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Robert Tracy is a self-taught romantic-realist
artist. At the time he
began his art career, non-objective art held a near monopoly to the
claim of serious art. The
art schools were among the staunchest supporters of that monopoly.
The choice was to get on board or go your own way.
Robert Tracy went his own way.
A casual perusal of his web site will reveal the
range of his accomplishment. He
has mastered oils, water colors, pencil, silver point, and acrylics.
He is equally at home with painting the human figure, still
life, portraits, and landscapes.
His style is marked by a focused clarity and a keen sense of
balance. The subjects are
attractive and are intended to be contemplated and enjoyed.
Tracy’s art is not fashionable.
It does not seek to shock, affront, distort, deconstruct, or
dissolve. It seeks only
to invite you in to share his world.
What is that world?
For the most part, it is a world of peace and absorption.
It is a world of people, and sometimes animals, who are
intently focused on whatever they happen to be doing.
A girl lovingly holds a cat.
Or shoulders a miniature alligator.
Or puts on makeup or an earring.
Or contemplates a vista. Or
reads. Or does homework.
A cat stalks its prey. Or
looks out the window. Or
enters the house seeking attention. Though there can be drama, there
is little conflict and usually no social interaction.
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One of my favorites is called “Early
Afternoon”. A
young woman stands high on a natural rock bridge
contemplating the sunlit vista below.
The bottom two thirds of the painting is the land
bridge and all the interest is in the top 1/3 of the
painting. This
top part is dominated by the woman, whose shoulders just
clear the horizon. Who
is this woman? She
stands bathed in brilliant sunlight, clothed in a long pink
dress that reaches her ankles.
She appears young and her dress is attractive, but
she has her back to you and you cannot see her face.
Yet you are drawn into the landscape because she is
looking at it. And
you appreciate the woman because she has paused to
contemplate such a setting.
The serene peace acquires drama because of the
placement and the contrasts.
The brilliant pink dress sets off the greens and
blues of the valley below and the darker tones of the rocks
and shadows beneath her feet provide a contrast to both. |
Another favorite of mine, “Approaching Storm” sits at
the other end of the spectrum.
The drama is intense. However, it is not the drama of
color contrasts, but of menace.
There is only one color - ominous blue.
The white clouds in the center set off the dark
clouds that surround them and the myriad of even darker
birds whose restless swirling dominates the sky.
Two birds, perched on a thick wire, provide a stark
contrast while anchoring the scene in a world of normalcy.
Yet that anchor has no base: Neither end of the wire
is in sight and the wire seems suspended in space like the
eye of a hurricane. |
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One of the most interesting compositions is “Girl Applying
Lipstick”. It’s
an early spring or summer evening.
An adolescent girl, absorbed in applying lipstick
near an open door, is accosted by a cat entering the house
in search of attention.
One imagines the cat saying something like, “Just
what do you think you’re doing?”
The girl is oblivious of her pet; the cat is focused
exclusively on the girl.
It seems that something new is happening.
The crisp pale blue of the girl’s dress combines
with the darker blue of the sky and of the lake to create a
delicious sense of spring.
For youth and new beginnings are the spirit of
spring. |
Other favorites of mine include the quiet drama
of “The Benevolent Place”,
the poignant “In Vietnam”,
the arresting “Cat in Window”
and the pensive “Girl Working”.
There are many others, but I trust that visitors to this web
site will discover their own.
© 2000 Robert Knapp. All
Rights Reserved
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