Tracey left the city life and moved to beachside on Bribie Island almost 2 years ago. She now produces her work from a small studio gallery less than 50 metres from the surf.

Famous for her quirky animal paintings, in mid June 2011 she returned from almost 3 months overseas where she also completed her Yoga Teacher Training in Bali. In June of this year she has created a new body of work. This new style has been quickly embraced by two of Australia’s leading art galleries, Traffic Jam Gallery in Neutral Bay, NSW, and Manyung Galleries in Malvern, Sorrento and Mt Eliza, Victoria.

In Tracey’s own words, “I took three months off to travel overseas for inspiration and also complete my yoga teacher training. It was a challenging time not being able to stand at the easel, and as soon as I arrived home, I attacked the canvas with gusto and something different happened. Kaleidoscope is a celebration of this.”

Moving out of the “comfort” of a paintbrush, paints and canvas., Tracey’s new works combine metals, woods, paint, charcoal, oils, metals, fabrics and feathers. “I have been using drills, routers, wood burners…. “Next will be a chainsaw I guess!” Tracey laughs.

Over the 14 years of Tracey’s artistic career, she has learnt that intention as well as “mistakes” can often translate into a new style or technique that works. In this way she uses deliberate or accidental events to create works that are unique and meaningful. The paintings reflect how Tracey sees the world and how she would like others to view it.

An example of the artful use of serendipity is the development of Tracey’s first children’s book “A Fish With A Wish”. Unlike most children’s books, the book came about as a result of the author Katrina Logan writing a wonderful tale around Tracey’s paintings. The amazing thing is that unbeknownst to Katrina and as coincidence would have it, Tracey’s first painting was in fact a Goldfish! The story concerns a lonely little goldfish who believes that all of the other animals are more interesting. In the story the goldfish realises that he is just as special and unique as everyone else and this is a tenet that is dear to Tracey’s heart.