Mike Tracy’s art is often surreal but with a cartoonist’s touch, as is the case in this work, titled ‘Devil in the Details.’
When a fire raged through Mike Tracy’s art studio in 1989, the blaze destroyed 20 years worth of sketchbooks.
Since that time, the onetime Disney animator has filled about 70 more books. And this time he’s found a way to make his drawings fireproof—by posting hundreds of pages to his Web site, www.miketracy.net .
“My goal is to get 10,000 pages on the Internet sometime within the next six or seven years,” Tracy said.”
At Tracy’s pace, it’s not inconceivable.
“I get up at four in the morning, 365 days a year, and I draw for an hour to two hours before I start the day,” he said.
Tracy is one of two artists featured at the San Luis Obispo Art Center. His show, Tales, Toys ’n Toons, plus Vital Signs, a graphic arts show by Roxanne Sexauer, are the first two exhibits brought to the center by new curator Gordon Fuglie.
Tracy’s exhibit will include paintings and sketchbooks. Each day, Fuglie will turn the pages of the sketchbooks, displaying new drawings.
“It’s a new show every day,” said Fuglie, who took over as curator in January.
Rooted in subconscious
Tracy’s art is often surreal but with a cartoonist’s touch. His work might include a scene from a movie, a wind-up toy or something just plain unusual, like a person in a dragon costume.
“These are rooted in psychological, subconscious dream states,” Fuglie said.
Though Tracy eventually worked on well-known movies including “Beauty and The Beast” (he helped create backgrounds for the library and ballroom scenes), he didn’t become a full-time professional artist until his 40s.
He had studied art years before, but his decision to go to art school wasn’t fueled by career goals.
“Back in the ’60s, I was trying to avoid the war,” he said. “And about the only thing I could do was go to art school because I wasn’t smart enough to do anything else. That was how I got out of getting drafted and going to Vietnam.”
Tracy had a series of jobs, working in construction, as an art supply salesman and as a midlevel corporate merchandising manager. But when his youngest child graduated from high school, he quit his day job so he could dedicate more time to painting.
“Around 1993, there was a huge build-up in the animation industry on the heels of the success of ‘The Lion King’ at Disney,” he said. “Every studio in Los Angeles thought this was a good way to make money— except there weren’t that many trained animators.”
A new career
Getting a foot in the door through a connection, Tracy embarked on a new career, creating backgrounds and layout for Disney, Warner Bros., Sony and other companies. His film credits include “The Iron Giant,” “Osmosis Jones” and “The Emperor’s New Groove.”
After working six years in animation, he left the industry to become a teacher. Today he’s a full-time instructor at the Art Institute of California in Orange County.
While he no longer works in animation, much of his art is influenced by cartoons. Some paintings feature Mickey Mouse-like wind-up toys. Though the depictions appear cynical, he has nothing but good things to say about his experience at Disney. Others feature robots. And many city scenes appear to have come directly from a Disney movie.
Animation influence
But the cartoon influence doesn’t diminish the quality of his work. His concepts are unique, lively and thought-provoking, with a trained artist’s eye for perspective and composition.
Because of the variety — no easy feat, given the volume —browsing his sketchbooks online can be addicting.
While sketchbook drawings are often viewed as a blueprint for a future project, Tracy’s exhibit will show that such work can be an art form in itself.
“I think the act of drawing is the most unacknowledged act—and the most misunderstood act that we can do — because it really has no real function beyond what the artist does with it,” he said. “Occasionally, it’s thought of as a decorative (piece) or some sort of academic document. But rarely.
“People don’t take sketchbook drawings and hang them in their living room and say, ‘Oh, that looks good over the sofa.’ ”
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