Publisher's Notes

Basically, decorative art is creating on objects that are both artistic and functional, including (but not limited to) furniture, paintings, textiles, ceramics, silver and metalware.  Generally decorative art is used to "decorate" with.  A painted bench decorates a home, a piece of jewelry decorates an outfit, a sculpture decorates a foyer, etc. 

I began the quest to define decorative art because I wasn't sure of how to define who I am as an artist.  I call myself a decorative artist but I wanted to be sure that the definition really did apply to me.



At decorative painting conventions people have asked me if my paintings could be considered contemporary, but I don’t think that really defines my work.   To me that word says: simplistic, abstract or graphic; no that’s not my art.  I enjoy all subject matter and I like my subjects to look like what they are; if I paint a pumpkin, I want it to look like a pumpkin, I want it to have an essence of reality to it, not realism, but reality.  But I don’t usually paint one pumpkin sitting alone, instead I would put a basket by it, or 2 to 3 more pumpkins with it, maybe some berries, apples or leaves.  In one sense of the word I am contemporary and that would be because contemporary can be defined as belonging to the same time or of the present time.  Usually I paint subject matter of this age and time.  For instance, I paint things that I see in today’s world, not things from the past or from another period such as Renaissance or early American. 

I have no doubt that I started as a decorative painter but I have evolved since I first began.  When I started out, I painted boxes, chairs, canisters, etc.   Currently, I prefer to paint more flat surfaces for framing, as opposed to functional items. 



I began by painting cute, cartoonish type designs; they are great to learn with because they are basic. 

But now I can’t be defined as strictly a cutsie or country style artist, I prefer to change things up and paint what I am feeling. I do not paint ultra-realism or impressionism and canvas isn’t my favorite surface.  I really like to paint on masonite panels. 

I don’t paint in a primitive style or with extremely toned down colors. 

I love color!  From soft to vibrant, pink to orange, warm to cool.   I am not a traditional tole-ist incorporating alot of stroke work in my designs or Scandinavian influenced.

I have moved from calling myself a decorative painter to saying that I am a decorative artist.  The reason is that I really do consider myself an artist.  My artwork is all original in both composition and colors.  I try to keep myself from being influenced by other artists.  Yes, I do like designing and painting what is trendy or current, but I never want mine to look like someone else’s, I enjoy being unique. 



Maybe I fit into the decorative artist category because as with most decorative artists, my artwork is better viewed up close than from a distance. 

The more that I research, the more unsure I become that my art fits into any “pigeon hole” definition, the only real conclusion that I can come to is, I have a style that is all my own.

How about you....... how would you define my artwork?    

decoratively yours....Tracy