Meet Tracy Haines, MD | Dermatologist and Professional Artist

The most important factor, in fact the very secret to success in any endeavor, is to approach every goal with single -minded , laser-focused determination and a great deal of enthusiasm. Keeping excited and enthusiastic provides the energy needed. By way of example, I was an awful student most of my life. Definitely not the kind of student one imagines would go on to successfully enter and succeed in medical school. In fact I was laughed out of the health professions office in college on my first approach, with a GPA of 2.0 and 60 credit hours weighing me down.

When I decided, at age 25, that I was going to get into medical school and become a physician I did not allow myself to think for a moment that I would not be successful.

I used that same single- minded focus and enthusiasm to learn how to paint at age 44, going on to a successful art career. Same with learning how to play various musical instruments as an adult and getting into a working band.

I am absolutely convinced it’s not a matter of having a high IQ or being born with unusual talent. It is truly pure hard work , determination and keeping the end result in keen focus. If you want it badly enough you can do it!

When I was a pre-medical student at the University of Austin all of my friends were in the art department. I admired their creativity and wished I’d been born with some of that talent. I had never done well in art classes and couldn’t draw. Then one day someone gave me a book called Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. I started in on some of the exercises in that book and quickly realized I can draw. Anybody can draw!  But I became too busy when I entered medical school to pursue art. Then husband and kids came along… So it wasn’t until the kids were all in school full-time that I picked up art again. I took classes and workshops and within a few years started to sell my art. I have always been enamored by the beauty of the landscape. To finally find an outlet in painting to express the great joy I feel from that beauty has been one of the greatest pleasures in life.

Becoming an artist took a tremendous amount of work and effort and was easily as difficult as becoming a doctor. It takes hours and hours of hard work alone in a studio and miles of paint on the canvas, and there is always still improvement to be had.

Looking back, I find it fascinating that I ended up in the field of Dermatology which is very visual and just perfect for an artist! The two careers have complimented each other well.

My visiting friend and I would hop on some electric bikes and travel along the Platte River to downtown Denver. We would gas up at Mona’s for breakfast, then lock up out townies and hop on a Lime scooter and spin through the city. We would have BBQ at the house that evening. The next day we would head into the mountains and do some hiking. After hiking we would stop by Mac Nation Cafe for one of their famous macaroni and cheese dishes.

We would take a break from physical activity on day three and hang out with some of my close friends in and around Littleton. We would all head out to the local diner called 49th for dinner.

The next day we would ski at Copper Mountain if the visit was in winter. If warm weather we’d go to Clement Park for Pickleball.

The following day we would hit some of my favorite galleries in Denver; Abend being one of my favorites. We might stop at the DAM if there was a show of interest, then eat dinner at Lingers in the very cool Highlands region near Denver. They would leave with a good feel for our wonderful state  (and probably want to move here like the rest of the world lately.

Shout out to my late father, Ted Haines who always encouraged me and my siblings to go after, with gusto, whatever we wanted in life and not let anything hold us back. Encouragement from friends and family cheering me on in difficult endeavors helped. The father of my three children was very supportive of me as I pursued an art career. God put countless others in my path that helped me along the way, In fact I give all the credit to God for every good thing that’s happened to me in my life.