Normal days in abnormally magnificent lives

My fascination with Traeger is rooted deeply in his contagious love of art and life. In a world where so many people apologize for their choices, make excuses or derail their dreams for fear of failure, here is a man who doesn’t even consider those paths as possibilities.

He works at his art, tirelessly and smiling all the while. Sometimes the images come out effortlessly. I’ve seen him produce an astounding painting in 10 minutes. Sometimes they don’t. But, he’s there – showing up at the easel, paints in hand – turning what he sees into something we can see – with pleasure.

Gesture is his focus. It’s not always capturing the way a person’s face looks, it’s more about seeing how the person dresses or moves. It’s about capturing their essence and letting that lead you to imagine how their face would look.

Traeger’s work can be seen at the Dragonfly Gallery and at PIKNIK on Martha’s Vineyard, also in businesses and restaurants around the northeast. Working with oils, acrylics and mixed media, he’s frequently called upon for commissioned pieces as well. I’ve included a few of my favorites here, but you can view more on his website. Check ‘em out.

The Interview

The Daily Norm: My readers and I would like to make sure you are, in fact, human – it levels the ‘normalcy’ playing field. So do you eat, go to the bathroom, bleed and cry? We’re happy to hear some proof if you want to supply it (Most sought after food? Horrible airplane bathroom story? Worst bleeding jag? Embarrassing movie that made you bawl?)

Traeger di Pietro: I was just asking a friend to do a painting of a grilled cheese sandwich…this may be my all time favorite food. That and duck sauce. I don’t have any bad airplane bathroom stories, but the airplane bathroom always makes me feel like I’m somewhere else (for example, that I’m in the bathroom of the Playboy Mansion or something), then I step out and say to myself, ‘Oh yeah, great. I’m still in the air.’ And then the anxiety kicks back in. Not a big fan of the flying.

The last movie that made me cry, besides Rudy, had to be Titanic. The part when the ship was going down and the old couple laid in bed, fully clothed with their dancing shoes on holding hands ready to go down together…man that got me, that got me good…I think I’m going to cry now just thinking about it.

TDN: What’s your daily schedule on a normal day?

TdP: I drive a truck from 7-3, 5 days a week, then I go home and paint in my studio until I go to bed. I wish I could be more creative with that, but I guess I’m pretty stinking boring. I drive the truck so I can see the world and so I can paint. My day revolves around my painting.

TDN: Name one thing that you have to do on a regular basis that you despise.

TdP: I don’t like to brush my teeth. I get it, girls want you to brush your teeth so you can kiss them, so I do it, but it would be really great to not have to stick that thing in my mouth ever again. But, seriously I swear I brush my teeth…just not a lot. Actually I hate cleaning my paint brushes too. I don’t like using a neat tidy brush, I prefer rough and beat up…it’s more my style.

TDN: What would you change about your work, industry, profession or self if you could change anything?

TdP: Well, if I wanted to change something about my work, then I would. My art is constantly going around in circles, and I like that…you can’t get too high and you can’t get too low, you have to always stay in the middle. When I start thinking about where I am in my career and how I can make my art better and who will buy it, I get stressed.

So then I think, ‘Okay wait, let’s remember why you paint…you paint because you love life and what surrounds you, you love the people and things that spark you… you paint them because you are a creator…you want to capture them and make them last so you can share them with the people you love.’ It’s like a lifetime of show and tell. And then I think, ‘Oh yeah, that’s right! What the heck was I thinking?’ And I just keep painting.

TDN: Is there any life stage or event you would have skipped (like geometry) on the way to where you are now? Would it have been missed?

TdP: I’m kind of a symbolic, cosmical type guy. I do believe in true love, I do believe in timing….if i missed something then it’s because it was meant to be…

I also think I read your question totally wrong, but I like my answer, so I’m keepin’ it. And it does answer the question, actually, because I wouldn’t have missed anything on purpose, but I’d be okay with anything the cosmos wanted me to miss.

TDN: What was your main stepping stone to getting to where you are today? (Person, place, thing, luck, pluck, virtue?)

TdP: Friends and family have helped me be the person that I am. I have fantastic friends that are painters, musicians and other types of creators that always help me move forward. And my professors – they always said, just keep painting.

TDN: What word or phrase do you say most often?

TdP: Hi there!

TDN: What is your single biggest accomplishment?

TdP: I would have to say being a good uncle.

TDN: Is there anything that you can’t live without? (besides food, water and oxygen)

TdP: Sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll! No, just kidding. The real answer is: sex, art, and rock ‘n roll!

TDN: What’s the best part of your life?

TdP: The people. I have been blessed in meeting so many amazing people…and they’re all so diverse. All of my friends are so different from one another, they probably wouldn’t even know what to say to each other if I put them in the same room, but they all have big hearts and they are all a part of mine. My family, my loved ones – they are the best part of my life. They are my glue, they keep me together and help me stride. Great, I’m gonna cry again…just kidding…only one per interview.

TDN: And have you figured out how to get more of it?

TdP: YES! Be nice. When I forget how to live sometimes, I think back to when I first learned how to talk, to when I learned words like, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. I think some grown-ups need to go to a couple of classes with their kids so they can remember.

TDN: What is your ultimate motivation tool?

TdP: Women. I’m being totally serious. But also: buildings, cracks in the walls, oil stains on the warehouse floor, a child’s drawings or drawings by people who ‘don’t think they can draw’.

Really, just about anything can motivate me. I’ll take walks, take a ride in the car, just watch people. I look at shadows all the time. After a while all these things I do subconsciously help me make better art…I’m constantly painting in my mind.

Being a painter is amazing. It lets me be an architect, a hair designer, a fashion designer. I invent light, I can create my own worlds. One colorful scarf wrapped around a woman’s zebra print coat, with a red skirt, and high heeled boots, that is what motivates me. That’s why I love the city…but, a clamdigger is just as motivating.

Motivation and inspiration are everywhere.

TDN: Who do you most admire and why?

TdP: I admire my brother because he is an amazing dad! I admire good dads – and moms too, of course.

TDN: If someone wanted to be you or do what you do, what would you say to them?

TdP: Get down and dirty, make a mess, have fun, don’t take yourself too seriously. And remember – yes, everything has been created before, but not by us. So just keep painting.

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