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January-March 2016
Interview Susie Gillatt |
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Susie Gillatt
Susie Gillatt is an award-winning Tucson photographer, artist, and scientific illustrator. She specializes in photography and in scientific illustration in the fields of geology and earth sciences. She has taken stunningly beautiful photos in rural locations all over the world as well as in southern Arizona. Her paintings are mixed-media works that combine photography with digital painting. She is president of Terra Chroma, Inc. in Tucson.
SAN: Susie, are you an Arizona native or are you a transplant from some other location? If so, where are you from originally?
Susie Gillatt: I have lived here in Tucson since I was 5 weeks old; so I consider myself a native.
SAN: Your work combines both science and art. Did you start out as an artist in scientific illustration or photography, or did you come to those fields by way of a career in geology?
SG: I have been interested in photography since high school. I was fortunate to study with Lou Bernal at Pima Community College. My degree from the U of A is in Radio/TV. My husband is a geologist, and I have been surrounded by that world. I needed a way to put graphics on videos for geologists. So I learned digital illustration. Doing scientific illustration for journals and textbooks came later, and I also like to prepare photos for publications.
SAN: Susie, are you an Arizona native or are you a transplant from some other location? If so, where are you from originally?
Susie Gillatt: I have lived here in Tucson since I was 5 weeks old; so I consider myself a native.
SAN: Your work combines both science and art. Did you start out as an artist in scientific illustration or photography, or did you come to those fields by way of a career in geology?
SG: I have been interested in photography since high school. I was fortunate to study with Lou Bernal at Pima Community College. My degree from the U of A is in Radio/TV. My husband is a geologist, and I have been surrounded by that world. I needed a way to put graphics on videos for geologists. So I learned digital illustration. Doing scientific illustration for journals and textbooks came later, and I also like to prepare photos for publications.
SAN: How did you come to take photos in such exotic locations – Costa Rica, Indonesia, Namibia, Bhutan, Madagascar….not to mention Alaska and Arizona? What takes you around the world like that?
SG: Itchy feet – and a curiosity and desire to see, explore, and experience different environments and cultures. I did not travel very much as a child. I’ve more than made up for that as an adult. Sometimes I travel with others, but often I explore alone. That opens up many new experiences for me and my art.
[click on images to enlarge]
SG: Itchy feet – and a curiosity and desire to see, explore, and experience different environments and cultures. I did not travel very much as a child. I’ve more than made up for that as an adult. Sometimes I travel with others, but often I explore alone. That opens up many new experiences for me and my art.
[click on images to enlarge]
SGillatt_BhutanTemples_
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SGillatt_MadagascarFishing_
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SAN: Do you have a favorite place or places that you’ve found especially artistically inspiring?
SG: Deserts and mountains are my favorite places. We live in an amazing location here in the Sonoran desert. I find that I am continuously mesmerized by water reflections (perhaps the lack of water in the desert has led to my fascination).
SG: Deserts and mountains are my favorite places. We live in an amazing location here in the Sonoran desert. I find that I am continuously mesmerized by water reflections (perhaps the lack of water in the desert has led to my fascination).
SGillatt_WassonPeakFlowers_
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SGillatt_BrownsCanyon_
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SGillatt_Mirror,Mirror_
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SAN: Some of your photos were taken underwater. Does that mean you scuba dive with a camera?
SG: Yes, I do use an underwater camera. I enjoy looking up at the water surface from below. There are so many constantly changing interrelated patterns. That said, I find surface reflections, viewed from land, to be just as inspiring. 
SGillatt_Undulation_
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SGillatt_SulawesiWater_
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SGillatt_Ocotillo_
SAN: Some of your works are quite realistic and others verge of pure abstraction – such as the image Ocotillo. What leads you to show a place or life form in a realistic way or a more abstract way? How do you choose?
SG: I think that it depends on the subject and what I want to emphasize. It also depends on the light, shapes, colors and patterns of the entire scene. How it feels to me is also very important. If it is mystical and cloudy, like in Bhutan, I wanted to digitally paint my images to express that feeling. I usually leave natural, abstract patterns as straight photographs to show their complex beauty.
SGillatt_CanyonPool_
SAN: Can you give a brief description about your process of combining photography and digital painting for the computer clueless?
SG: I start with a digital photograph, or parts of many photos, in Photoshop. Then I take that image into a program called Painter where I can choose digital brushes to add digital colors. I prefer to work by hand using a stylus on a monitor, stroke by stoke, rather than using filters. I feel like I have more control, and I feel more connected to the progression of transformation. I also really enjoy the process of painting.
SAN: What do you think is the greatest challenge you’ve encountered doing your artwork?
SG: I think that digital art is slowly gaining more acceptance as Art, although I know many people do not believe it is Fine Art. Digital art is continuously evolving and most viewers are still surprised by the high quality and the endless variety of styles and types of images. I’m pleased many of my images are ambiguous as a painting or a photograph, or frequently both.
SG: I start with a digital photograph, or parts of many photos, in Photoshop. Then I take that image into a program called Painter where I can choose digital brushes to add digital colors. I prefer to work by hand using a stylus on a monitor, stroke by stoke, rather than using filters. I feel like I have more control, and I feel more connected to the progression of transformation. I also really enjoy the process of painting.
SAN: What do you think is the greatest challenge you’ve encountered doing your artwork?
SG: I think that digital art is slowly gaining more acceptance as Art, although I know many people do not believe it is Fine Art. Digital art is continuously evolving and most viewers are still surprised by the high quality and the endless variety of styles and types of images. I’m pleased many of my images are ambiguous as a painting or a photograph, or frequently both.
SGillatt_BlueAgave_
SAN: What do you think would make life easier for artists in our bioregion?
SG: Most of us would welcome even more venues to show, and sell, our art. There are many talented artists in Tucson, but limited opportunities to display our art in public. I realize it takes money to secure an exhibition space, and provide the necessary advertising and promotion, and there are many demands on limited resources. The Sonoran Arts Network helps so much to educate and inform all of us.
SAN: Is there anything we haven’t talked about here that you’d like to mention?
SG: This discussion has reminded me of the delights of digital art, and I am now excited by my new pieces that combine traditional watercolor with digital photographs (like Blue Agave). As an enthusiastic photographer, I enjoy experimenting with different mediums and combining techniques. It helps me to see the world in different ways…which is why I love creating this kind of art.
To see more of Susie Gillatt's work, go to Terra Chroma Gallery