For graphic designer Tracy Hall, street art is like any artwork, her canvas has been swapped out for fences and plywood, her medium changing from watercolours to spray paint. 

A Canberra resident for 13 years, Tracy has been a street and mural artist for the past five. 

Her first exploration into grand-scale painting was at the Point Hut toilets in Banks five years ago. “They had just finished doing up the playground area for all the little kids and the words [of graffiti] that were coming up weren’t family friendly,” she says. 

“So I ended up drawing this design and I got approval for the artwork.”

Many of Tracy’s time-consuming artworks are free, with thousands of her own dollars put into paint. 

“I live in this area, and I couldn’t stand seeing what was there,” she says.

“I really love painting, it’s a great opportunity to do what I love.”

Tracy’s love of art began in life drawings at a young age and, working professionally as a graphic designer, she continues to explore different mediums of art. 

Although she’s now beginning to lose count on the number of artworks she has done for the community, she is particularly proud of her street artwork beside Little Luxton cafe in Gordon.

Tracy’s art, initially offered to fix surfaces that had previously been tagged or needed a “spruce up”, has had a bigger impact than she’d initially thought.

“One lady had me in tears,” she says. 

“Her daughter passed away not long ago and they had been watching [the artwork progress].

“She came up to say ‘thank you for giving us a bit of joy and happiness’.

“I told her that I didn’t think I did that and she said: ‘No, we’ve been watching it every day.’

“Her daughter was bedridden and although it was really quite sad, it was also beautiful.

“The community drives past and they honk, yell out ‘hello!’ or words of encouragement.”

Tracy says her son and husband are some of her biggest supporters, although they are needed to sometimes pull her away from the allure of a new project on the street despite already being knee deep in another. 

“I think my son is a little sick of us driving past the murals,” she says. 

“I’ll slow down and he says, ‘Mum, I know that’s one of yours!’ before I even say anything!”

Despite working full time in an art space, Tracy says there is always something new to learn and teach. 

“There’s a lot of people who complain about graffiti,” she says.

“To me, there’s only two ways to deal with it.

“You take the avenue of punishment and try to find whoever’s doing it, or you try to engage and create a beautiful space that possibly will lead to some of the people that are tagging to maybe get on board and actually do some nice artwork instead.

“If I’m challenging the community to see [street art] in a different light, then I’ve got to get on the other side and get the kids, or whoever else is tagging, to change their art to have a positive effect.” 

Tracy’s art has reached schools across Canberra and she has been invited to teach art students how to work with spray paint, often inviting keen students to come and help with her murals. 

Her latest project is one of Canberra’s longest street art installations, taking more than 75 metres of fencing along Woodcock Drive in Gordon. 

The artwork, featuring a kookaburra, magpie, butterflies and bees, already takes up 75 metres, each 25 metres using $2000 worth of spray paint. 

Tracy says the hardest part is finding the money for paint. 

Receiving support from local MLA Caitlin Tough, Tracy has started a GoFundMe page to help her with the cost of spray paint and safety equipment. 

“Getting supported by the community I’m supporting is a super special continuous cycle,” says Tracy. 

“It helps me get ready for the next 25 metres of painting, where I’m hoping to paint an owl!” 

Donate to Tracy’s painting costs at gofundme.com/f/the-third-and-last-gordon-fence-mural