Spotlight Artist Interview
Catrine Turillon
August 2020
SPA: When did you start making art? How did your journey as an artist begin?
Catrine: I fell in love with the art room in high school and started painting at fifteen. My mother was a sculptor and my father an engineer, they worked together on her big steel pieces and there was a lot of artistic discussion at our dinner table. I was lucky to attend art school in San Francisco and was then exposed to the art scene living in Manhattan for 7 years. After that, I brought up my own family in Boulder, CO and for 20 years I was very involved with the vibrant and creative art community there. We had a wonderful Open Studios annual event as well as great performing arts and music.
Catrine: I fell in love with the art room in high school and started painting at fifteen. My mother was a sculptor and my father an engineer, they worked together on her big steel pieces and there was a lot of artistic discussion at our dinner table. I was lucky to attend art school in San Francisco and was then exposed to the art scene living in Manhattan for 7 years. After that, I brought up my own family in Boulder, CO and for 20 years I was very involved with the vibrant and creative art community there. We had a wonderful Open Studios annual event as well as great performing arts and music.
SPA: Tell us about the art you create.
Catrine: At first, I worked in oils. When I was expecting I switch over to acrylics, mixing them like crazy so the color would look like oil paint. When I discovered how easily I could build up and play with surface texture using acrylic, I was hooked. Eventually, I started adding in mixed media, primarily oriental rice papers which I still work with today. When In college, I majored in printmaking which put me on the path to my work career in graphic design, web marketing, and photography.
Catrine: I also make jewelry. I have participated in many Fine Arts and Craft shows. In Colorado, I worked the mountain towns in the summers. I love the gypsy lifestyle and the camaraderie between vendors. I sold mostly archival prints however painting is a tough road in the craft circuit. I really wanted to make art full time and I hoped jewelry would be the answer. It was not, I spent too much time on each piece. However, I love the new medium. I feel it compliments painting because I can pick it up and put it down much more easily. Now, I am learning how to create cloisonné pieces to create mini paintings in enamel.
SPA: What inspires you?
Catrine: I find my inspiration in the world around me, the beauty found in the changing world of landscape and the passage of time. I have a fascination with subjects worn threadbare. For me, the importance lies in the subtleties of detail and the play between order and chaos. I like faded and muted colors, old wood, rusted metal layers, and textures surfaces. I have always been interested in art history; I find a lot of inspiration there.
SPA: What projects are you currently working on?
Catrine: It is summer in Vermont and during the summer, I try and take advantage of the spectacular weather that we have for such a brief period.
It is about camping, kayaking and, oil painting. I bring my easel and my paints and set up outdoors. I paint “en plein air” in the sense that I am painting in the open air, but I am not always painting what’s right in front of me. I take a lot of photos and usually paint from them. I have started several pieces that I will later finish up in the studio. Most of my work is nature-inspired however a bit abstract at the same time. I do not think of myself as a traditional landscape painter.
SPA: How do you overcome creative blocks? Do you have any advice for other artists?
Catrine: My best advice is to surround yourself with your art. Do not put it all away when you clean up, leave it out where you can see it. If you are always looking at your work, you won’t be able to stop yourself from making a change, adding something, starting something. I like to have several projects going at once and create different “stations” with pieces in progress. Besides my 2 studios, I use part of the kitchen table, a stand next to my bed, one in front of the TV…. I am sure it drives my spouse crazy but if I get stuck, I change my space and work on something else.
SPA: How do you find balance between your art and your daily obligations (work, community involvement, daily commitments, etc.)? Any advice for other artists?
Catrine: Try and spend time with your artistic side every day. Read about art, look at museum shows online. Plan ahead. I try and think about what I will do next when I return to my studio so I can get as much done as I can while I am there. I also try and schedule my art time like I would a dance class or any other activity. Do not answer the phone or go on the computer during that time.
SPA: What do you find most rewarding about being an artist?
Catrine: The process of making art is my Zen. I love being in the zone of making things. I like being surrounded by paint, canvas, brushes. And I am a bit of a techie. I like the gear, I love my kiln, all the tools and the books about how to use them. When I walk into the studio, my entire body relaxes, and I can breathe again. Being an artist is more than a lifestyle, it is who you are and what you do.
