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By Ayanna Eckblad

The Albert Lea Art Center for the next two months will house Iowa-based artist Tracy Ingham’s new exhibit, “One More For the Road.” The 48-piece collection has been shown at various art centers in Minnesota and Iowa, and its time in Albert Lea will be one of its final stops before retiring.

It features paintings made with watercolor, oil and acrylic mediums.

Ingham is a returning artist, having shown his first show at the Art Center in 1993 and periodically featuring his work since. He recently did a Zoom lecture for the Art Center in October.

Ingham said he has been an artist almost his whole life. He mainly does photorealistic work of historical subjects, he said.

As a teenager, Ingham said he taught himself to paint by looking at books of old paintings, mainly featuring Renaissance paintings and other works “by the masters.” He studied them thoroughly, using a magnifying glass to look at the brushstrokes and colors the artists used.

“I just tried to copy what I saw,” he said.

“One More For the Road” is a collection of work inspired by films depicting the Old West. Ingham said prior to making this collection, he had not painted in a couple of years.

The idea for making the collection came during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ingham said he had been working on making metal benches for the Iowa State Fair and break-proof chairs for gyms. When things shut down, he explained, his work was no longer needed at those places.

Ingham decided he needed something creative to do during that time, and decided to try working with acrylic paints, which he did not have a lot of experience with beforehand. The medium, he said, comes together faster than with oil paint.

“I always have this urge to be creating something,” he said.

At the time, Ingham had been passing his time at home watching classic old Western films as well as some new ones. He began sketching the scenes based on what he saw in the movies and later turned them into paintings. He also experimented with watercolor paints during this time.

He continued working on the collection even after COVID restrictions lessened and he was able to travel again.

“The universe wanted me to go back to painting,” he said.

“One More For the Road” will be at the Albert Lea Art Center through March 27. Ingham said since the Art Center only has room to display 31 pieces, he will occasionally switch pieces out to keep things fresh.

“Two months is a long time, so I do try to bring in new pieces every once in a while to give people a reason to come back,” he said.

There will be an open house for Ingham and his collection from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Art Center. He also said he will be doing some lessons on painting at the Art Center with the date and more specific details to be determined at a later time.