About
South African Contemporary Landscape Artist
My name is Tracy Algar, and I’m a landscape painter. Living near Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo, I paint mostly en plein air, outdoors, my favourite place to be. For the past few years, my work has focused on creating energetic representations of my local area using a limited palette and deliberate brushwork.
Biography
Tracy Algar is a South African landscape painter based in Adendorp, near Graaff-Reinet, in the heart of the Karoo. Known for capturing the nuanced effects of the region’s unique light, her work explores the vastness of space, peace, and solitude found within the Karoo landscape. Working primarily in oils on board, Algar employs a representational, painterly style often characterized by a limited palette and an atmospheric quality.
Growing up in Windhoek, Namibia, Algar’s early experiences with the expansive African landscape profoundly shaped her artistic vision. Now deeply connected to her Karoo home, she finds daily inspiration in its dramatic scenery and distinct light, often painting en plein air to directly engage with her subject matter. Through her paintings, often intimate in scale, Algar seeks to offer viewers a window or ‘postcard’ into the Karoo – a way to bring the serenity of this unique South African landscape into their homes and evoke memories of place.
Tracy Algar’s artwork has been exhibited across South Africa, including Cape Town, Hermanus, Stanford, Umhlanga, and Knysna. Notable recent exhibitions include collaborations like “Art Rooted in Nature” (Strauss & Co, Intethe Gallery, Hermanus FynArts Festival) and participation in the Baardskeerdersbos Art Route 2024. Her paintings are held in private collections both locally and internationally.
Artist Statement
My paintings provide a two-fold experience. From a distance, they resemble real scenes, like photos or postcards, holding memories. But up close, the story changes. You see texture and visible brushstrokes, creating an almost abstract feel. This duality comes from my use of cold wax medium and oil paint. The medium dries matt, highlighting every brushstroke and allowing for framing without glass.
I find inspiration in the world outside my door – the landscapes and plants of the Karoo. Painting these places helps me feel connected to them, as if they are part of me. My main goal is to capture that special light. It’s the glow that defines a day. I want you to feel the warmth of a clear morning, the heat of a hot afternoon, or the gentle beauty of a sunset. I use my colour knowledge and a limited palette to create these effects, similar to the old tonalist painters. Painting on board gives me a smooth surface to achieve the right texture in my brushwork. Every choice, from my paints to my surfaces, aims to bring that unique light and feeling of place to life.
Past Exhibitions
2024: Art Rooted in Nature, Strauss & Co in collaboration with Intethe Gallery and Hermanus Fynarts
2024: Baardskeerdersbos Art Route guest artist of Pam Sullivan
2024: MOEG GEPLOEG, The DOOS Gallery, Botrivier
2023: LANDS CAPE, The DOOS Gallery, Knysna
2023: Baardskeerdersbos Art Route guest artist of Jan Vingerhoets
2022: Stanford Culinary Festival Exhibition, Journey, Stanford
2022: The Gallery Stanford
2021 – 2023: Egret & the Owl Book Café, Stanford
2021: Affie 100 Fonds Auction, Pretoria
2021 – 2023: The Pencil Club, Umhlanga
2021: The Corrie Scribante Gallery, Umhlanga
2020 – 2024: Stanford Kitchen, Stanford
2019: Spookhuis, Stanford
2019: Sumaridge Wine Estate, Hemel-en-Aarde
2019: FLAG Art Gallery, Hermanus
2019: Winter Salon @ The Art Gallery, Hermanus
2018: Moon + Bird Art House, Stanford
2017: Through The Looking Glass, Stanford
2015: Stanford Local Art Harvest
Solo Exhibitions
2021: Lifestyle Gallery, Hermanus
2020: Journey, Stanford
2016: Jeanne Retief Studio, Stanford
2015: Outside In Gallery, Stanford
2014: The Millstone, Oude Molen Eco Village
