Before the Paint Dries

Trish Tillman talks about taking photographs, the joy of color, her art and influences, and finding inspiration in her daily commute.

By Faith Flanagan

Primarily known in the DC area as a printmaker, Trish Tillman specializes in silkscreen, intaglio, and digital printing. She runs a large-format printing press in Annapolis, MD, as her day job. By combining hand-drawn and digital imagery with printmaking techniques, Tillman says she is supremely interested in "the process of communication: the way situations and objects in our society create obscure patterns and unexpected cycles."

Innuendo by Trish Tillman

Originally from northern Virginia, Tillman studied printmaking for three years at James Madison University before heading to the U.K. to study at the University of Wolverhampton. She then returned to the U.S. to receive her BFA.

Tillman talks about taking photographs, the joy of color, her art and influences, and finding inspiration in her daily commute.

Faith Flanagan (FF): So, Trish, what is your background?
Trish Tillman (TT): I am a trained printmaker, mostly silkscreen and etching.

FF: You mentioned you are a trained printmaker. What is your formal training?
TT: I studied with a few different professors [at the University of Wolverhampton] who really got me into changing the way I thought about art and printing.

FF: What was that like? It must have been somewhat of a culture shock… an eye-opening experience.
TT: Yes, it was, especially when everyone leaves at 1:00 p.m., students and professors, to go to the pub together! I spent about thirteen to fifteen hours a day just making art. I had my own little studio and access to the presses. In the U.S., I was used to doing everything on my own -- burn screens, make plates, develop film. In England, there are technicians who do everything for you.

FF: [laughs] That's pretty amazing to have that time and gain that expertise. Let's talk a little about the work itself. Do you consider yourself an abstract artist?
TT: I suppose abstract would be a description. It's hard to pinpoint a term. I guess, sort of minimal.

FF: How do you start a new piece or body of work?
TT: A lot of my work comes from photographs that I take. I start a new body of work from images I get in my head while thinking about the photos I am taking. It's more about the action or the motion of seeing something. I try to put that into my work -- the experience of seeing something in a few different ways.

FF: Is that how you come up with preliminary sketches before a final piece?
TT: Yes, sometimes that, and also the photos themselves become a sketch. I either use the photos or a part of the photo as sort of the color field.

FF: I love the idea of a color field. The first time I saw your work I was drawn to the shape and color. TT: Yes, I think those are the most important elements to me. FF: Is the accidental an important element in your process? TT: Actually, it used to be more important to me. Now I feel that I have a more controlled way of conceiving the ideas.

Oscillation by Trish Tillman

FF: What kinds of materials interest you?
TT: Recently I've been more interested in plastic -- the clear element that allows you to see through it and change the way the color appears. It causes a distraction in the viewing. Aluminum or stainless steel is also beautiful because it is reflective, but neither would work for me if there were no color involved. On paper or fabric, I can get the color to move. The easiest way, I guess, is on paper, printed from photographs. I like a nice soft etching paper.

FF: What role does color play in your work?
TT: I spend much time on the computer tweaking color, but the image is usually unaltered. I like a sort of juicy color, a little acidic I guess. One of the pieces I did for the Sub-Electric Gallery show was coined as the "Miami Vice" piece, sort of soft pastel orange with acidic green. I took a lot of photographs from outdoor excursions, just running into weird color accidents or odd flowers.

FF: How do you feel about texture?
TT: Texture is tricky…. I think it is hard to make different textures work together -- something slick with something soft. I've enjoyed working with the plastic and metal for that reason.

FF: Because you sometimes use technology or contemporary materials? TT: I guess so. I'm trying to find new ways for using printing with other materials. FF: Can you do that through your day work? You print for a living, right? TT: Yes, I run a large-format printing press in Annapolis, MD. I am fortunate to have the technology right there. I've spent many hours testing inks and papers. It's nice to be able to test them using my own work. FF: Do you name your paintings before or after you create them?

Alluvia Detial by Trish Tillman

FF: What inspires the name?
TT: The image has to sink in. I always know the concept around it, but just come to a name at the end. The name comes from the way the piece is arranged -- the push and pull of color or shape -- or it refers to the circular motion of the elements. As I am using less and less narrative elements in my work, the names happen differently.

FF: What has been your most difficult piece to create to date?
TT: The most difficult piece I'm still working on!

FF: So the newest one is always the toughest?
TT: Well, the pieces involving aluminum so far were the most challenging because I had to work on them with a welder who actually machined it. I don't have the tools to do the cutting or bending. The design of it came out great. Also, [the newest ones are tough] because you have to invest some money into fabricating the pieces and you don't know if they are going to turn out or not

FF: Which artists do you most admire?
TT: That's a hard one. [pause] The light artists, Dan Flavin or Donald Judd, I like for the sense of space used. The concept can continue without the confines of canvas. I'm really moved by artists like Flavin and Eva Hesse, although I don't think my work is like either one. I really admire Eva Hesse for her sculptures.

FF: What is it about her work that moves you? I really like the somewhat temporary nature of some of her work.
TT: Hesse's work, yes. The temporary nature is intriguing. I just love the issues surrounding, or the simplicity involved in, the concept. They are quirky and beautiful objects that really move me, for some reason.

FF: I also consider her as a feminist. Do you think she'd agree?
TT: Yes, definitely. She really poured herself and beliefs into her work.

FF: Sometimes that word "feminist" is difficult for contemporary female artists to swallow. Do you consider yourself a feminist?
TT: I do, but you're absolutely right. Most female artists won't associate first as a feminist artist. I think it is hard to feel like you fit in if you have this category, which is ironic because of the nature of feminism.

I don't think I actively think about these issues as I work, probably because I don't feel like they need to have separate attention. I do use a lot of feminine colors, and I absolutely love this palette. Someone referred to my work as having a cosmetic feel to it, the small circles of color. I think it is an interesting reaction. I think he was commenting on the colors being shades of pink and red.

FF: If you weren't an artist, what other occupation would you like to try?
TT: I'd love to be a chemist or biologist, or something scientific. Maybe that is why I love taking the printer apart and sucking out the inks.

FF: That's interesting. Why?
TT: I've always been interested in cells and the way things live and work together. I also get creeped out by mutating cells and things. So I'd be creeped out and love it also.

FF: Has Nature influenced your work at all?
TT: Nature, yes. I enjoy the outdoors and the "nature" of things in general. I am really influenced by the way things can appear if you look at them for only an instant, such as the movement of the trees as you are passing by.

FF: Sort of back to the idea of the snapshot…
TT: …or the patterns that the cars and people make for that second that you cross the street. Yes.

FF: What three words best describe your artwork?
TT: IKEA wall hangings? [laughs] No!

FF: It is a hard one!
TT: Let me try here… Circular, transmissive, examination.

FF: What do you want to get across to the viewer?
TT: It's hard to say what someone will take away from the experience of viewing, but I'd like the viewer to be able to look at something in multiple aspects -- whether I break up the work into sections, or have a container with portions of color enclosed -- to take both the parts and the whole into consideration. My work isn't too immediate, so it takes a little looking. That someone would try to explore that, to me, is a success.