Tina Figarelli is a realistic figurative artist originally from Chicago, Illinois. She is currently residing in Raleigh, NC as an artist intern at East Oaks Studios.Tina creates paintings that tell stories — and given that she dreamed of becoming an author as a child by writing complex stories of her own, she finds this expanse into painting the perfect fit for her. Her work features stories of grief, loss, love — creating a beautiful piece that takes the viewer through the narrative with her. With a focus on figurative art and still life, Tina weaves together strong narrative and sentimental elements in her works. Frustrated by the lack of formal classical art training in her schooling, she vowed to study the work she loved on the walls of the Art Institute of Chicago — those of William Bouguereau and Henri Fantin-Latour. This brought her to East Oaks Studio in Raleigh, NC where she currently studies under portrait artist Louis Carr. Tina has been placed in multiple Portrait Society of America competitions, recently awarded 1st place in the Member’s Only competition for her piece “To Bury A Friend”. Tina has been featured in Southwest Art Magazine “21 under 31: Young Artists to Watch in 2020”. She has participated in numerous group and solo shows in local and national galleries. Tina has shown at the Salmagundi Club, Oil Painters of America, and Portrait Society Future Generation exhibitions. Her work has been collected in the United States and internationally.