ART | tracy donald
Portrait of an artist
T RACY D ONALD
OTHERS AS PAINTER , TEACHER
I TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAYLA ESSARY
In a West Hattiesburg art
studio usually bustling with
budding child artists, there are
a dozen canvases positioned on
easels, ready to be painted by
novice adult painters. This par-
ticular evening art class at
Bristles features artist Tracy
Donald as instructor. An inspi-
ration photograph, depicting a
Mississippi Delta sunset, is
tonight’s subject.
In the next hour, Donald is
tasked with providing a light-
hearted tutorial on the basics of
oil painting, and those 12 can-
vases will come to life with the
brilliant colors of twilight.
“It’s my first time to teach
48 a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i
SHARES HER TALENT WITH
an art class for adults, and I
want these women to go away
not only with a nice painting
they could be proud of, but
also some knowledge of the
basics,” said Donald, who dab-
bled in painting while attend-
ing the Art Institute of Dallas
years ago.
After a 13-year career in
graphic design, Donald pur-
sued painting more seriously
about five years ago after her
family moved to Hattiesburg.
Long before delving into
sunset paintings, Donald’s first
creative subject was one she
knew quite well — a portrait of
her oldest daughter, Laine. It
didn’t take long for requests to
start piling up from people
wanting their own children
depicted in her unique painting
style.
“Tracy does these wonderful,
unique portraits unlike any I’ve
ever seen before with such
minute detail,” said
Hattiesburg Arts Council
Director Patty Hall, who met
Tracy when she participated in
an emerging artist show at the
Hattiesburg Cultural Center a
couple of years ago.
But Hall cautions against
attaching the label of portrait
artist too tightly to Donald’s
work.

“As an artist, she is so versa-
tile in her subject matter and
style of painting. Along with
the portraits, Tracy will turn
out some fabulous, very con-
temporary pieces and I find
myself really drawn to that
work also. Not to mention the
painting she’s done of a pear
that’s so luscious, you could
just slice right into it.”
Hall invited the artist to par-
ticipate in a seven-week dis-
play at the Hattiesburg
Cultural Center this summer,
featuring a collection of almost
30 paintings.
“I got to know Tracy a cou-
ple of years ago shortly after
she moved to Hattiesburg,”
Hall said. “I admired her work
and she had a few paintings in
our emerging artist exhibit
which is held each December.
That’s when I really got to
know her and spend some time
with her. She’s been on my
radar, thinking now that’s a
young artist I really would like
offer a full show.”
Donald said she was thrilled
to be offered a chance to show-
Patty Hall, above, displays
Donald’s art at the
Hattiesburg Cultural Center.
case her work.
“This has been a great oppor-
tunity especially in this space
because it is such a gorgeous
place to have a show,” said
Donald. “I’m so grateful to the
Arts Council because without
them, I probably wouldn’t have
gotten this opportunity.”
Giving artists a venue for
exposure and inspiration was
exactly what Hall and others
with the Hattiesburg Arts
Council and the City of
Hattiesburg had in mind when
they began renovating the old
a cc e n t s o u t h m i s s i s s i p p i 49
Hattiesburg public library
building years ago.
“We were hopeful when
talks began for renovating this
space that they would give us
permission to maintain an art
gallery here and that has now
happened,” Hall said. “We’ve
been blessed to participate in
introducing new, emerging
artists who have gone on and
enjoyed a successful art career.
It’s been nice to see them in the
early stages of their careers and
watch them develop themselves
as artists. Often as a public
space we have events and wed-
ding receptions here so artists
are introduced to a wide array
of audiences by virtue of hav-
ing their work on display. And
that can lead to a work of art
getting sold to someone in the
audience, or just getting their
name out even beyond this
area. So it’s mutually beneficial
for the city to have the space
enhanced by the work and we
believe it’s also a great service
to the artist.”
Hall said that the space does-
n’t come without a few chal-
lenges for artists.
“It isn’t always easy to have
a one-person show in this
space, because of the heights of
the ceiling, it seems to be
almost too consuming some-
times,” Hall said. “But Tracy
paints with such large canvases
sometimes so that her work is
able to fill a space.”
And the opportunity
prompted the oil painter to
explore new areas of interest.
“I’ve done quite a few flow-
ers, some still lifes and land-
scapes, but one of my favorite
areas is abstraction and I fig-
ured this was a great chance to
explore that genre,” Donald
said, adding that she wants to
continue exploring the abstract
style of painting. “In my opin-
ion, abstract paintings are the
most difficult. You are relying
on your mind for inspiration
and not looking at a photo or
subject per se.”
Meanwhile, what started as
an alternative to dinner and a
movie among friends has
turned into 12 unique pieces of
art.
“We started the adult paint-
ing classes as an opportunity
for women who might not oth-
erwise pursue painting to see
into the window of a painter’s
world, and I wanted Tracy
Donald to be a part of this
opportunity,” said Lissa
Ortego, local artist and
owner/instructor of Bristles.
“Tracy did a great job demon-
strating the medium of oil
painting and giving everyone a
basic glimpse into a skill she
knows very well. I found it
interesting to see how she
works stylistically, and I
believe others did as well.”
Donald said each person can
find ways to explore their artis-
tic side and have a good time
doing it.
“I wanted them to have a
great time being creative and I
think they all did.”
Hall said not every artist is
so eager to share their creative
talents with others.
“She has such a heart for
what art can do for a person,
how it can enhance a life,” Hall
said. “It’s wonderful to work
with someone who is eager to
give back to the community
with the power of the arts and
that’s certainly the case for
Tracy.”
To find out what’s on display at
the Hattiesburg Cultural Center
or to schedule a mini-gallery
talk with the artist, call the
Hattiesburg Arts Council at
(601) 583-6005. Information on
Bristles Art Studio is available
at www.bristlesstudio.com or by
calling (601) 450-ARTS.