Tracey Britton, an artist based in Saint Victor, said she was blessed to have been raised in a family inundated with creativity. 鈥淭he earliest memories that I have of myself are always with a crayon, pencil, or a paintbrush in my hands. All through my school years, I was forever doodling, drawing, painting or sketching something, somewhere.鈥�
She spent much of her childhood on a farm in Alberta in the southwest Foothills region north of Cochrane. Here, she was inspired at a young age to respect animals and cherish them. Her artwork is self-described as a manifestation of the love, beauty and language of animals. The artist maintained she sensed a clearer link with animals than people.
Britton鈥檚 family moved to Holland when she was 14. Despite enduring culture shock, Britton was thrilled to view many works created by several renowned artists firsthand in European museums throughout Holland, Germany and Belgium.
When Britton returned to Canada, she attended the Alberta College of Art. Unable to pursue commercial art 鈥� her first choice of studies, she enrolled into drawing, her second choice. She learned a lot about the technical side of art at the college, including colour theory, composition and perspective. However, she struggled with the institution鈥檚 inner politics and structural demands from instructors. After three years of college, she decided to leave and find her own direction as an artist.
She eventually moved to Saint Victor, where she established her studio 鈥� Missouri Breaks. Here, she became surrounded by natural inspirations.
She paints in an effort to interpret the surrounding world and enjoys using intense and often daring colours in her works.
The artist鈥檚 deep connection with animals is expressed through Britton鈥檚 renderings of horses, cows and other creatures which exemplify strength, finesse and unrefined emotions with fluid, but definite strokes and forms. Although Britton鈥檚 lines and shapes are configured into realistic patterns, her subjects are communicated through surrealistic colours with surprizing animation. The limbs and skeletal muscles of her subjects convey the sensations of unrestrained movements 鈥� the central figures literally appear to lift off the canvas with kicking hooves and snorts.
鈥淐olour is amazing, but we tend to overlook its importance as it is all around us, influencing our decisions, evoking feelings and adding vibrancy to our daily lives,鈥� Britton explained. 鈥淚 take all this inspiration and allow it听flow through my eyes, through my paintbrush and onto the surface of my canvas,听disrupting the viewers idea of what that image is supposed to look like and forcing them to think and see outside the box. I don't just show them a听brown horse, I show them a horse with many layers of colours, browns, reds, oranges, blues and听purples.鈥澨�
Britton defines herself as a contemporary western painter 鈥� she鈥檚 inspired by the imagery of the Canadian and American prairies.
鈥淚n my more recent works, the focus has been听the wild horses of Canada and the United States. They are survivors, living as nature intended, reflections of the pioneer spirit and living symbols of the west. To survive in the wild requires听strength and fortitude,鈥� she further clarified.
To view more of her pieces, patrons can visit Britton鈥檚 website at听. If anyone is interested in purchasing an artwork, they can contact the artist at听[email protected].
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