Artwork with heart: Allen shares her LaFayette story through paint

BY KADIE TAYLOR

THE LAFAYETTE SUN

LAFAYETTE — Teresa Allen, who grew up in LaFayette and graduated from Chambers Academy, now has prints of her painting of the LaFayette Courthouse for sale in the LaFayette Main Street office. She said her original painting was a commission request from the LaFayette Main Street Executive Director, DeAnna Hand.

“I had started painting and posted some pictures [of my art] on Facebook, and DeAnna Hand reached out to me and asked me if I would paint a picture of the courthouse for the LaFayette Main Street office,” Allen said. “So I painted that picture — the courthouse is just beautiful. It's an older courthouse — there's not a lot of them like that around the state. I worked at the courthouse for several years. I was actually the Deputy Circuit Clerk there for a short time before I moved to Montgomery — it's just a beautiful building.”

Locals can now bring community pride and creativity into their homes by purchasing prints of the piece for $30.

“I was flattered and excited when DeAnna asked me to do that — I’m even more flattered that people want prints of it,” Allen said. “I think [for] anyone that lives in LaFayette, the courthouse is special to them, because it's the center of town — everything revolves around the courthouse. I know there's been several other paintings done at the courthouse over the years, and so I was just really flattered to be asked to [paint it as well].”

Allen said she is not a trained artist and has not taken lessons, but that her love for producing art fuels her painting and creative work.

“I've just always had that ability — I've always drawn,” she said. “Painting actually came later for me in life, but it's something I've always enjoyed doing. It's the only thing I can do where time is non-existent — I can literally sit down and start to paint at 8 a.m., and look up and it'll be 5 p.m., and I'm like, ‘Where did the time go?’ It's just something I really enjoy.”

Through painting commission work, Allen said she has stretched out of her comfort zone to paint new things and has grown to find what she enjoys painting most.

“I tend to be better at very tedious things, like I do animal art, dogs, buildings and things like that, where there's a lot of attention to detail,” she said. “I've been trying to find my style, and doing a lot of different types of paintings to see where I fit in the best. I just did a huge landscape painting of some scenery in Scotland for someone — who actually owns land in Scotland — and they sent me a photo [for me to paint].”

Allen said that through painting commission pieces, she gets to capture important memories for people and paint the things that her customers love most.

“I've gotten a lot of requests lately to paint engagement photos or wedding photos, and I love and I have enjoyed doing that, because it's a very special piece,” she said. “The fact that they asked me to paint it for them is even more special — it's just very flattering to me. Now I'm still so surprised that people even want me to paint things for them. It's so exciting and I love it.”

For those who have a passion or desire to be creative — young or old — Allen said to “just do it.”

“If there is something you have the desire inside of you to do — just start doing it, buy some canvas and paints and sit down and just play around with it,” she said. “I try to paint something every day, you've got to trust yourself enough — if that's something that you're interested in, learn about it and to do it. No one has to see it, it's a form of expression — just get out there and do it.”

When reflecting on the support for her art from the LaFayette community, Allen said she is thankful and overwhelmed by the response.

“I have been overwhelmed with support, encouragement, messages and phone calls — I just never expected to get such a response from people,” she said. “It started with the courthouse painting, and then I started a little Facebook page. Now, when I paint things, I'll post them, and it really has been overwhelming and surprising the amount of support I've gotten from my friends, family and everybody in general.”

To commission a painting from Allen or to view more of her art, visit Teresa Allen Art on Facebook.