The first day Tricia Dudley brought her artwork to Eight Legs Gallery in Waxhaw, she sold a piece to a very excited customer who instantly fell in love with her acrylic painting of a chicken. It’s Tricia’s unique blend of vivid colors, textured brushstrokes and relatable subjects like cows and chickens, landscapes and water scenes, that made her art an instant hit in the Waxhaw community. Tricia said, “I take most of my inspiration from nature, and I love the bold, pure color of flowers, birds and animals. I grew up in Australia in the outback so I find inspiration in seemingly empty landscapes where all the eye sees is sky and grass, cows and distant horizons.”
Since her first sale at Eight Legs Gallery, Tricia has expanded her creative process to include alcohol inks, which she discovered while volunteering at a Junior Art League workshop. She was captivated by the medium’s bright colors, fluidity and complexity. Tricia explains, “Black ink can produce tones of pink and blue when you use compressed air to blow it across your paper.”
A retired Occupational Therapist, Tricia only recently moved to Waxhaw with her family, but they all became quickly involved in the local art community. Tricia is a member of the Waxhaw Arts Council, an award-winning artist at the Waxhaw Kaleidoscope Festival and an exhibiting artist at the Monroe Art Walk.
Her eldest son, Ethan, is away at college, however he sketches animals and also does wood burning. He tends towards realism and detail. Her youngest son, Jacob is a rising senior in highschool, and he paints in a more abstract style with acrylics, most recently using a palette knife. Both sons have won prizes in district level junior art competitions and have sold several pieces. Tricia says light heartedly, “Jacob has a wonderful eye for perspective and is able and ready to critique my work, generally for the better!” Tricia also mentions that her husband is her biggest emotional supporter, always patient with her incessant need to shop in art supply stores.
Tricia and her sons currently have art for sale at Eight Legs Gallery where she is also starting to teach classes for alcohol ink and acrylics. To schedule a class with Tricia or to inquire about purchasing her art, contact Eight Legs Gallery at 704.843.1662 or Tricia directly through her artist page at facebook.com/tricia1960 or her website at www.TriciaDudleyArtist.com.
