About
Tilly is a self-taught contemporary painter. The intuitive artist studied English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford (Bachelor Of Arts and Master’s degrees), before going on to a career in journalism. She left her role as a Senior Reviews Writer in early 2023 due to burnout and depression. This was shortly followed by the implosion of a 6 1/2 year relationship. Feeling incredibly lost, Tilly turned to painting to cope with such big life changes.
Creating regularly allowed Tilly to transmute her heavy emotions around these events, as well as come to terms with herself newly following an adult ADHD diagnosis eight months prior. The discipline of painting allowed Tilly to calm her busy, swirling brain without medication. Gradually, she built a new, unexpected life centred on creativity, surrender and connection with nature and the divine consciousness.
The public portion of Tilly’s journey began in September 2023, when she launched her Instagram account @tillytrevitt. Since then, her work has featured in nine exhibitions, including most recently with J/M Gallery in London and Tarpey Gallery in Castle Donington. In January 2024, she was selected as one of international art platform Artsted’s ‘99 Future Blue Chip Artists'. Tilly's painting Soul Dance is currently longlisted for the UK’s prestigious Visual Art Open 2024. She has also been interviewed for Art Hub and ArtByArtists. She took part in the North London Makers' Market in May 2024, and will be showing work at the Landmark Autumn Art Fair in October 2024.
Much of Tilly’s practice is about reconnecting with and healing neglected parts of her Self. She explores themes of identity, mental health, neurodivergence, love, heartbreak and womanhood. The visual artist loves mixing mediums and playing with kids’ art materials. Tilly strongly believes in art as play, and is known to incorporate collage, drawing and doodling.
Due to her neurodivergence (dyslexia, dyspraxia, ASD and ADHD), Tilly’s output is very visually varied. She always has multiple projects on the go and likes switching between abstract, figurative and typographical pieces. Sometimes these styles are blended, other times kept separate. Recently, she’s moved from ultra-bright, textured/layered works to heavily stripped back ones, which incorporate grounding feminine tones and keep the blank canvas exposed. Many works revisit and process past trauma - through deeply intimate poems, essays and musings.
Influences are wide-ranging, including David Shrigley, David Hockney, Tracey Emin, Ken Done, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Philip Guston. Her work is also available to buy through SOTA Marketplace. Tilly is currently based in South London, with a studio in Herne Hill, but will be moving out of the city in the coming autumn.