Paige O'Hara ~ The Artist
Paige’s love of painting began when she was a child. Her father was an architect – so drawing and painting was very much a way of life. Her first acting teacher actually tried to convince her to pursue her art instead of her acting and singing – advice Paige was probably fortunate not to have taken! Although Paige has found so much success as an actress, painting has always been her way to relax and escape. Much of her time was spent studying and learning from the masters – Turner, Sargent, Da Vinci – and although she does not have formal training, her years of practice are evident. When she first moved to New York, she helped support herself by selling her works on the street. As her stage career flourished, she painted for herself and started doing paintings for birthday presents. But fate stepped in when Paige was doing a signing event in LA – she had brought one of her “Belle” pieces to display for the first time to the public, and the head of Disney Fine Art saw her work and told O’Hara, “It’s time you joined Disney Fine Art.”
So Paige began working on a series of paintings based on her favorite moments from “Beauty and the Beast” – loosely titled “Belles By Belle” – and it has been a dream come true for her. With over a dozen originals and reproductions already completed, perhaps her acting teacher was right all along! The gift of Beauty and the Beast in Paige’s life just goes on – as “Belle” would say “who’d have ever thought that this could be?” |