High-Performance Art of Local Artist


By CHRISTINA HAMLETT LCF Outlook

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines and speed on over to www.art4racing.com. If the thrilling sights of NASCAR auto racing and the pulse-pounding ped- aling of the Tour de France aren't enough to get your heart racing, an hour spent with the artist herself is a pure adrenalin rush. Tracy Bailey Holmes is a third- generation talent whose grandfather was not only a successful, self-taught painter, but also an amusement park designer who shares Hall of Fame space with Roy and Walt Disney. "My mother, on the other hand, worked in watercolors," said Holmes, a La Canada Flintridge Resident. "She typified the 'struggling artist.' Since that wasn't a route I wanted to go, it was a call I resisted until I got older." Holmes attributes her signature style of NASCAR expressionism to her husband. "He owns a chain of auto collision repair centers and had shop in an Audi Porsche dealership," she said. "I was trying to order some posters for him of old racing events and couldn't believe how expensive they were. I decided to just paint him a couple pictures myself. As it turned out, people came in, saw them and wanted to buy them. My husband wanted to put them in more of his shops, and one thing led to another." Holmes was especially excited when one of her paintings found its way into the California Auto Club's lobby. "They had invited us to a drag car race and as a thank you, I decided to paint a picture for them. They liked it so much they made a major contribution to the Children's Center for the Arts." (Holmes is a supporter and past chairperson the Children's Center for the Arts and served on its advisory board of directors, under the Pasadena Arts Council, in which she also served as a trustee on their board of directors for two terms.)

She recalls the first NASCAR event she attended. "When they came around that track at about an inch apart and going 180 miles an hour, I just felt it through my bones and wanted to capture that feeling on canvas. It had all the elements in life about teamwork and perseverance and refueling your spirit that I fell in love with it." So does she live her own life at an accelerated pace? "I've always been a very passionate person," Holmes said. "I believe that anything that requires passion and hard work to affect a transformation is something that really appeals to me. I was on my own at an early age and had been searching within myself for the correct principles of living a productive, successful life. The excitement of sporting events like NASCAR and the Tour de France became a role model for me. While there are more and more women getting involved in these races, it was unusual at the time to make a male-dominated sport the core of my artistic expression." To capture the intensity of what she wants to replicate on canvas, Holmes relies on mental snapshots as much as the ones she takes with a camera. "When I'm working, I replay in my head what it was like to smell the smells and hear the sounds. I then lay out the photographs and determine what elements about the cars, crowds and background I can use."

An outspoken admirer of Lance Armstrong, Holmes not only paints Tour de France images but is an avid bicyclist, too. On June 25, she'll be participating in the Livestrong Ride, a fundraiser to help empower people afflicted with cancer. Sponsorships are still available through her website. She is also having a exhibition at Whites Gallery in Montrose from June 1-30. A special artist's reception is being held Saturday evening, June 3, and me public is invited. Holmes and her family have nothing but praise for the local community's support of school art programs. "Even before I had children of my own, I'd go to performances and I'd cry from seeing little kids who would really come out of themselves once they got on a stage or were showing off something they'd made. Art helps children realize they can create something from their imagination and that there's a magic within each of us. Giving that a voice and allowing it to become real is an incredible gift." She also believes in the importance of remaining "teachable" throughout one's life and remaining true to one's passions.

She relates the story of meeting an artist at an exhibition when she was starting out. "He told me, 'You should paint only what you love. If you love dogs, paint dogs. If you love oceans, paint oceans. If you paint what you love, it shows through your art.' He then told me to walk around and look at everyone's paintings and come back and tell him whose art I thought was outstanding. One of the artists was a woman who painted nighttime cocktail parties, and I thought she was just incredible. He told me that that was actually her life and what she loved and you could really feel it." If she could have lunch with any artist in history, she shares that her choice would be Monet. "He was an artist who wasn't accepted in his time because he was different. Now he's so famous that he's one of the main people we study! The reason I relate to him is because I'm different, too, and don't fit a lot of traditional models. I'm a woman, I paint sports, I don't fit in a normal gallery. I've been told by galleries that I need to become more well rounded, but I know I have to stay true to my heart." She smiles. "If I had lunch with Monet, I'd like to tell him where his art went. I think he'd be pleased to know that."
tracy@art4racing.com • ph 626-441-8871