Kaleidoscope of life: 'Inspirational Merge' features mixed media works by Tracy Robinson, TJ Meade

“Inspirational Merge” is a unity of works by two artistic best friends who each uniquely utilize a vibrancy in color choice and style.

'Inspirational Merge' features mixed media works by Tracy Robinson, TJ Meade

Untitled works by Tracy Robinson and TJ Meade are part of the show featured at Mariposa Gallery in Nob Hill through Feb. 28.

“He’s my best friend, and so him and I kind of feed off of each other,” Robinson said of Meade. “We have different styles, but he’s an amazing artist too. We did this whole show, it was kind of an inspirational merge. And I was going through a lot, and he just always inspires me, and I inspire him.”

Artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol also influence Robinson’s mixed-media collages created with paper, oil sticks and acrylic paint.

“I always lay out a canvas of black, and then I just start layering colors, kind of based on whatever mood I’m in,” she said. “The canvas kind of just speaks to me, so I really never have a true intention, it kind of happens, it’s kind of magical.”

One piece by Robinson features lips with bright lipstick with a cigarette held between teeth. The piece was inspired by the loss of her mother.

“Certain things trigger you, you know?” she said. “And like, the whole cigarette thing, I lost my mom to cancer last year, lung cancer, and so it touches close to home with me.”

Daily life also serves as an inspiration for Robinson.

“Every day is a new day,” she said. “I find inspiration in so many things. I’m an interior designer. And so, I live a very creative existence. There’s always things throughout my day that inspire me to do certain things.”

Robinson was surrounded by creativity at a young age.

“I’m probably a fourth-generation artist,” she said. “My family, my father, my mother, my grandmother, my great aunt, we’re all artists, and so I kind of grew up, at the age of four or five, painting at the kitchen table with my grandmother, with my mom ... We never really watched TV growing up. We never really had a television, not because we couldn’t, it was just something that my family chose not to do. And so, we were just very creative.”

Robinson began showing her work in galleries about 10 years ago.

“I show up in Santa Fe and I used to show in Madrid, New Mexico, but the gallery closed,” she said. “And I’ve been with Mariposa (Gallery) probably for about seven or eight years now. It’s just a wonderful ride. I’m so blessed.”

Albuquerqueans are most likely familiar with Meade’s work without even knowing it. In addition to his works hanging in galleries, he has created murals around town, including one located at Eighth Street and Coal Avenue SW, another on Central Avenue between Sister bar and the KiMo Theatre, and a collaboration with artist Ben Harrison at Sixth Street and Copper Avenue NW.

When Meade is not painting murals, he is working with acrylics or mixed media to create his artwork that includes some collage.

“When I started really focusing on my artwork, I noticed, I do a lot of squares,” he said. “And I get that from just looking everywhere. I see a lot of, you know, just squares.”

He also focuses on light.

“(When) you look at the mountain, sometimes it looks like just one flat piece, and then when the clouds hit, or the light hits, you see the depth, the definition of all the canyons and everything,” he said. “That kind of fascinates me and I take that into my art.”

Meade uses views he sees from above while traveling on a plane.

“I just stare and stare for hours down at the ground, if I can see it, and just look at the big picture of what’s going on,” he said. “I like a lot of layering. So I’ll start off with the painting, and sometimes it’s frustrating for other people who see my stuff when I’m working on it, because they’re like, ‘Oh my god, don’t do anything else.’ I’m like, this is only the beginning. It’s only the beginning because I’ll do a beautiful piece. It looks like it’s finished, and then I cover it all up again and start wiping it ... I’ll do the same thing over again, but a little offset ... I can’t stop.”

Meade sometimes skips the canvas and uses a square piece of wood to paint on.

“Sometimes it’s easier because sometimes my technique on the canvas, I’ll use like a wet rag, and just keep wiping and wiping and doing stuff, and if I do that on wood, the wood will warp,” he explained. “... I do some thin lines (on wood). I’ll use spray paint and then mask it up. The problem is on canvas, if you use spray paint, the spray paint cracks, and so I’ll do it on wood, and then it works perfectly.”