Trish Abe is a 25 year old painter, illustrator, and muralist based in Kitchener, Ontario, Trish's dive into the world of visual arts was sudden and intense. After not touching her art supplies for almost five years during a science degree, Trish was desperately craving a creative outlet. After graduation, she turned to her paintbrushes to help bring clarity to her life. Heavily influenced by female portraiture, her work embraces the human form through minimalism and celebrates strong character, diversity, and feminine energy. She aims to break down complex, multi-dimensional beings into their most basic elements. Trish's painted murals for a number of clients including Shopify, Inkbox Toronto, Communitech, and the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo.
I met Trish two years ago at a pop-up event at The Tannery in Kitchener. Her style has evolved over the past two years and as Guest Curator at Mind’s Eye Studio Art Gallery and Yoga Studio I’m happy to present her exhibition Contour for the month of October. No doubt if you’re local to Waterloo Region you’ve seen her public art work. Get to know more about Trish ahead of the artist reception on Friday, October 23rd. Artist reception information here. Private viewings are available.
Let’s start with this exhibition. Why did you call the exhibit Contour?
I chose to name the exhibit ‘Contour’ as a play off of the contour line drawing style that influenced my work. But additionally, in the other sense of the word, to mold or take shape, which I think embodies the last two years of my career transitioning from a science background to the arts.
When I first started painting consistently, I never imagined it would lead to full-time work, let alone painting large-scale murals. It’s been a lot of adapting and learning on the go as new opportunities arise.
Does your educational background in science ever inform your art?
Towards the end of my science degree I was doing mostly research work and I can certainly see commonalities between research and art processes. There’s definitely a repetitive nature to both whether it be conducting scientific studies or consistently producing work to refine or develop an art style. Similarly, both require an immense amount of trial and error. Viewing “mistakes” as learning opportunities is a great way to not feel completely discouraged when something doesn’t go quite as planned.
With regards to the actual subject matter of my art, I’ve always wondered in what ways my science background could have influences. I studied health science specifically and have always had an interest in people and personalities which could explain my focus on portrait work. But I am certain there are other connections I just have not realized as of yet!
Who or what inspires you?
People in general, strangers. I adore the self portrait work of Frida Kahlo and Ines Longevial and the idea of painting different versions of oneself. Portrait and candid photography inspires me greatly as well, I’m always amazed with how much emotion can radiate from a resting face.
What’s more difficult for you, working at a small scale (like on a canvas at your easel) or at a large scale (a mural wall)?
I definitely find small scale work to be more challenging. Just in a technical way, I find I have better brush control with a larger brush and creating bigger brush strokes. But additionally, there are usually more design restrictions with murals (often budget-related or based on client preference) that make the design process less open-ended as a canvas piece for example. With canvas I find the endless possibilities add a bit more pressure even if it allows for more experimentation.
The arts were affected almost immediately and still are being negatively affected by COVID. How did the pause brought on by COVID affect your art practice?
My heart goes out to everyone in the arts and performance industry for sure, this has been an unsettling time for so many. My own practice came to almost a complete halt at the beginning of COVID as one by one, mural jobs were being “postponed” and vendor markets/events cancelled all together. With more companies transitioning to work from home models, I also came to the realization that the corporate mural clientele would significantly decrease and even some of my existing office mural work could get covered up.
There’s been lots of pivoting for sure— I’m seeing a huge emphasis on e-commerce which is an area I hope to improve on myself. But it’s definitely helped to exercise the creative problem solving skills. I’m grateful to still be doing art full-time and will try to do it for as long as I can as we navigate this new way of life.
Last year you led a workshop called Acknowledging the Land, hosted by Pins and Needles Fabric Company and Textile Magazine. How did you get involved with those organizations and what was the workshop experience like for you?
Fitsum and Andy from Textile Magazine reached out to me prior to launching the first issue of the magazine to discuss potential collaborations. I truly admire the work they do and what they have created for the community that goes so far beyond the physical publication alone.
They pitched the idea for a workshop with Pins and Needles Fabric Company, and although I don’t have much teaching experience, I really wanted to make it work and set up a space to allow others to create in. This was my first time facilitating a patchwork collaborative mural, where each individual gets their own tile to paint that is then pieced together to create a larger image/work. It was an amazing experience, as someone who works primarily alone, it was one of the first times I got to create something with others from start to finish. Everyone was mesmerized when it came to piecing together the final work - I left the event with a very full heart.
What has been the highlight of your artistic career so far?
One of the highlights was definitely the first time I brought my parents to Kitchener to see my mural work in person. I’m very close with my family, and my sudden career transition was a huge surprise to them. I’m also the first artist in my family so it’s been a learning process for us all. Their support means the world to me and I’m so glad I can share this journey with them.
What do you hope people will take away from your exhibition?
What I love about simplicity in art is that the viewer can essentially fill in the blanks in their own unique way. I’ve had people look at my portraits and tell me they remind them of friends or loved ones or made them feel a certain way. I’ve received comments about my work that made me look at it in a completely new way which is so neat. If my work can give someone a momentary feeling of comfort, calmness, curiosity or anything at all, that’s truly special in my eyes.
What advice do you have for any emerging artists that may want to break into the local mural scene?
The more I work in the industry, the more I realize you really need to provide concrete examples of your ideas to help others properly visualize it like you do. It’s easy for an artist to visualize their own work on a large scale or on a different medium but not everyone has that creative eye, it’s best to just spell it out clearly.
Neighbour's Day mural, photo credit: Taylor Jones
The best way to get into murals is to show people what exactly it would look like. Below are some tips on how to do this:
Work on bigger canvases, large wooden boards, etc.
Reach out to trusting friends/family to practice on a fence or a wall (my first mural was done on an old shed outside of my last apartment building and my landlord was kind enough to pay for my supplies)
Donate a mural to a nonprofit or charitable organization (on the condition that you can have creative freedom with it)
Apply to city-funded art calls for smaller scale work (painting doors, picnic tables, electrical boxes)
Create digital mock ups of what your art would look like on a wall/building etc.
Follow Trish on Instagram.
Interview by Glodeane Brown
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