Tracey Vale is a self-taught artist, with a background in journalism and public relations. She has a passion for the art industry and its ever-important place in contemporary society. She is the event coordinator/planner, artist liaison and social media copywriter for Atelier Crafers and promotes art and artists wherever she can. Working primarily in landscapes and finely-detailed graphite drawings, portraiture is a ‘new front’, but a very rewarding one.

Portraits, for me, are a means of both story-telling and conveying emotion. ‘That was then’ and ‘Missing Piece’ are, together, a means of articulating concepts of motherhood, childhood and the invisible strands that bind; as an unconditional, unquestioned thing. Surrounding this is the fragility of those strands when, as years go by, other factors come into play; how a mother’s love stands, stoic; so intense that it bruises easily; made tender; and, with every bruise, hardens, chips and a little piece falls away.