Tina Trites

A native of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, some of my earliest memories are of constantly drawing. As early as five, horses were my primary subjects.

My grandfather ran a small printing press in the back room in his house. When I would visit he would roll blank newsprint down the length of the dining room, hand me the crayons, and I would "go to town" filling the paper from one end to the other.

To my father's dismay, my sister and I decided to express our artistic leanings by decorating our pink girlie bedroom with floor to ceiling nudes and horses. Unfortunately we used black enamel paint, which I later learned took about a dozen coats of paint to cover when my father was trying to sell the house.

In my twenties I married a sailor, we built a boat and went sailing for twenty years. Due to the limited space in a boat, my artwork at this time mostly consisted of pen and ink stippled drawings. Small pieces that would stow easily. After my husband died I moved back to Cape Cod and began to explore painting with oils and watercolors.

In 2011 I did a scratchboard piece for a show at the Cape Cod Art Association. I hadn't touched the medium in at least forty years. The piece won the Best in Show and People's Choice awards. Even better, it sold right away. I was hooked on this medium. Less than a year later I was accepted into ISSA and achieved Signature status.

I reside in Sandwich, Mass. with my crazy dog, Luna, crazier dog, Simone, and two parrots, Koumba and Zaphod.

I still love to paint and draw but scratchboard has become my primary medium. I am currently working on a series of AKC dog breed portraits.
I am represented by Collections Gallery in Sandwich, Mass.

All art shown is a creation of Tina Trites