Tara McPherson is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 artist

Artist

An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...

  based out of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. She studied art at Santa Monica Community College and earned her BFA from Art Center in Pasadena, CA in August 2001 with honors in Illustration and a minor in Fine Art, working on Matt Groening

Matt Groening

Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....

's Futurama

Futurama

Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...

during college.

Career

Tara exhibits her paintings and serigraphs in fine art galleries all over the world. Named the crown princess of poster art by ELLE Magazine, she has created posters for rock bands such as Beck

Beck

Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

, Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse

Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...

, and Melvins. Her array of art also includes creating toys with companies like Kidrobot

Kidrobot

Kidrobot is a producer and retailer of designer toys founded in 2002 by Paul Budnitz, specializing in artist-created toys and imports from Japan, Hong Kong, and Europe. Kidrobot also makes Kidrobot Mascots, which are figures of their main logo. These figures are usually nicknamed KR and the number...

, Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...

, and Toy2R

Toy2R

Toy2R is a designer toy company based in Hong Kong that was founded by Raymond Choy in 1995.-History:Choy spent 10 years as an employee of an American footwear company. During his tenure there, he developed skills in general business operation, especially quality control...

, painted comics and covers for DC Vertigo, advertising and editorial illustrations for companies such as Wyden+Kennedy and Spin Magazine, and currently teaching a class at Parsons in NYC.
She has lectured at the School of Visual Arts, AIGA NYC, AIGA Austin, Columbus College of Art and Design, Parsons, The University of Arizona, MADE in Edmonton and Foyles London.

Print work

McPherson's has been featured in Juxtapoz, UNO Magazine, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Sony Magazine, Bust, Magnet, Elle, Marie Claire, Clutter, Spin, TV 3, Current TV, Swindle, Inked, NY Press, LA Times, PBS, Paste, HOW, Step, Communication Arts, Society of Illustrators, Metal Hammer, International Tattoo Art, AIGA, Seattle Times, LA Weekly, Gothamist, DC Comics, Punk Planet, Savage Tattoo, Clutter Magazine

Clutter Magazine

Clutter Magazine is a quarterly publication that caters to the world of underground designer toys and the artists that create them. After emerging in Japan in the late 1990s, the toy scene has gone global, led by companies such as Toy2R, Kidrobot, and Medicom, and Clutter is the first English...

 and many more.

McPherson's art has been included in books such as Lost Constellations; The Art of Tara McPherson Vol II (Dark Horse), Lonely Heart: The Art of Tara McPherson (Dark Horse), Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (DC), The Art of Modern Rock (Chronicle), Illusive 2, Illustration Now! (Taschen), SWAG and SWAG 2 (Abrams), and more.

Cotton Candy Machine

On April 9, 2011, McPherson unveiled her new brand, Cotton Candy Machine. She opened an Art Boutique by the same name located in the neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NYC. The Grand Opening event for the Cotton Candy Machine, titled 'Tiny Trifecta' featured 100 of McPhearson's favorite artists including Mark Ryden

Mark Ryden

-Early life:Ryden is the son of Barbara and Keith Ryden, born in Medford, Oregon but raised in Southern California. He has two sisters and two brothers, one a fellow artist named Keyth Ryden....

, Marion Peck

Marion Peck

Marion Peck is a United States painter born on October 3, 1963 in Manila, the Philippines, while her family was on a trip around the world. She grew up in Seattle, Washington, the youngest of four children.-History:...

, Gary Baseman

Gary Baseman

Gary Baseman is a contemporary artist who works in various creative fields, including illustration, fine art, toy design, and animation. He is the creator of the Emmy-winning ABC/Disney cartoon series, Teacher’s Pet, and the artistic designer of Cranium, a popular board game...

, Martha Rich, Junko Mizuno

Junko Mizuno

is a Japanese manga artist.Mizuno's drawing style, which mixes childish sweetness and cuteness with blood and terror has been termed a Gothic kawaii or kawaii noir style. In addition to her comics, she designs T-shirts, calendars, postcards, and other collectibles...

, Jessicka Addams, Eric White (artist)

Eric White (artist)

Eric White is an American artist, who currently lives and works in New York, NY. He graduated with a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1990....

, Jeff Soto

Jeff Soto

Jeff Soto is an American contemporary artist. His distinct color palette, subject matter and technique have been said to bridge the gap between Pop Surrealism and Street Art.-Early life:...

, Michael Motorcycle, and Alex Pardee

Alex Pardee

Alex Pardee is a freelance artist, apparel designer, and a writer born in Antioch, California, USA who is best known for illustrating The Used's album artwork...

 together for one show.

Selected solo exhibitions

• "The Bunny in the Moon," Jonathan LeVine
  Jonathan LeVine
  Jonathan LeVine is a New York City art dealer. As of 2005, he owns and operates the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, in the Chelsea area of Manhattan...
  
   Gallery, New York, NY. 2010
• "Happy Love Bunny Bear," Guru Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico. 2009
• "Lost Constellations," Jonathan Levine Gallery, New York, NY. 2008

External links

• Tara McPherson Official site
• Tara McPherson (The Cotton Candy Machine Brand website & Store location)