Tracy Willard

My Story

I'm a Southern California native, growing up running around the beach towns in Orange County and North County San Diego. I had the carefree childhood of the 70s and 80s. Some of my best childhood memories took place on the beach- barefoot, sunburned, long days in the ocean on boogie boards, climbing on the jetty, collecting shells then running across the 101 to all the local spots for food and drink. 

I always wanted to be an artist. I filled notebooks and every scrap of paper with doodles and drawings of rainbows, sunshine, puffy white clouds and animals. I loved writing in bubble letters and trying to create different fonts with my sets of colored markers, boxes of crayons and colored pencil collections. 

After high school though, I caught the travel bug, and set about getting through college while traveling as much as I could. I was always wishing I could capture the colors and beauty I saw in the world. I was always captivated by color and the unique color pallet that defined each new destination I visited. 

Eventually I became a teacher, a profession I loved. I took life drawing classes in the evenings in Laguna Beach, but it was this secret passion that I didn’t feel had a place in my daily life. It was around this time I met my husband, Scott. 

When we started our family, we moved to Bozeman, Montana. Again, I was captivated by the beauty I saw around me there and the colorful small town culture. We lived there for 10 years. It was a magical time, raising our daughters walking the trails, hiking and playing in the gorgeous mountain lakes.  I spent my time there soaking in the grandeur of the mountains, and learning to sit in the silence and peace of a white winter landscape. I learned to listen more closely to God there. 

Then finally at 50 years old, after I lost both my parents, I decided it was time to pursue my childhood dream of being an artist and took my first painting class. It felt like I was finally doing what I was created to do. 

Whenever I sit down to paint, I feel such a deep sense of joy and peace. I hope to portray a sense of nostalgia and a carefree, unhurried, quiet stillness. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit my corner of the world. I hope my paintings cultivate a feeling of peace and an appreciation for God’s creativity and generosity.