Hi I’m Tracy!
I’m the artist and creator of everything you’ll find at
Tracy Lizotte Studios
I have a passion for painting with watercolors, and teaching others the traditional fine art techniques that have been passed down to me.
Most importantly, I want to have fun when I paint and to share that fun with those who enjoy my art.
My journey to this point had been a long one filled with a lot of lessons learned.
Here’s the short version:
IN THE BEGINNING
My love of watercolors started at a very early age. My parents noticed, and asked my Great Aunt Dot (who only taught adult classes in her fine art studio) to make an exception to teach me at age 11.
Lucky me she did!
My Great Aunt introduced me to professional materials and taught me the traditional ways of watercolor painting. Her teaching, combined with my fearlessness with watercolors (chalk it up to youth), forged my unique style of painting.
I also had the good fortune to have a few other professional watercolorists help me out along the way. I learned so much more than just painting from these amazing artists. They taught me how to frame, display, and sell my work in both art shows and galleries.
I MADE MY FIRST SALE AT AGE 14
I entered a large local one day sidewalk art festival and made $1000 that day! I was hooked from that day on to sell art. I share the details of that very first show in a post titled: How I Started Selling My Art.
MY LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
I graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education and taught art for 8 years in various school systems in Maine.
I continued to paint and develop my style throughout this time.
And Oh Boy! My art went through a few crazy phases since then.
Wanna see how my art has evolved? Check out my post: A Look at How My Art Has Evolved to Sell Full Time. I share all the phases I went through to get to where I am today.
AFTER COLLEGE
I fell in love, got married, and had four fantastic kiddos.
As my responsibilities grew my priorities shifted and giving up painting was just NOT an option for me. So instead, I resigned from teaching at the local junior high school to stay at home to raise my girls and paint full time.
THIS WAS A VERY SCARY TIME FOR ME!
My husband and I built our family on a two income household. We decided I had 1 year to prove I could make it on my own as an artist.
Welp, there’s nothing like your whole family’s livelihood resting on your shoulders while the clocked ticked down to motivate you!
And it did for me.
I learned real quick how to paint cohesive collections, brand my art, and market myself. I even got a licensing agent and dove head first into that industry while continuing to make fine art to sell at art shows.
(You can check out some of the companies I worked with in the past, and products we made here.)
Oh, and then there’s the internet!
Yup, can’t forget about all the lost hours I spent learning how to use the internet for my business! Lol.
Some how, through it all, I made it work :-)
MY INSPIRATION FOR PAINTING
All the ideas for my artwork come from the day-to-day life around me. I am utterly inspired by my children, animals, and colors and patterns found in nature.
WHAT I’M CURRENTLY UP TO
I now work from my home studio located in Southern Maine, United States. You can find me there creating, painting, and selling my artwork. The art I create is bright, cheerful and fun! It’s perfect for decorating any space that needs a happy, heartwarming, and sometimes humorous decorative finish.
But that’s not all…
I also teach my painting methods and help other artists on how to sell their own art. (And I share everything!)
ABOUT MY COURSES
If you like my style and want to learn how to draw, paint with watercolors, and even learn how to sell your own art from a gal that’s “been there” and “done that”, then I would love to hear from you!
Head on over to my Online Course page to learn about my courses, and then make sure you’re signed up below to get my Studio Newsletter for the latest information and developments happening in both my courses and my art!
HAVE A QUESTION?
Head on over to my FAQ page! There, I answer more questions about my art, my creative process, and how to hire me to do a painting.
Here’s a peek into my life:
This was my very first attempt at making a video!
This video may be a little old, but it is still just as relevant today as it was on the day I made it. Meet my family and see how they influence me, my art, and my business :-)