Tracy Olson

Keeping art in vision………

I am a self taught artist. I come from a folk art background and painted from 1988 through 1999 in that style. I showed and sold my works at various art shows and shops in Minnesota during those years. I co-owned a consignment gift and home decor shop for five years in Hastings, Minnesota. I taught community education classes and seminars for interested artists and artisans desiring to create a career in art. In 1999, I made a decision to take some time off from my artistic ventures. In 2004, I decided to re-pursue my passion in the arts. I began studying abstract art form, for which I am deeply interested. In 2005, I started developing my current portfolio and establishing my style. My main medium is acrylic paint, but I also enjoy mixing mediums. Watercolor, gouache, pastel, oil sticks and so on, I enjoy incorporating things like sand, buttons, fabric, and plaster into my works; I feel this evokes an interesting textural and visual experience for the viewers of my creations. I have developed a technique using enamel spray paint. This, in a way, has become a science project for me, since the properties react so differently when you add certain elements.

My studio is my laboratory and I am the scientist and creator of my vision……….

Artist Statement

I often paint impulsively with free-form strokes, and with exception of some carefully chosen color(s), and perhaps a subject matter in mind, I have no pre-determined composition defined. Images eventually appear from the shadows of texture and color and how I am feeling at that moment. My personal life experiences and observations along with the very cool and diverse music I listen to in my studio, helps me prepare my inner vision and imagination for my artistic journey. Although a message is often the result, it is only uncovered through this impulsive process rather than intent. I purposely create my art with an objective to generate a reactionary emotional response, in hopes that it will invoke conversation or discussion.

For the purpose of this exhibit, I have chosen to create three landscape scenes: one city, one rural and one atmospheric. They represent three separate pieces of a cohesive whole; the balance of nature and human existence.

The city is the urban heart, the epicenter of human gathering. The rural landscape is serine, quiet, unpopulated and undisturbed. Our atmosphere is directly affected by both and affects both. The theme gave me the opportunity to present each piece visually different but still thematically similar. I’ve come to realize during this process how we affect and impact landscapes and how our landscape affects and impact us.