"Twelve" Print

I see life and death as a never ending cycle of rebirth. I am an avid animal and nature lover who has a tendency towards the dark and morbid. I collect dead things in various states and photograph or draw them along with preserving the specimens with some very amateur taxidermy skills. I'm an explorer of life and a traveler. My biggest sin is an insatiable curiosity about everything I shouldn't be curious about. I'm a realist in life, love and art. I create art work that represent these ideals and beliefs, using pencil, graphite, ink and charcoal on textured watercolor paper. While my drawings are usually large and very stark and deal with the idea of higher level consciousness through life, death, understanding, and knowledge, my photography is visually the opposite. My photographs celebrate nature in full and vibrant color and although the subject matter is similar in idea and sometimes focuses on the inevitable cycle of life and death, it is presented in a completely different visual manner. There are many artists who have influenced me throughout my life but the two that stand out are Joel Peter Witkin (Photographer) and like so many, Frida Kahlo, more for who she was as a person than her art, interestingly. Please feel free to follow me on FB, Twitter and Instagram under Tracie Gonzales or Fern Plant Factory. There are available, large, high quality prints of my work available for sale. They are limited and are signed and numbered. Please email me at