I paint to explore dynamic environments: the physical, relational, emotional, mental, and spiritual spaces that shape us individually and collectively. My interest in these environments developed as a by-product of my background in education and my own mental health journey. I’m drawn to understand and reimagine ways these environments can support myself and others growing toward greater self-connection, emotional intelligence, and delight.
With the concept of dynamic environments as my foundation, I allow my natural curiosity to take precedent over past work, exploring a variety of subject matter—abstract and figurative work alike—which allows me to explore dynamic environments from multiple vantage points. My palette remains a common thread throughout -- colors I trace back to formative memories spent outside in nature. These colors feel like a spiritual experience and link my deeply human subject matter to a broader perspective -- Earth's own cycles of destruction and rebirth.
Across subjects, I utilize expressionist principles that embody the tenets of a more nurturing world: delight over shame, curiosity over control, and the present moment over past concerns. I work with fast-drying materials like acrylic paint and pastels which tether me to the present moment and allow for intuitive layering and spontaneous results to emerge. Throughout every iteration of the process, I search for truth and wholeness.
Atlanta Shoutout: Meet Ashley, 2021
Artist Check-in with Ashley Trabue, Museum 21c, 2020
A Moment with Ashley Trabue, Love Local, 2020
Finding Joy in Art with Ashley Trabue, 100% Creative Podcast, 2020
Embracing Your Inner Artist with Ashley Trabue, Money Confident Podcast, 2020
Coffee date: Disney Princesses + Deprogramming Beliefs with artist Ashley Trabue, Pretty, Please podcast, 2020
Let’s Talk About it Podcast: Purity Culture, Josh Harris, & Now What // ASHLEY TRABUE 2019
She Is Balanced, interview, 2019
Dancing Girl Press, Vertebrae, poetry chapbook, 2019
Versify #31: Before Bukowski, 2019
Rebelle Society, Blueprint of a Buried Voice, 2018
Hobart, Murmuration 2017
Rockvale Review, three poems 2017
Ekphrastic Poetry Project, What if the Children are Not Spoiled 2017
Nashville Review, two poems 2015
2014, Montessori Educational Institute of North America, Jackson, TN
2012, B.A. in English, Elementary Education and Painting from Belmont University, Nashville, TN
2020, Stay Home, Paris, TN
2019, Rockvale Writers’ Colony, Rockvale, TN
2022, Holiday Salon, Galerie Tangerine, Nashville, TN
2021, She is, Nashville, TN
2021, She is, Richmond, VA
2019, Skyn, Nashville, TN
2019, AWAKE: Rooted in Change, Nashville, TN
2019, Art Comes Alive, Cincinnati, OH
2018, Essence of Form, St. Louis, MO
2018, Horizon: Contemporary Landscapes, Danville, KY
2016, Art Comes Alive, purchase award, Cincinnati, OH
2016, Horizon: Contemporary Landscapes, Danville, KY
2019-2020, Body as Landscape, 21c Museum Hotel, Elevate artist, Nashville, TN
2018, Cognitive Landscapes, Franklin, TN