Tara Greene is a painter, author, and songwriter living in Maryland.

She likes open water, reading, and trying to identify birds (unfortunately, she only has a 9% success rate with that last one). When she’s not working on her craft, you can find her at at a cozy coffee shop or collecting inspiration from the world around her.

Scroll below for interview questions or a more in-depth story about how Tara became an artist.

interview with the artist:

Did you grow up creating with music, art, and writing, or did they come to you in adulthood?

My family is very musical and artistic, so I grew up in a wonderful environment where the arts were cultivated and just a natural part of our lives. My parents encouraged us to pursue anything, and that was huge too—having the freedom and support to try different things. We all started piano lessons around 5 or 6, and I went on to study classical piano in college. I also used to write picture books as a child, and I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be a published author. Playing and writing music is just an absolute gift that I’m hoping to use for the rest of my life.

Do you have a favorite project you’ve finished so far?

I have two favorites. The first is my 12-singles-in-12-months challenge. That was in 2021, and I had just released my first single with Joel Schwartz in November of 2020. I was hooked. I bought recording equipment, set up a little “studio” in my closet, and went to work. I even continued it after moving to Nashville—I wrote in four different homes for that challenge. It was such a growing experience, and forced me to get stuff out there, even though I was scared.

The second is the first novel I wrote, when I was fifteen. I wrote it longhand in three notebooks and then typed it into the computer when it was finished. Every night, I would sit at my desk in my room and write three pages while listening to the soundtrack for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on my cd player. Haha! Those were good days.

When do you typically write?

Both for fiction writing and songwriting, I prefer the evenings. Especially with songwriting. I feel very self-conscious and don’t want anyone to hear me while I’m trying out new melodies or ideas because a lot of them don’t sound good. I want to be able to make mistakes and experiment while alone, and I can do that in the evenings. I can paint at any time of the day, but it’s nice to have natural light.

What drives you to create art?

God has given us the arts, as with everything He’s given us, to bring Him glory. I think the arts are an incredibly rich and gracious gift, and I feel privileged to enjoy and share them, so I want to do that for as long as He allows me to. He’s particularly given me a heart to encourage my believing brothers and sisters with hymns, but I ultimately want anything I do to bring Him glory.

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” Colossians 3:16-17

From my playing-piano-with-a-rocking-horse era.

Artist Story:

This story really takes two parallel paths, so here they are:

I. The Writing and Painting Path

The first story I remember writing (well, I dictated it to my mom, who typed it up) was when I was five or six. Printed, it resulted in a grand total of half a page’s worth of captivating details surrounding two children’s morning chores. I wrote, and I grew (not always in that order), making picture books by stapling together printing paper—illustrations on one side and text on the other—and by the time I reached the mature age of twelve, I’d decided I wanted to become a published author when I was older.

When I was fifteen, I decided it was time to attempt a novel. I spent months preparing my plot, characters, and setting, and then went to work writing. I wrote three notebook pages every night at my bedroom desk while listening to the soundtrack of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was a fairytale retelling, very emotional, and my female lead was always doing one of three things: crying, getting angry, or fainting.

The taste of completing my first novel only deepened my desire to write. I’ve written six more novels, mainly fairytale retellings, as well as several picture books, and thankfully, these days my characters spend much less time crying, getting angry, or fainting. I’m currently working on a retelling of Sleeping Beauty and a picture book about seven children and a treasure map, and would love to be published one day for both novels and picture books.

Okay, what about the other path, you ask?

II. The Music Path

I’m glad you asked. The music path has the same origin time as the art/music path did in my life because our parents put me and my siblings in piano lessons starting at age five or six. We had to study piano until high school, and then we could switch to another instrument if we liked until the end of high school. I remember being very proud to be taking lessons like my older sisters. My dad was in the Air Force, so with a new station every several years, we got new teachers as well.

High school came, and I wanted to stick with piano. It was mainly classical repertoire, but I always loved improvising music and recording it, even if I didn’t know how to notate it yet.

It came time to pick what I would study for college, and I didn’t have anything else I loved more than piano, so I chose that. I didn’t know what it would look like, but playing the piano felt like living and breathing to me, like the keys were an extension of my arms and fingers, and I knew I didn’t want to lose it. I still feel that way when I sit at a piano.

While away at school, I couldn’t exactly bring a piano home to the dorms with me each night, so I bought an acoustic guitar and started to learn. I mainly wanted to learn sad songs and bossa nova standards to feed my melancholy. The plan worked, and as a bonus, I started writing music at this time. Specials for church, sad songs about being lonely, etc. etc.

Graduation left me feeling a bit lost. What to do now? I didn’t want to be a concert pianist, but I loved creating and performing and wanted to share the songs I’d been writing. I bought recording equipment, but it sat in the dark recesses of my closet since I was too afraid to start. Then something wonderful happened. In 2020, Canadian-based producer, Joel Schwartz, reached out about producing a song together. He was encouraging where I was timid, expert where I was novice, and creative and broad-minded where I could not yet hear a vision for my song. In November of 2020, my single “Weatherman” was released. I cried when I first heard it from a streaming platform.

Joel gave me the courage to start recording, and now that my equipment was set up (in my closet next to my dresses!), I wanted to give recording a go. The next year, I challenged myself to release a single each month to force myself to grow (I’m sadly unmotivated unless there’s a race, competition, or challenge).

That summer, I moved to Nashville to check out the music scene. It was terribly frightening and educational. In 2023, I moved to Maryland, and I’ve been growing and learning how to better write, produce, and release music (which seems like an endless, ever-growing mound of knowledge to sift through and learn!).

III. What Now?

Well, I’m trying to get better at all above-mentioned pursuits, and I want you to be here with me. I love sharing art—whether that’s music, writing, or visual art—and I want to bless, encourage, and inspire others, just as so many have done (and do) for me. I want to glorify God with the gifts He’s given me, and I want to cultivate community. Feel free to reach out or browse my gallery and music catalogue. I’m truly grateful you’re here, and I feel privileged to get to make art and share it with you.