be inspired by the wildlife of Aotearoa and incorporates this into each of her drawings.