Risa Tritabaugh - Painter

All Jazzed Up  9"x12"

Risa Tritabaugh

Name:  Risa Tritabaugh

City/State:  St. Paul, MN

Email:  createdbyrisa@gmail.com

Website:  http://www.risatritabaugh.com

MNartist.org profile:  http://www.mnartists.org/Risa_Tritabaugh

Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/risatritabaugh 

Twitter: @ createdbyrisa

Bio~ 

I grew up in outstate Minnesota, where there were few opportunities to experience art 

outside the school classroom. But throughout school, I took advantage of every art class offered 

and upon graduation, headed off to the big city: Minneapolis. There I was inspired by the riches 

found at local art museums and started taking art classes at the University of Minnesota.

Life, however, has taken many detours along the way. In my late twenties, I went through an 

ugly divorce and faced raising two children on my own. Making art was something I continued to 

do, but for my own gratification. Things began to shift a few years ago when my children 

became adults. I rented a studio in Lowertown St. Paul and started painting like crazy.  

Since that time, I have participated in several St. Paul Art Crawls and have shown work at 

other venues.  Currently, I live in Lowertown's Tilsner Artist Co-operative, alongside my 

actor/writer husband, Joel Thingvall.

Why Does It Hurt So Bad  30x30

Tell me about your work space and creative process.

Since I live in an artist co-operative, my studio is located in my home. There are pros and cons 

to working at home, but one of the pluses is painting in your jammies!  Our loft has 18 foot 

ceilings, exposed brick, and floor-to- ceiling windows. The room I work in has 15 foot windows 

that let in lots of light--perfect for a painter!

I continue to paint with acrylics and enjoy pushing the limits of the medium. Acrylics compel me 

to work quickly-- forcing me to think on my feet. My process is a bit different than most 

painters--I work with my painting surface (stretched canvas or wood panels) laid flat on a work 

table. I apply many layers of color and texture, using paint and mediums such as light molding 

paste. Working with a palette knife or a brush, I lay down many layers of color, often using a 

cloth or even my fingers to blend or wipe away colors to reveal the mystery of what lies beneath.           

Undercurrent  6"x6"

What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

The past few years have been a period of great growth for me as an artist. I've been participating 

in a Mentor Program offered by WARM (Women's Art Resources of Minnesota).  The program 

pairs an emerging artist with a more experienced professional artist. I've wanted to do the 

program for years and ironically, a layoff gave me the courage to do it!  And it has paid off in 

BIG ways! I meet with my fabulous mentor, Brenna Busse, every month and we discuss what 

I've been working on, what direction I want my work to go... 

Over the course of the past year, my work has become increasingly abstract in nature.  When I'm painting, I feel as if I am communicating very intimately with the paint and canvas. I strive to 

capture a moment or perhaps the emotion connected to a place or time in our lives. We have all experienced significant life events that burn an impression in our memory. In recent work I hope to give a creative voice to those moments of despair, terror and even joy that we carry deep within.

Currently, I am finishing pieces for a two-person exhibit to be held this summer at the Woman's Building in St. Paul. 

Hit or Miss  36"x36"

How did you decide to become an artist?

I was first inspired to be an artist when my oldest brother came home from college with a poster of 

a Renoir painting.  I knew then that I wanted to be a painter. Of course, it hasn't been an easy 

course to take. What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

Trust your process... and ... Follow your passion. 

Hit or Miss  36"x36" - detail

Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  

How do you market yourself?

I took a break this spring, but have been participating in local art crawls for the past 5 years. 

At this point, I am hoping to show my work in more group exhibits and hopefully soon, local galleries. 

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

I have been blessed to know personally and professionally some very talented local painters, 

who happen to be women. They rock!

Brenna Busse    http://www.brennabusse.com/

Marcia Soderman    http://www.marciasoderman.com

Tara Tieso    http://www.taratieso.com/

Barbara Evan    http://www.mnartists.org/Barbara_Evan

T. Young (aka Tracy Olson)    http://www.tyoung.info/

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go?

 What would we see?

I have always loved the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (http://www.artsmia.org/) -- it is where I still go 

to find beauty  on a bad day. I also enjoy stopping at the Grand Hand (http://thegrandhand.com/ ). When time permits, I love to venture to Northfield and stop at the Northfield Arts Guild 

(http://northfieldartsguild.org) or even cross state lines to visit the Phipps 

(http://www.thephipps.org/events/galleries and Seasons Gallery (http://seasonsonstcroix.com/) in Hudson. WI.

Midnight Dream  6"x6"

In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise? 

MNArtists -  www.mnartists.org

Springboard for the Arts - http://www.springboardforthearts.org

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

I have a two person show with fellow WARM artist Geneva Costa (http://genevacosta.com/) 

coming up this summer at the Women's Building in St. Paul (550 Rice Street). 
WARM (Women's Art Resources of Minnesota)
The show will open June 18th, 2012 with an artist reception on Friday, June 29th from 6-9 pm.

Kevan Willington - Botanical Painter

Bio~ Kevan Willington

On the surface my paintings are intimate botanical dioramas set against vast empty light filled skies. On a deeper level my work is a manifestation of the Taoist law that extremes turn
into there opposites. I use bold saturated luminous color with an old as rock yet modern contemporary
feel using traditional and non-traditional painting methods.


Look closely at my paintings and you will see that what is close is really the distant. And what is
distant is really close. I find infinite worlds within the small intimate details of nature and infinite skies
become as close and tangible as stone.


To create these transformational images I bridge the gap between the physical and the metaphysical.
Between the past and the future.Where opposites turn into each other. Like the edge of a cliff, or the
Eye of a storm, or the moment before a first touch that separates isolation from connection.


I walk up to the doorway where problems become solutions and solutions become problems and feel
the subtle tug of one world becoming the other. It is the simultaneous death of one world and the birth
of another.


Good Paintings are a dance between my intentions and what is happening naturally with the paint.
If I hold too tightly to my intentions it won't work.This process can be quite tumultuous. Often I must
let go of the original intended direction of the painting and let it die. Every painting is a crisis requiring
surrender. The process without surrender and trust can be terrifying. Ultimately I don't know where I'm
going. It's a bit like running though a forest with my eyes closed. Only blind faith ensures ones success.


Kevan F Willington
651–253–5032
info@kfwillington.com
kfwillington.com
Kevan on Facebook

What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
My current work has evolved beyond painting just single uprooted flowering plants lying on a table. I am now creating paintings that have multiple flowering plants and bird dioramas set against vast empty luminous skies. I am also employing new techniques that make the skies in my paintings raised about a quarter inch from my foreground subject matter. These raised surface skies resemble cracked polished stone.

Tell me about your working space and your creative process? (The last I saw you, you were in the Tilsner Bldg, but I don’t know if you are still there or where you do your actual painting).


I am no longer in the Tilsner Bldg in St Paul. I have moved to Plymouth MN of all places. I am not much of a suburb person but it’s close to nature.

If you could excel in some different artistic arena, what would it be and why?

I have long had an interest in film production. This allows me to work with other people. Painting is kind of an isolating profession. But film is a very expensive art. And a bit of a start
over.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?

Economy of brush stroke. And the Golden Ratio 1.61803399 also known as the Golden Mean. Look up the Golden Ratio on Youtube.

Which Minnesota artists do you enjoy?

Scott Llyod Anderson,

Joe Paquet,

Jack Dale,

Jeff Larson And Ben Olson

although I hear Ben has moved to New York and I don’t know if he is still painting

If I were to follow you around on an “art day” in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Gallery 360,

The Grand Hand Gallery,

Circa Gallery, and the

Art Institute (MIA) are always good. But Nature is always the best show in town, or out of town.

What was the last exhibit you saw and what were your impressions?

My own. I thought “Damn this guy works hard”.

Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

I am often surfin the web for new galleries and artists. I am noticing the older I get the less I find
that I really really like. The Smithsonian museum has allot of 19th century paintings that I like. 19th century artists that have influenced me are Ralph Albert Blakelock, Albert Pinkam Ryder, N.C. Wyeth, Thomas Moran, Maxfield Parrish and Odilon Redon.

Do you have any exhibits or any interesting things going on in your life or coming up in the near future?

I have a current exhibit at Private Art in St Paul and Private Art 2 in NE Mpls.

Ingrid Restemayer & K.F. Willington at Private Art Gallery
September 11 – October 16, 2010

Private Art Gallery
25 St. Albans Street South
St. Paul, MN 55105
651–227–1449

Closing Reception – Saturday, October 16, 5:00 – 9:00 pm