TRACEY CREIGHTON
Australian Artist I Designer I Tutor

I knew early in life I destined for a career in art. At 16 years of age, I attended the Queensland College of Art, completing a three year course in Commercial Illustration. I went on to work as a graphic artist and in January 1982 opened Queensland’s first private graphic art college in Brisbane, then another on the Gold Coast in 1989.

I owned The Commercial Art Training Centre (later known as CATC) until 1995. It is still running today and is the longest established private graphic art college in Australia with its students being employed in the advertising and graphic arts industry all over the world.

It was after spending 20 years as a graphic artist/educator and a move interstate that I began oil painting classes in Melbourne at the Doncaster Templestowe Art Society. This brought about a whole new direction in my artistic life. I relocated to the United States in 1997 and promptly enrolled in painting classes at the Costa Mesa Community College and trained with a prominent contemporary artist, Chris Gwaltney.

My first solo exhibition was in Newport Beach, California which consisted of 27 oil paintings completed whilst living in America. Since returning to Australia in 1998, I have held numerous joint exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, Mildura, Merimbula, Canberra and Hamilton Island – Queensland, where I was invited to teach art classes to guests and staff at the resort. I have also held many solo exhibitions within my own studio gallery – Boardwalkart in Merimbula, as well as contributing to joint and group shows on the Far South Coast.

I am a featured artists on the popular TV series 'Color in your Life' hosted by Graeme Stevenson.

ARTIST'S STATEMENT

When painting I draw on my own personal experiences – spiritual, emotional and physical. Each piece is influenced by that experience, albeit the use of colour, texture, form, design or some other intrinsic elements. Whilst I work mostly in oils and acrylic, I have in more recent years introduced fibre/ textiles into my paintings which has seen the immersion of myself in what seems to be ‘endless’ possibilities of mixed media.

I don’t purposefully set out to paint anything in particular but rather allow the painting process to take me on an exquisite journey. That journey may be guided by my mood or my desire to capture a moment in time, a feeling or perhaps a place I have visited. Moulding myself into my artwork, finding myself one with the paint, I intuitively choose each element, freeing my mind of all thoughts other than where the painting dares me to go. It is with unabashed excitement I view the blank canvas before me and with great gusto I launch myself into the unknown.

Excitedly I watch as each piece evolves though the layering of paint, mediums, textiles and texture allowing the artwork its own personality and unwritten words to speak. I am in love with the creative process. My artistic journey has now spanned forty years and today I am still as excited about being ‘on the road that never ends’, as I was when I was sixteen attending my first day at art college. I expect the coming decade to reveal new works with strong imagery and design, drawing on my cultural, life and travel experiences to create ever-changing works of art that reflects to the viewer a sense of mystery, wonder and beauty.

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