Tracey Bell
Artwork for Tracey Bell
Details
How would you describe the work you do and why?
I paint intuitively, working in acrylic to explore colour, texture, and emotional rhythm. My process is layered and responsive, allowing the work to develop through instinct rather than planning. I am interested in what remains unresolved, the marks left behind, the interruptions, the quiet humour and tension that sit beneath the surface. I make this work as a way of understanding experience that doesn’t fit neatly into language. Painting allows space for uncertainty, memory, and feeling, without the need to explain or conclude.
For you what does being an artist mean?:
Being an artist means paying attention and responding honestly. It’s about working things out through making, staying curious, and allowing uncertainty to exist without rushing to tidy it up. It’s less about having answers and more about being willing to sit with the questions.
Describe what you call yourself/your practice?:
Art in C Major
Your practice & activities include e.g workshops, teaching:
My practice centres on intuitive, studio-based acrylic painting. I sell my work in support of Community Action Trust, a charity I founded to support children with special needs. Alongside this, I am developing participatory and educational activity, with plans to deliver inclusive, process-led workshops that widen access to creative engagement and generate public benefit.
CV & Education, relevant & leading to your artistic practice:
I am a self-taught visual artist with over ten years of sustained studio practice. My artistic development has been shaped through continuous making, experimentation, and reflection, rather than formal academic training. This long-term, practice-led approach has allowed my work to evolve organically, grounded in process, intuition, and lived experience. For the past decade, I have maintained an active and consistent practice, producing and selling a minimum of 25 paintings annually. This ongoing output demonstrates professional commitment, audience engagement, and the sustainability of my work within a public and charitable context. My learning has been supported through: Independent research and self-directed study Experimentation with materials and techniques, particularly acrylic Peer learning, feedback, and observation within creative and community settings Ongoing reflection through making, selling, and exhibiting work This self-directed pathway has directly informed my current practice, which combines studio-based painting with emerging plans for participatory and educational activity, and the use of artwork sales to support charitable and community outcomes.
Exhibitions in the last 3 years:
Far Open, Open house, St Marys (Ross-on-Wye)
Your gallery outlets/stockists:
Home studio