Artist: Tricia Courtney

Recently I came across the work of artist Tricia Courtney whose oil paintings really struck something with me.  I love the colors she chooses and how the flowers seem to pop off the canvas.  We had a chance to speak this week about her work and her upcoming new book Floppy Sue’s Birthday Adventure that will be published as an eBook through Pixel Mouse House.  Here is what she says about what inspired her to start creating and about her new story. 

A happy experience at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin, Missouri “many, many years ago” led to Tricia Courtney’s lifelong love of art. “My twin brother Patrick and I were just 5 years old when my mom took us to the Zelleken House at 4th & Sergeant in Joplin for a summer art class,” she says.

“I remember climbing up the steep staircase to a special classroom… kinda scary, but fun! We worked with clay and I made a turtle. I still remember the excitement, that unique feeling an artist feels, being proud of making something with my own hands. I still carry that excitement with me into the studio, and feel it even when preparing for a show gets complicated and stressful!”

Over the years Tricia has experimented with several mediums including oil, acrylic and assemblage. She also creates art through the computer with Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator.

If rich color and bold strokes created with a palette knife and “an extreme amount of paint” are what her oils are about, her approach to other mediums yields equally intriguing results. Over the last several years she has alternated between oils, recycled metal assemblage, vibrant acrylic drip paintings, and an entire world of fanciful, whimsical children’s characters.

The Land of Buzzlewic is a whimsical, wonderful island, removed from the rest of the world by a mighty turquoise ocean! In Buzzlewic, the happy Sun smiles by day and the sleepy Moon glows in the starry sky by night. Buzzlewic is inhabitated by loveable, curious creatures called the Buzzlewics. They are innocent and silly, wacky and wise. The Buzzlewics are so old that even they don’t know how long they have existed. Each Buzzlewic is unique in color and shape, and many of them are astonishing acrobats, preferring to hop, flip, jump, or fly from place to place. The Buzzlewics love art, music, and dancing. They are adventurous and spend their free time sailing boats, riding in balloons, zipping around in compact cars or gliding over the snowy slopes on their skis.

Tricia has been creating these loveable characters since grade school—doodling in her notebook rather than taking notes in class. Decked out in bright colors with gentle smiles on their faces, the Buzzlewics seem to be a happy, friendly lot, busily enjoying life.

And just where do Buzzlewics come from? Taking pen in hand, the artist begins a simple line drawing that within minutes becomes a Buzzlewic creature. “I don’t really start with an idea in mind,” she says. “I just follow the line.”

Noting that children (and adults!) find her characters appealing, the Buzzlewic creator admits that she enjoys seeing the smiles and happy responses from those who see her work.

Floppy Sue’s Birthday Adventure is the first Buzzlewic book in the line of books Tricia hopes to publish. She collaborated with her husband Richard Courtney, an established children’s book illustrator. Tricia says, “We are a pretty good team!” Richard’s influence on my art over the years has been very inspiring. And I give Richard tons of credit for building my confidence and encouraging me to keep trying”.
“Katy Schrader is the author. Katy took my concepts and ideas and turned them into an endearing book. She and I worked on projects together for several years at The Joplin Globe. Katy was the Educational Coordinator, and is a widely published author. Together with Richard and Katy we make a great team!”

Tricia, the former director of the Rose Gallery of Fine Arts in Joplin, earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield. She finds that the same abilities that sustained her through 27 years as a newspaper graphic artist—working rapidly, thinking quickly, designing on a moment’s notice—continue to fuel her creative style. As she says, “inspiration comes from everything that surrounds me, and those years gave me the edge to take chances, to be spontaneous”.

We look forward to the release of Floppy Sue’s Birthday Adventure!