Tracy Boyd is a Seattle-based painter and one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Her most recent paintings showcase a real breakthrough in her progression as a painter. She’s gone bigger, bolder, and more aggressively abstract. I think that it’s working out for her (as you’ll be able to see by the photos below). Tracy agreed to be interviewed by The Puget News and that has made me very happy indeed.
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Hey Tracy, thank you so much for taking the time to be interviewed by “The Puget News.” I’m super pleased to have this opportunity and I’m a big fan of your work.
Thanks Eric for spreading the word about all the great art going on in the Northwest.
People reading this won’t know it but I was at your studio last month while you were still working on the painting you call “EVEN.” Looking at the final product, that’s now officially my favorite. The highlights you added since the last time I saw it really make it pop and add contrast to the color composition. Well done.
Thanks for checking it out this past First Thursday Art Walk. I really think this is a groundbreaking painting for me. The scale – 6ft x 6ft – is becoming my favorite size to work in, and I’m really beginning to paint more epic paintings that you can almost step into. I was really trying to create a strong sense of movement.
“EVEN” Description (from Tracy Boyd): This large painting with shocking imagery with sporadic bright splotches of bloody paint almost spurting out the the human form create a disturbing scene with many unanswered questions.
How do you describe your painting style?
I would describe it by saying that I’m a large-scale expressive figurative painter that is primarily focused on representing men, and sometimes animals, creating a strong impact on the viewer through the scale and in-your-face poses that stare right at you.
Through my strong strokes it is my desire to show movement, anger, and a real reaction to our world. I create my work by painting, and scraping away, and reapplying the paint, creating a complex surface. I often focus on one subject in a painting which has never been conscious. I have tried adding other subjects but it never feels right or true to my vision.
When you say, “never been conscious” are you referring to the fact that you’re exploring a subject you didn’t know was there until you saw it in the abstract developing surface of your painting – or are you saying something else?
Yes, I am referring to a painting developing as I work on it. I think that is what I love about painting is how difficult it is and how sometimes I have to let go and let it evolve without feeling like I have to control every brush stroke. One thing that is consistent in my work is I usually limit my subject to one, which I believe comes from wanting to be a purist and really allow the complexity to come through in the way it is painted and through strong visuals. I think filling the canvas with multiple elements might create unnecessary confusion and art that is scattered and made with little thought.
You generally paint pretty large format. What’s the reason for that?
My artwork has evolved in the past 5 years to this larger scale between 6ft – 7ft. and I have a couple canvases 8ft waiting to be painted on. I do sometimes paint smaller (around 2ft to 4ft) but I’m most comfortable painting larger because I can really use my entire body to create my vision. The scale just feels right to me to convey the strong impression I hoped to will impact on the viewer.
I’ve noticed that your paintings seem to be trending more and more abstract. On your website, you can really sense that progression. Can you describe that exploration and transition a bit?
I’m really trying to evolve and find my voice right now to really express how I’m feeling about the world. It’s my belief as that artists we are given a gift to convey what cannot be said in words and to really make people think. I could just rest on my past style but I see myself as the type of artist that really wants to leave a mark.
Some of my influences are Francis Bacon and, more recently, Jenny Saville; a large scale figurative artist that focuses on very large women in an angle that often fills the canvas. Like both of these artists I am looking to paint my authentic work and not just fall into the path some artists do, which is to create a style that they know will sell and that people are comfortable with. I currently belong to The Seattle Group; a group of primarily painters that really are discussing who we are right now as Seattle artists and where we’re going.
Do you have any favorite local artists you’d like to point out before they get big and famous? Who are they and what are they doing?
I have some local favorites including Mark Tracy because of his original painting style and his passion. Some of my other favorites are the Modern Chinese Artists like; Zhang Xiaogang, Zhang Dali, and (especially) Yang Shaobin who is one of China’s most famous Contemporary Oil Painters. He is a leading figure in the movement known as Cynical Realism in which he takes figurative painting to another level depicting violent scenes of men entwined in red masses. It is his political and cultural statements through his work that grabs me the most.
What are you working on now?
I’ve just finished some smaller paintings. I’m now considering kind of some studies where I’m trying new painting techniques and a more limited palette.
Any shows coming up that we should know about?
Not right now, but there are a couple things in the works. I have an email list people can sign up for. [Note: Here it is. I usually send out an email a month to let them subscribers know of new artwork, shows, and events I will be participating in - like this interview!
Please check out my blog for the other up-to-the-minute happenings with my art.
If people are interested in looking at your work for purchase, what's the best way to do so?
All you need to do is email or calling me to set up a studio visit at The 1020 Building, right next to Qwest Field, and I can show you any number of paintings and even discuss commissions which I have recently been doing. I know people have specific spaces and interests. I think anytime a potential buyer gets to see the space the work is created it's just another step in creating a long-lasting relationship.
I've sold paintings online by people just emailing me about availability and costs and I've also done the transaction without ever meeting them in person.
Thanks again for taking the time, Tracy.
No problem.
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- Tracy Boyd, “CHOPPED” – 36″ x 36″, Oil on Canvas
More Tracy Boyd Links:
- Subscribe to Tracy’s Mailing List
- Tracy Boyd’s website
- Tracy Boyd’s blog
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