We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Trine Bumiller a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Trine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

My most meaningful project is the one I’m working on now: “The Garden of Eden”. For my entire life, I’ve drawn inspiration from nature, starting with my own backyard in Ohio, through my summers in Michigan, my travels around the world, and hikes in my current home state of Colorado. Whether climbing a tree, or sitting under a forsythia bush, or walking the perimeter of the yard on the top of the chain link fence surrounding it, my first garden was my whole world. As I grew older and my world expanded, so did my feelings about being connected to the landscape, to know I am part of it as much as it is a part of me. “Garden of Eden” draws on my origin story and connects to mythical garden stories around the world where gardens figure prominently as in Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths, as well as Chinese and Native American stories.

The project will consist of paintings installed in Emmanuel Gallery, a former church, synagogue, and now art gallery for the University of Colorado in Denver. It is the oldest surviving building in Colorado (built 1853) and near the confluence of two rivers where Denver as a city had its start. My paintings will be big, bold, colorful images of plants and landscapes, and created to conform to the spaces of the church. They will be installed as paintings were originally installed as part of churches in Renaissance Italy, as integrated with the architecture, to convey a story, and to create a feeling of awe and wonder.

One of the most important concepts of the work speaks to our current state of the environment. The idea of the garden as a place of pristine and beautiful nature, a place where people are happy and live in peace, is related to the idea of paradise, a place of heavenly beauty. In our current environmental crisis and climate change, there is a nostalgic wish to return to this symbolic garden, before humans intervened and changed the course of nature. The garden represents our childhood, our naive state of innocence, our perfect world.

Although there are specific plants of my immediate surroundings, then and now, depicted, they are abstracted, in color, form, and composition, and isolated on solid color backgrounds with suggestion of sky and water, referring to the original four rivers of Eden, the rivers of Denver, and the bodies of water of my native landscape. They enclose the viewer in an embrace full of love and respect for the natural world, and aspirational hope for its future.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have been painting since before I remember. My father was an architect who made travel films, my mother was a nurse from Denmark; they both encouraged me to follow my artistic dreams. I grew up painting and drawing and playing outside. I went to Rhode Island School of Design and moved to New York City afterwards to start my work as an artist. I moved to Colorado a few years later, and I was able to become a full time artist.

I have always worked with nature based abstraction, and to instill meaning through landscape and memory. I have had many museum and gallery exhibitions around the world, and have done large scale painting commissions for the Colorado Convention Center, the Four Seasons Hotel, the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, and the University of Colorado, among many others. I am represented by Robischon Gallery in Denver where I have had 13 solo exhibitions; Zg Gallery in Chicago, and Atopos Gallery in Venice, Italy also represent my work.

I primarily work in oils on panels, but I also work in watercolor, acrylic mural painting, textiles, and large installations.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?

For me being an artist is like breathing. Through art I get to live a life that responds to my immediate environment, but also interprets, reinvents, synthesizes, and connects threads and concepts continually. There are always new subjects to research, new art to see and be inspired by and new media, methods, and technology to explore.

Every day I go into the studio to refine and expand my message through my work. If it is hard, I need to work through it, if it is easy, it is joyful. It is always a journey full of highs and lows, but I love the process of seeing a project through from beginning to end.

When it is exhibited, or goes on permanent display, I love seeing how other people see the work, what from their past connects them to it, how it might change how they see the world.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I have two Instagram accounts, which sometimes makes me crazy. I started my personal account @trinebumiller with mostly photos from my life in Colorado and my travels, I can’t help sharing images of the beautiful places I live, and the places I visit. A few years ago I I started a new Instagram account@bumiller_art. I had had an exhibition of 100 paintings based on an artist residency in Rocky Mountain National Park, and posted all the paintings there- that became my art account: The two Instagram accounts (also connected to my Facebook pages) have grown very organically, (and slowly!) over time. My process is about consistency, to post on one or the other every day. There is always something to share. I don’t write much, preferring the images to speak for themselves. I try not to spend too much time on it- but I do love looking in on my friends and family, checking out other artists’ work, and seeing exotic locations around the world. It is such a fascinating way to learn about what’s out there. For those starting out, I would say just post good photos of whatever you’re interested in, not too many words, keep it up, and be nice!

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.trinebumiller.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bumiller_art/ https://www.instagram.com/trinebumiller
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trinebumiller.artist
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trine-bumiller-4a73b635
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/trinebumiller

Image Credits
Wes Magyar