Tiffin Breen is a recent graduate of Emily Carr University. She lives and works in Vancouver.
What do you think about prior to beginning a painting?
I could be thinking about anything. I do get some forms that come to mind before I start a painting but they always come out different than how I see them in my head. Sometimes I’m thinking about color – or the state of my paintbrushes. I think a lot about what I can do with the materials I already have. I will rarely go out and buy a color or brush for the sake of a painting. I think about structure of the support/canvas a lot as well.
The color palette in your work is fairly consistent, is there anything in particular that draws you to these more muted tones?
I’m all about consistency. I actually think my paintings are muted because I’m not a purest when it comes to mixing color. If some red gets in there then the red stays in there. This happens all the time because I’m not very tidy. Things get muddy with me. One day I’ll make something really crisp and pure though. One day.
Your paintings also have a very pleasing flow to them, the viewer is inclined to move easily from one thing to the next. Do you listen to music or think about music while painting ?
I listen to music while I paint for the most part, but it can also be distracting – it depends on my mood. I do think about music while I paint because I think about music when I listen to music. I guess this means that I can do more than one thing at a time. I can listen to music, paint, think about music, think about painting, and the whole time I can maintain broken conversation with a person.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on reading things and looking at things and thinking about things.
