Biography

South African artist Tracy Algar is an expressionist painter. She creates happy, uplifting botanical abstracts to create positive emotions in the viewer by evoking the joy of connecting with the beauty of nature. She works predominantly in acrylic paint and collage on canvas in an abstract style that is loose and intuitive, while at the same time being carefully considered and intentional.

Her work can be found in private collections around the world, from the USA and Canada to Europe and Australia, and closer to home, Malawi, Namibia, and here in South Africa.

Tracy was born in Cape Town in 1971 and currently resides in the village of Stanford in the Western Cape. She is self-taught and has been working professionally as an artist since 2013.

Artist statement

I paint abstract florals as an exercise in reconnecting to joy and finding happiness in the bounty of nature. My works are studies in creating and sharing joy by exploring uplifting colours, organic shapes and bringing the experience of the beauty of the great outdoors onto the canvas.

The steps of my painting process allow me to concentrate on the inspiring and positive aspects of my environment. Beginning with a walk where I keep an eye out for the colours and shapes that capture my attention and make me feel good, I snap photographs and pay attention to my emotions as I take in the botanical scenes around me.

When I start a painting back in the studio, I look over the photographs I’ve taken and then work intuitively to capture and consolidate the experiences of exhilaration, the colours and the shapes that I have observed. Working in layers of acrylic paint and collage, I rearrange the elements, focusing on shape, contrast, texture and repetition to strengthen the composition.

Ultimately, I want my paintings to create positive emotions in the viewer and to evoke the joy of the abundance of beauty that surrounds us.