MANDEVILLE, La. – It’s a simple question.
Do you think Picasso used pencils?
The answer comes from an 18-year-old artist who says Picasso might have done some sketches with pencils.
WGNO News with a Twist features guy Wild Bill Wood is not with Picasso.
But Wild Bill is with the artist who really does like to use pencils to create her masterpieces.
She’s Tracy Mashaw.
She’s a senior at Lakeshore High School in Mandeville.
And Tracy Mashaw is one of Wild Bill’s Amazing Kids brought to you each week by your friends at The Keating Law Firm.
To find out what kind of art Tracy Mashaw creates, you have to head to the French Quarter. To the middle of the French Quarter.
That’s where you’ll find one of the top galleries in all America.
It’s called M. S. Rau Antiques at 630 Royal Street.
For a hundred years, M. S. Rau Antiques has been not just one of America’s best, but one of the top galleries in the world.
Wild Bill asks, “who are the artists who are lucky enough to have their work here?
Rebecca Rau will tell you, “Claude Monet, Norman Rockwell, Pablo Picasso and now!”
And now Tracy Mashaw.
Tracy figures if pencils were good enough for Picasso, pencils are also perfect for the masterpieces she creates.
Wild Bill asks Tracy Mashaw, “what color pencils do you think were Picasso’s favorites?”
Tracy says, “probably primaries, primary colors like red, yellow and blue.”
Tracy Mashaw likes Picasso, but has her own pencil color preferences.
And what she likes, well works.
Tracy Mashaw is the pencil-loving artist who’s pencil drawing now draws attention because her work has been on the wall at M. S. Rau Antiques. It’s there because she won an M. S. Rau art contest. And by winning she gets a big check to take a trip to Italy to study art.
Tracy’s work of art is called Growth of A City. It’s a look back and forward as New Orleans celebrates 300 years.
Tracy’s been drawing since she was 4. And guiding her along the way, her grandparents.
Tracy Mashaw says, “they have always inspired me to pursue my art, they always want to see it, want a color copy of it, always want to hang it in their house.”
Now she’s got the whole world as her gallery.
So for this artist, you can go ahead and pencil her in.
