Art and Life

Dictionary definition of art: the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. 

Welcome to Tracy’s Paint and Pen.

This is a blog dedicated to the artistic life.  I’m an artist, a creative person, and because of that I can’t help but incorporate art and creativity into all aspects of life.

The artistic coordination of home décor, a sky sensationally painted with a sunset, the perfectly crafted words of a good book, are all things that I notice and appreciate and want to share with you.  It is my goal to help open your eyes to the art in everyday life.

This space (blog) will act as…

A workbook - I will share photos of my work and techniques that I use, as well as new experiments.

A journal - I will write my thoughts about all kinds of art findings and observations.

An idea workshop -  new things to try or a new way to look at something, whatever. 

First things, first …..I’m Tracy, let me tell you a little about me:

I’m a professional artist who specializes in still-life acrylic paintings. 

My style balances between representational and realistic, which means my still-life paintings look real but still subtly reveal that they were in fact done by my hand and not a camera.    

As a child I loved crayons and coloring books and eventually graduated to sketch pads and pencils.  My controlled style was evident way back during my coloring book days.  Even then I carefully tried to color the things in the coloring books as realistically as I could.  I paint with fluid acrylics using my own adapted technique of lightly layering paint with the use of water, which gives my paintings a soft blended look.  

I find elements for my still-life set-ups that have texture and light which is why many of my paintings are of glass or candles.  I study an object to find every little sparkle of highlight and color reflection.  My goal is to give others a sense of home, peace, joy or nostalgia through my paintings by combining objects that come together to tell a story or evoke a memory. 

I also love to write and share information with others.  In fact, when I owned a gift shop I redirected customers to other resources so often that I wondered if I should go into the consulting business.

OK, enough about me……