Tracey Yager’s watercolours and acrylics are awash with the vibrant colours of sky, sea and forest. As a born and bred Norfolk Islander, Tracey’s milieu is the natural environment, so her work on paper, canvas, board or driftwood, celebrates the beauty she has been surrounded with all her life.
Tracey’s “Bounty” mutineer heritage is particularly evident in her paintings of wooden boats and nautical subjects. Nowhere is this more evident than in her mammoth undertaking of a 3600 panoramic painting of the story of the “Bounty” which she painted on Norfolk Island with another local artist. Completed in 2002, Fletcher’s Mutiny Cyclorama is now one of the premier tourist attractions on Norfolk Island and a local and Australia-wide award winner.
Graphic design was where Tracey began her artistic career on Norfolk Island, and then in London and Australia. A move to Noosa Heads led to her capturing the beauty of wooden boats on the quiet Noosa River in water colours and after a successful seven year stint there as a full time artist, she returned to Norfolk Island. There she and a fellow local artist Sue Draper set up Gallery Guava to showcase their work and others, inspired by the nature, heritage and culture of Norfolk.
In addition to being commissioned to paint the Cyclorama, Tracey has illustrated Norfolk Island books on island themes and a number of books for children. She is one of a handful of artists who has painted original works for Norfolk Island’s Philatelic department. Her stamp series include butterflies, native and exotic birds, Polynesian exploration, Norfolk’s whaling and stevedoring industries and of course, wooden boats of Norfolk.
Tracey has won numerous art competitions and has been enjoying spending time away from the island to paint and exhibit her work. Most recently on Waiheke Island, New Zealand where she exhibited a series of acrylic paintings on reclaimed wood. She also exhibited a collection of wooden boat paintings at the the Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Hobart. Following that exhibition she was invited to become a member of the prestigious Australian Society of Marine Artists. After more than 20 years working as a full time artist her body of work is extensive and is held in private collections around the world. Her original works and limited edition prints are available from Gallery Guava, Norfolk Island and via this website.