Wood Staining Artist Tracy Lee Smith: From Struggle to Joyful Purpose Written by Rosa Linda Fallon

Photo Credit: Tiffany McFalls Photography

Hailing from a family of artists, Tracy Lee Smith has always had an artistic side to her. Her creative side didn’t really come out until later on in her life, after years of enduring many personal struggles. Eventually, she found herself turning back to art as a way of coping and to make a little extra money on the side. Her love for decorating led to her interest in antique hunting, and then to using wood staining to decorate furniture. “Furniture is where I got started,” she says. Tracy remembers one of her very first projects she completed in 2012 – a little nightstand that she stained with a flower design. She posted it for sale on a Facebook yard sale group, and a lady from Bryson City drove all the way to Asheville to come pick it up. “That is what fueled me,” she says. “I knew I was doing something that nobody else was really doing.”

Tracy also has a deep love for animals, having had several beloved Pekingese dogs throughout her life. “If you know me, you know my love for dogs and animals,'' she says. This led her to start creating wood-stained portraits of beloved pets on cabinet doors. 

She didn’t expect that this little hobby of hers would eventually become her joyful calling – a way to give back to the world, and to fill peoples’ homes with happiness. “Without a doubt, this is what I was meant to do,” Tracy says, confidently, referring to the joy and fulfillment she experiences when she presents a family with a portrait of their beloved furbaby. “I have filled so many homes with the faces of peoples’ beloved late pets, and that means so very much to me.” 

Tracy works mostly from her home in Candler and receives commissions via word-of-mouth referrals, close friends, and family members. “I love being at home and doing my work there,” she says. Over the years, Tracy has seen herself grow as an artist, and she credits her now husband Danny as her biggest supporter and encourager. 

“My husband has been my biggest supporter and the foundation of my growth,” she expresses. “He has encouraged me since day one to stay home and focus on my art.” Tracy says she refers to herself as his “homegirl” because she feels so blessed to be given the time and the support to work on her talent. “He has made sure my heart is happy and that I am purpose-filled,” Tracy exclaims. For years, she had been telling him that she needed her own studio shed where she could retreat to focus on her art. For the longest time, she collected windows in the hopes that she would one day be able to create her very own artistic getaway. 

In the stillness of 2020, Danny built her dream greenhouse studio for her in their backyard. The property originally belonged to her grandmother, Anna Mae. Tracy and her family burned down the original home that was on the property (which was, unfortunately, unsalvageable) before building their very own. So, Tracy named her greenhouse studio Anna Mae in honor of her grandmother’s legacy. 

Photo Credit: Tiffany McFalls Photography

Anna Mae is a place of solitude and retreat for Tracy Lee – the place where her creative magic flourishes. Tracy says she calls it “The Little White House” because it’s not technically a greenhouse. Anna Mae is also the place where Tracy and her husband said their vows in the fall of 2020 during their backyard elopement. “She’s the perfect little setting for so much in our lives,” Tracy says of her studio. “A space that fills my heart and inspires me!” 

Even though she experienced many hardships and endured tremendous betrayal and loss, Tracy believes that if it wasn’t for her struggles she would not be flourishing in her gift of creativity. Her husband and her daughter are her biggest supporters of her art, and she credits the person she has become to their encouragement. “One thing is for certain – and that is surrounding yourself with people who truly love you can change your entire life,” she says. “I’ve planted little seeds in well-nourished soil, and they have done the watering.” 

Every day, she wakes up with a grateful heart. “It is a beautiful life that I get to create,” she says. “I am so loved and blessed. I am here to bloom. Dolly said it best: ‘Figure out who you are and do it on purpose.’” 

Instagram: @tracyleeartistry 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tracylee11

Photo Credit: Tiffany McFalls Photography