Fifth Element Painting

American Artist, Tara Kuhnert Hotchkis, began painting at age three under the guidance of her father. Tara is the youngest child of internationally renowned painter Manfred H. Kuhnert and granddaughter of accomplished portrait artist Baroness Gertrude Kob Von Urbensteadt, A graduate of the prestigious Academy of Fine Art Dresden. "As an abstract artist, I consider myself a Symbolist Expressionist; I paint the world as I see it. When I was a child, painting with my father, he would say, 'Paint like you mean it!' " Tara had the unique opportunity to grow up in the artist enclave of Laguna Beach, California, spending afternoons painting alongside her father in his studio. "My father made sure I always traveled with sketchpads and pencils in hand, as I would often accompany him on location. I was destined to become an artist."