Meet The Tracy Piper

Today we’d like to introduce you to The Tracy Piper.

Tracy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The path of my career has truthfully been a lot of work. Female artists are still making their way within this male-dominated field and I am no exception to the rule. I knew as I finished my illustration degree at California College of the Arts that illustration wasn’t the perfect fit for me and so instead I created a body of work that propelled me into the Fine Art world. My first major show was at Nieto Fine Art Gallery in Downtown SF, they took a chance on me right out of college, and it ended up being very successful. After that, I took every opportunity to show that I could. My big break came in the form of a partnership and solo show with Art Now NY. They brought my work to SCOPE Miami and NY in the same year and then SELECT Miami the following year.

When I discovered that I was pregnant, I took a big break from my growing business to focus on becoming a mom for the first time. Even though my two years hiatus saw Art Now NY moving on (and moving to LA now as Joseph Gross Gallery, who are amazing and you should stop by) and a handful of other galleries I worked with closing, the hiatus opened up a new path of discovery for the messaging I wanted to put into the world. Once I was ready to really come back, I had a larger purpose than just making art for art’s sake. This new socially conscious, LGBTQ+, feminist work I am making is what is really putting my name on the map.

Has it been a smooth road?
Any career will have bumps in the road. For me, it was rebuilding my brand after the break I took to be with my son and the subsequent scaling up that had me scrambling to learn the basics of business. Finding a voice as a female artist is difficult to do at times, especially as a mother. The artworld is vast and wide but I didn’t study fine art in school so in some ways, I was starting from scratch. All I had in my back pocket was the knowledge that my work was good and that it needed to be seen.

I’ve learned a lot along the way including way more legal contract writing than I would care to admit. My advice to up and coming artists is to read everything three times before you sign anything!

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I paint hyper-real colorful portraits and figurative paintings with an eye to inclusivity. The recurring thread of my work is a message of self-love, one that focuses on shaking up the normal narrative that the media feeds us by showing under-represented communities and the beauty that is innately in all of us. I am most known for my specific color palette and the ability to create realistic portraiture without traditional painting techniques. I’ve been in the business now for almost ten years and I have yet to find an artist who paints the way I do. I’ve been blessed with a talent and a mission to make change in the world, my proudest achievements are when someone sees a painting and feels like that could be them.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
LA is one of the most vibrant cities to show your work in. The diversity of art lovers that exists here is one of my favorite parts about showing here. It is rapidly growing as one of the largest cities for collecting art and I find the interactions I have in LA are some of the most thoughtful and interesting. Also let’s be honest, your food is so so good. I love a good restaurant and LA never disappoints.

I am sure this is everyone’s answer but the thing I like least is the traffic.

Pricing:

• Paintings range in price from $1200-$6000
• Limited edition prints are $100
• Commissions range in price from $2000-$6000

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thetracypiper.com
• Email: tracy@thetracypiper.com
• Instagram: @thetracypiper
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thetracypiper/
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/thetracypiper

Image Credit:
Amy Tam

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