"I can't see what I'm doing, so I don't have to worry about getting it inside the lines," T.J. Walton says.

Walton has been painting outside of those lines in Provincetown, Massachusetts, since 1989. The oldest continuously running art colony in the United States makes for an appropriate backdrop to work that often has a rustic, vintage look.

She uses a variety of materials: canvas, wood, even painters' dropcloths that are "raw and unintentional, with the natural markings of a working person. The beauty shines through because of the simplicity of what you do," she says. That simple style is her trademark: it's only upon looking more deeply at her pieces that a viewer starts seeing layers of subtleties. It's essential to her to balance the small things with the bigger ones without losing sight of either.

What is perhaps unique about Walton's work is her clientele: her work appeals to individual clients but also fits well in a public environment; several businesses in town have her paintings hung as do many more outside of Provincetown. As for collectors, they come in once-perhaps for one of her characteristic whale's tails-but many come back frequently to see what's new and end up buying piece after piece.

After 20 years in the west end, Walton's studio and gallery are in a fresh new space at 346 Commercial Street. Her work has been featured in major publications and galleries around the country, and hangs in hundreds of private and corporate collections worldwide.