Author: khattakstudios

New Product Alert!

| khattakstudios

Instant Art print downloads are available now in my shop. Here are a few of the designs that are available:

Alice in Wonderland with Cheshire Cat, by Stephanie Khattak
Dancer in Purple, by Stephanie Khattak
Red Riding Hood, by Stephanie Khattak


Offering more affordable, print-on-demand options frees up time to work on high-quality originals and embellished prints, while continuing to provide a wide selection of illustrations that customers are interested in. Each purchase includes three different sizes: 8X10, 11X14 and 16×20. Many designs feature a canvas-look background and hand-painted brushstroke look and feel. You can print as many times as you want for personal use only. Click here to purchase: Stephanie Khattak Art on Etsy.

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Tacky Party

| khattakstudios

This painting was inspired by a photo of my great-grandmother, auntie, grandmother, great-great-auntie and their church lady friends. I grew up in a small, unincorporated community outside a marginally larger town, so the people who are your friends as children are usually your friends your whole lives. These ladies were no exception, and neither am I. We are lucky like that.

We’ve had to say goodbye to most of these ladies over the years, and the ones still with us are in their late-80s, so time is a gift. I, like many in my generation, left home at 18 and only return sporadically. This gives time the illusion of stopping, then speeding up in fast-forward. I feel that the “Tacky Party” days were just yesterday, not 30+ years ago.

One of my favorite poets, Faith Shearin, articulates this feeling perfectly in her poem, “My Grandparents’ Generation.”

If there is a consolation prize for having so many wonderful people in our lives only to lose them, then it is that they are together wherever they are.



Polka Dots

| khattakstudios

I was in dance lessons from preschool until junior high. Recitals were part of that, with hair and makeup. For me, recital days meant early-80s pan-cake makeup and applicators as rough as kitchen sponges. I can still hear my grandmother yelling “You’re going to take all the HIDE off her face!” as my mom spackled away. Oh, no! Not the HIDE off my FACE! I, of course would then cry and we’d have to start all over again.

Gold Dancer

| khattakstudios

When I was around 4, my friend Missy and I were in a dance recital. Missy’s a bit older than me, and I always coveted her “grown up” style. This gold number that she wore in her “big kid’s” performance on stage back in 1980 was no exception. I don’t remember what my costume was that year, but I’m sure it looked childish and unsophisticated in comparison.