ABOUT | Art by Trisha Hall

MY STORY

I could say my creative story began as a small child. I held a paintbrush in my hand at the early age of 2. But I didn’t truly discover art for myself until I tried painting a gift in 2015 and surprised myself with the results.

Trisha at 2 years old painting a buoy on a playmat for toy boats with her dad.

Shortly after, I decided to dip my toes by taking my first beginning painting class in college at the age of 19. By the following quarter, I took to art full stride by declaring as a Studio Art major at Central Washington University.

I spent my time at CWU focused in oil painting and photography creating a body of figurative work titled, “FLESH”. I also dabbled in ceramics, jewelry metalsmithing, watercolor, drawing, mixed media, and dance. In March 2018 I had the pleasure of studying Art and Architecture abroad in Rome and Florence, Italy.

My oil painting, “Smashing the Binary” (48x48in.), was accepted into Central Washington University’s Undergraduate Student Juried Art Exhibition in April 2018 and was the recipient of the Dick Elliot Fine Art Award. My BFA Senior Thesis Solo Exhibition featured the full body of work in May 2018 before graduating in June 2018 with my BFA in Fine Arts.

Trisha with her painting "Smashing the Binary" after being presented with the Dick Elliot Fine Art Award in 2018.

Post-graduation I spent two years working in a custom frame shop before the COVID-19 pandemic. While stores were closed it became quite evident how much I could achieve when investing all of my time in my art, and how much my day job was holding me back.

Without any role models to look up to living the creative life I wanted for myself, I set to forge my own path rooted in self-discovery, universal truths, natural cycles, and personal growth creating bright illustrative watercolors inspired by nature and magic in the mundane. I later taught high school art as a long-term substitute at Tenino High School at the end of 2022 and studied under Elly Smallwood at an artist retreat in Spain in the spring of 2023. Presently, I have relocated to Portland, OR where I’m painting and illustrating a tarot deck to help others use art as a tool for personal reflection and growth.