About the artist
My Journey to the Karoo
My work has long been a conversation with the landscape, but the last few years have radically changed how I listen. After moving halfway across the country and navigating significant personal transitions, I have found a permanent home in Aberdeen. Today, I paint from Kraairivier Studio, a shared creative-space that has breathed fresh life into my practice and out on location as often as possible.
A Reimagined Approach
For a long time, I followed the traditional rules: building a portfolio for galleries, maintaining high prices, and often feeling disconnected from the people who loved my work the most. I realised that high prices can create an unhealthy power imbalance so now I am disrupting my own best laid plans.
I have transitioned to a "direct-from-studio" model. By bypassing traditional gallery commissions, I can offer my original oil paintings at prices that reflect my priorities: momentum, accessibility, and honest connection. I want my art to live on your walls, not sit on my drying racks or on gallery walls.
Artist Statement
As a contemporary painterly realist, I am drawn to the immediate spirit of the Karoo. My best work happens alla prima, capturing the shifting light and vast horizons with quick, energetic brushstrokes that prioritise feeling over hyper-detail.
To me, a painting is a fresh, energetic impression from the easel. This new chapter is about movement, painting one small work a day, capturing the raw energy of the landscape, and sending it directly from my studio in Aberdeen to your home. Whether I am painting the plains of the Karoo or the light refecting on a distant dam, my goal is to make original, vibrant art a reachable reality for a circle of like-minded collectors.
Biography
Tracy Algar is a contemporary landscape painter based in Aberdeen, South Africa. After a career-defining move to the Karoo and a period of personal evolution, Tracy has established a practice at Kraairivier Studio, focused on all prima oil landscapes.
Moving away from the traditional gallery-only model, Tracy's "direct-from-studio" initiative seeks to democratise original art ownership. Her work is characterised by loose, honest brushwork and a dedication to capturing the immediate atmosphere of her surroundings. Her paintings are held in private collections both locally and internationally, now moving from her easel to collectors with a renewed focus on accessibility and volume.