Inuvik artist’s painting of playful narwhals wins directory art contest
Tracy Blyth is sharing her lively and colourful artwork with everyone in the Northwest Territories. That’s because the Inuvik-based artist’s painting, Stargazers, will be splashed across the front cover of 2021/22 Northwestel phone directory.
A former art student and multitalented crafter, Tracy laughs excitedly as she recalls entering the annual art contest several times before – but never expected to win this year.
“I really like my art, but it still surprises me when other people do, because it is kind of a personal taste thing. I’m still super excited. I’ve never had anything like this happen before. I can’t wait to see the phone book when it gets here!”
As the selected NWT directory cover artist, Tracy picks up a $5,000 prize from Northwestel. Her winning artwork is a bright and colourful painting of three narwhals breaking through the ocean surface to see the northern skies above.
Stargazers 24" x 30" Acrylic on wood panel
Inspired by northern wildlife, Tracy reveals her unique creative process behind building artworks through layers and layers of paint.
“My acrylic works are generally unplanned. I just keep adding paint on, turn it different ways, and stare at it until it says what it wants to be. I’ll see the image – it just comes out. With the narwhals, they’re not central. They’re offset, and they were orange to begin with. That’s how they just popped out on the panel.”
When it comes to materials, Tracy says she prefers to work with acrylic paint on small wood panels over oil and canvas.
“When I’m painting, I have a few panels around and I put all my excess paint on them, then I mix all my paints with gel medium. The narwhal painting probably has about 8 layers of paint. The gel medium makes the paint more transparent, and it adds a lot more depth without using oil paint.”
Tracy Blyth and her award-winning painting Stargazers
Growing up on Vancouver Island and becoming a fan of Emily Carr from a young age, Tracy claims she’s “obsessed with colour”. A Northwest Territories resident of nearly 20 years, it’s an obsession that lends itself to her artwork as she finds inspiration around her community.
“Here in Inuvik, we have such brilliant colours. Everything is white (through winter) and then you have the northern lights – which light up everything. After you’ve been seeing white for so long, they’re just incredible. The colours up here are spectacular.”
While thrilled about her contest win, Tracy remains humble, stating she has no immediate plans to ramp up her art career. She explains that in addition to sharing home studio space with her kids, the limits of showcasing artwork in a remote northern community are challenging.
“For now, I’ll continue doing my art and maybe try to promote it more. That takes a lot of work on its own. And in Inuvik there’s no space to show your work. So, it is more difficult doing it from here. That’s why I go with the flow and be happy with what happens. But a little recognition is awesome.”
Tracy and her husband Michael spent several years living in Fort Simpson, then Deline, before moving to Inuvik where they live today with their kids.
Tracy Blyth and her family have lived in Inuvik since 2016. She shares her paintings, jewellery, greeting card designs, and more custom artwork through her Facebook page Crowberry Designs
Where to get a copy
Directory availability in each community may vary due to the COVID-19 situation. Customers are advised to check with the directory pickup location in their community for availability and practice social distancing when picking up their directory.
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