About My Art

About My Art...and what could be in it for you.

Hello, my name is Tracie Talany and I am an artist who tries to use her talents to help
others, whether it be painting murals for schools, or face painting in classrooms, or just
donating artwork to charities for their auctions- I like to help.

About My Portraits:
What I really enjoy is bringing a bit of joy to a pet owner that has lost their friend. Much of
my portraiture on slate has been memorials of deceased pets. Happily,
most of the work I do is for family or friends of an animal who is alive and well.

Why Slate?
Using up resources just to paint bothered me, so I turned to things from the environment
that could be recycled- like stones and finally used roofing slate.
The slate has become a stone canvas to create on. Slate is great- it lasts

My History: I began to draw in 1964 and drew everyday for 18 years. Hands, eyes and
glass were my favorite subjects and I did my drawings with a Bic Pen- fine point. My mom
did what she could to push me along, so in my sophmore year of high school,1977, she
sent me to the York Academy of Art, run by William Faulkner- a prominent York
watercolorist. There I was taught the old Flemish master's style of oil painting, watercolor
and acrlyic- fairly new at the time. We did elaborate under paintings with burnt umber,
then rendered the lights with color. It was exhilarating and I felt like a "real artist".

In time, I learned to use many other mediums and styles to express my artist drives. Not
only did I paint with oil on fine Belgian linen, I also airbrushed t-shirts, learned silk-screen
printing, did lettering and signs, wall murals, hand-painted jean jackets, and
face-painted at schools , churches and fairs. I always had great dreams of becoming a
famous artist but obviously, God had other plans for me. I call myself the "people's artist"
since much of my work has been donated or given away to help underprivileged kids and
folks who need something uplifting, but could not afford a "real artist" .
You can view examples of my earlier works by pressing
the "Other Work Gallery" button.

A few years back, I began to collect and paint on creek stones, since art supplies can get
expensive when you have two children at home. One day my cousin, Krissy Ruppert,
gave me some huge slate pieces and asked me to paint something for her. She gave me
several dozen poster-sized slates from her grandma's house in Woodbine, PA. Before
long, I was sitting on my front porch in Churchville, Maryland, selling horse portraits on
slate!

People would drive by and stop in. Word began to spread and soon, people were
bringing me pictures of their animals to paint. Many animals were deceased and quite
special, so it was an honor paint their pet. All customers have been very satisfied with
the artwork.

Always a century behind, I finally caught up with the world and opened a website. You will
see examples of what I have done for other customers, working from their photographs.
Please wander through and have a look at my work. Thank you for stopping by and I hope
you enjoy my website!

Thank you and God bless,
Tracie Talany