Teresa Pereira

Teresa Pereira is painter and art teacher who lives in Yonkers, NY. She graduated from Fordham University, College at Lincoln Center with a BFA in Fine Arts, where she was awarded the Studio Art Award for painting. Her quest for a job in the arts led her to a career as a Graphic Designer, and and she worked in this field for over 30 years field before switching careers to becoming a High School Art Teacher in 2016. Between the years 2001 and 2008, when her two children were young, she started her own business as a muralist and decorative painter, painting murals in private homes and at public spaces, including retail venues and all three branches of the Yonkers Public Library and at the Mount Vernon Public Library. Now, as an empty nester, Teresa has much more time to paint, and has been painting fairly prolifically for much of the past year. 

In addition to teaching Studio Art at Maria Regina High School, She also creates and exhibits work in galleries and art fairs in and around Westchester. Though her favorite and most often used medium is oil on wood, she uses many mediums to create art—from the digital space of the computer to create graphic art, to charcoals, pastels, acrylics and engraving.

In addition to teaching high school Art in Westchester, NY, she often heads Art workshops around the Westchester area in programs for The Hudson River Museum, Yonkers Public Library, Yonkers NNORC, and Rye Free Reading Room.

As high school art teacher, over the years—by teaching teenagers to develop their studio art skills— I have learned a great deal about my own art. Witnessing the experience of “learning to make art” as it were, is continually an eye opening one, and I feel it has helps me expand my own skills. 

I paint in a highly figurative style, though there’s often a subtle element of surrealism in my work. I strive to faithfully capture what the eye sees. I prefer painting in oils on smooth wood panel, and work with thin layers of paint applied with small, soft brushes.

I am obsessed with capturing detail, and because it is the easiest to access in terms of painting from life, still life work make up the majority of my catalogue. A lover of nature, my work often incorporates some botanical element. Leaves, flowers, fruits, and trees frequently find their way into my art.

I pay particular attention to texture and color, and in recent years I been interested in the chiaroscuro technique and how it helps convey mood. I have also always been interested in using reflected images and the meta/picture-in-a-picture theme to convey messages: some fairly serious ones, and some that are lighter. My current series "Reflections and Repetitions" focuses on imagery that includes mirrors and other reflective surfaces, as well as meta and infinite painting imagery.

I’m a passionate Art Teacher with over 8 years of experience instructing high school students in grades 9 through 11 students in the studio art, with emphasis on traditonal drawing and painting. I’m also an active exhibiting artist and have had work show in exhibits in Westchester, and Connecticut. Galleries include: Riverfront Art Gallery (multiple group exhibits), Urban Studio Unbound in Yonkers, NY; the Gallery at Helen Hayes Hospital (solo show) in Rockland and The Carriage Barn Arts Center in Connecticut. Upcoming solo exhibit in summer 2024 at the Gallery at Rye Free Reading Room.

Education: Fordham University, College at Lincoln Center, BFA in Studio Art

Experience
Studio Art Teacher, Maria Regina High School, Hartsdale, NY | September 2016–Present
• Give instruction in Studio Art disciplines covering an variety of media (including charcoal, oil pastel, acrylic, and watercolor), subject matter (including still life, portraiture, landscape, and message-based art), and skill level for students in grades 9 through 12. 
• Teach courses in Introduction to Art, Intermediate Art, Advanced Art, Portfolio Art, Introduction to Graphic Design, and Advanced Placement Art
• Explain the principles of art and design, teach techniques for drawing, painting, collage, color theory, and 2-D design
• Use a hands-on, step-by-step approach to promote art appreciation and personal creativity
• Moderate the school’s chapter of the National Art Honor Society: coordinate extra curricular events for NAHS within the school as well as promote opportunities for student art exhibitions at local and online art galleries

Freelance Art Community Instructor, June 2016– Present, Yonkers, NY
Teach a broad range of visual art projects—including still life, landscape, portraiture, and multimedia collage—and to local community groups that participate in art workshops in programs provided by The Yonkers Public Library, The Hudson River Museum, and Yonkers Neighborhood Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NNORC). 

Freelance Graphic Designer, and Art Instructor, January 2008–Present, Yonkers, NY
Provide graphic design services for a variety of clients including NYC Guitar School and Rye Free Reading Room

Muralist and Decorative Painter for PearTree Designs (self-owned business), 2001–2008
Painted murals for private clients and public businesses in the tri-state area.

Skills: Highly proficient with a range of studio art skills including sketching, painting, illustration, and graphic design

New York

United Kingdom