Travis Weller is a 2018 Sketchbook Project participant and studio artist based in Marin County, CA working in painting and cut paper. Inspired by the Northern California landscape of redwood trees and coastal mountains, the forms and colors in his work offer a blissful escape from daily life and pay homage to the beauty that surrounds and comforts him. Read on below to learn more about Travis’s process and studio practice.

Tell us about yourself!

I was raised in a small town in Northwest Pennsylvania and then went on to earn my BFA and MFA degrees in North Carolina. I moved to San Francisco in 2008 and have have called it home ever since. My studio is located at our home in Marin County among the redwoods and rolling coastal mountains. Beyond working in my studio, I have been an art professor since 2013.

When were you first introduced to art? What medium was your first love?

My earliest memories of art are my mother’s paintings. I remember them hanging on the wall, some with ribbons attached from juried shows I suppose. She would also make paintings for my and my sister’s bedrooms of things we were into as children. I finished my BFA and entered my MFA program as a dedicated painter, likely stemming from my early experiences with my mom’s work.

What mediums do you work in now?

I continue to work with oil paint and also with cut paper. The cut paper designs are great for working rather quickly through spontaneous compositions, exploring complex layers of color and simply changing up the tactile experience of my studio practice. The oil painting compositions are drawn out prior to painting and the color palettes are more complex due to the endless possibilities with mixing paint. Working back and forth between the two mediums has been an integral part of my studio practice for the past few years.

When did you participate in the Sketchbook Project? What was that process like for you?

I participated in the Sketchbook Project in 2018 during an extended trip to France and Portugal. I traveled with a bin of cut paper scraps, a tub of rubber cement and an X-Acto knife which allowed me to make work along the way. Cherished moments from that trip are the focus of the work in my Sketchbook Project and I am so grateful to have carried it along with me.

Do you keep sketchbooks regularly? Did any larger works come out of your Sketchbook Project submission?

Keeping a sketchbook has always been something I wanted to do, but just never committed to. I’ve purchased many sketchbooks over the years then ended up empty. The Sketchbook Project completely changed the sketchbook experience for me and became the first sketchbook that I filled from front to back.

How would you describe your practice and approach to art making?

I am fortunate to have my dream studio located at our home and I try to spend as much time there as possible. Being a dedicated studio artist feels crucial to keep up with commissions, bodies of work for gallery exhibitions and carving out time for drawing, website updates, social media updates, studio maintenance, etc…

What are sources of inspiration for your work? How did you arrive at the shapes and forms that are consistent in your body of work?

My work examines ambiguity and anxiety as a path towards precision and contentment. Depression is an unstoppable part of my nature and my work functions as a view through the fogged goggles that depression can create. The shapes and forms in my work are reflections on the surrounding landscape here in Northern California. I try to run trails and/or surf when time permits as a form of therapy. The places I explore are beautiful and I try to visually capture them at times of blissful movement through these spaces.

How do you feel paper functions differently or achieves something different from paint and vice versa? Other than the tactile differences between paper and paint I don’t see them as all that different from one another. They both serve as a means to an end. I like the ability to move paper around over and over again until I am happy with a composition prior to fixing it to the surface. With paint, there is much less spontaneity once I begin painting due to limitations with wet on wet paint application. Both play into my personality depending on my headspace at the time.

How have present circumstances impacted you creatively?

The past six months have been crazy. We found out we were having twins, bought a home, sold a home and built my new studio all while home schooling our son (due to Covid) and working. It has greatly reduced my studio time, but we are all healthy and awaiting the birth of the twins (literally any day now). All that said, we feel very fortunate and I am looking forward to logging more hours in my studio in the (hopefully) near future.

How can people support your work?

The best way to support my work is to reach out to me directly. My work can be viewed on my website: www.tsweller.com and my contact info is there as well. My Instagram is @ts.weller and clients often reach out to me via DM to purchase or commission work. A web store is in the works, but won’t be live for a little while. I also show at galleries and strongly encourage folks to purchase work from galleries when possible. It’s good to help each other out!

Beyond the Page: Travis Weller

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