Daily Inspiration: Meet Tracy Negrete

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Negrete

Tracy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Hello my name is Tracy Negrete I am a local visual artist.

I started making art as a child like everyone else, the difference is never stopped.

My grandparents used to baby sit me and they would read their news paper every morning and hand me the comics section. I would draw Garfield and all the characters then show my grandma. I remember the feeling and the look on my grandmas face she would say ohh Tracy this is wonderful and she would smile and laugh then put in on the refrigerator even though it wasn’t that great. She would tell me to keep at it.

Everyday I would try to get better and better drawing the characters and loved the smile it would bring to my grandmother.

I just remember being able to see my drawing on the fridge and feeling so proud.

My life had many ups and downs but the one thing that never left me was my art. So I decide I would not leave it either.

Before I went to art school I lived in San Francisco in the late 90’s were I was inspired by street art like Shepard Fairey’s Andre The Giant, there was art and cultural murals everywhere, I was so drawn to it.

I studied Graphic Design and then went on to becoming a production artist.

I lived on the east coast for five years where I worked in the printing industry. I spent a lot of time in New York City where I was inspired by the New York Night life, graffiti art, street art and murals. I designed a lot of underground music party flyers and created my own zine called Exactly Magazine that showcased NYC Street Wear, artists, and dj’s.

I would have to say Long Beach really gave me my start in my public Art Career. I painted my fist mural in 2011 for Broadway Hair Studio and a few small ones for local business. I painted a few electrical boxes and large scale murals with an established Muralist Guillermo Ivan Avalos, he taught me a lot of what I know today. When I meet new aspiring artists I try to pay the gift forward by giving advice and teaching them what I know.

My first real solo large-scale mural was in association with The Long Beach Arts Council in 2016. From then on the murals kept coming and I was evolving with each project. The Arts Council for long Beach has giving me so many special unique projects over the years I really like to credit them for giving me opportunities and uplifting artists in general and providing the resources to artists. After working on large scale projects with the arts Council For Long Beach, it gave me the confidence and the experience to seek large projects on my own.

Each mural has a new lesson to learn and a story to tell, wether it’s for a community or for a local business. I find that my love for graphic design comes hand in hand with my murals its just on a larger scale.

When I create a mural I look at it like a fun problem to solve. I do my research, who’s the mural for, who will see it most, who will benefit and be inspired by it? I like the flexibility to also be able to switch between commercial art and fine art, So if Im painting a mural or creating a logo for a corporate business or restaurant its for marketing purposes so I have that mindset, but if I’m creating a community mural my approach runs deeper, we could be trying to convey a social issue that are important to the community or a mural that is trying to inspire or uplift a community, that is when I like to work close with the community and really let their vision shine through.

I especially love creating community public art, because I feel not everyone has access to a museum. Public art is for the people to enjoy everyday. And you don’t have to buy a ticket to see it.

I would say that I have a very broad range of murals and that is what keeps me going, i’m not tied to one particular style or client.

I have currently painted I believe 48 public art pieces I have to count, I just kept painting and painting. I have a deep love for painting at a large scale, there is something about painting outside and being connected to a large wall moving your entire body to reach all the corners, climbing up and down a ladder, its the best feeling. I can paint a large mural in four days but it will take me a month to paint a small canvas.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would say that my mural career has been pretty smooth for the most part, it has evolved very organically starting off slow into now a steady pace. The only challenges are the small minor wall logistics but those have all been lessons I have leaned from.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a professional Mural Artist, I specialize in a range of types of murals from community to corporate to private homes and airbnb’s I am known for colorful bold abstract murals and community murals.
What sets me apart is that I have a range of styles that I can paint and that i do a lot of community outreach with my murals.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The Arts Council for Long Beach has played a big role in my mural career, they gave me my first large scale mural opportunity and has continued till this day I am working on two large projects with them. One will be painting two basket ball courts with a non profit youth organization called Books and Buckets in December, this will be my biggest project to date.

Local Business in the City of Long Beach have also kept me busy over the past ten years with murals and I thank them for their support.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tracynegrete.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracy_negrete_art/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheTrae7000

Image Credits
Leonard Donjuan
Jessica Balatbat