Lydia Bassis

Working intuitively, Lydia Bassis' paintings and drawings explore the unseen phenomenon of our world, capturing energy and experiences that can't be put into words.

Where are you from and where do you reside?

I was born in Smithtown, New York and currently live in Seattle, Washington.

What necessities do you require when making your art (radio, specific paintbrushes)?

I need quiet. I find background noise distracting so I often work with earplugs or a white noise machine. Sometimes I listen to podcasts but I rarely listen to music when I work. Necessary art materials for me (beyond the basics) are having a large variety of sizes and shapes of brushes. I don't have a sink in my studio so by the end of the workday it's not uncommon for me to have 30+ dirty brushes. My favorite brushes are cheap round synthetic sable brushes from Blick.

Are there any aspects of your process that are left to chance?

I know the materials I use so well that there is not much left to chance in my work. If I'm letting paint drip, it's still a choice and I can control it if I want to. The closest I get to chance is when I apply paper to a wood panel; there are some unknowns with how it will ripple or settle while it’s drying — that mainly comes down to the temperature in my studio and if I'm leaving the acrylic medium thicker or thinner in some areas. I've learned to control it enough so I don't consider it truly up to chance in how it turns out.

How important is spontaneity in your art?

My work is actually created with a lot of spontaneity, and my decision-making comes as a response to what was previously done. The process of painting is where my ideas come to fruition and solidify. I don’t plan out what I’m going to paint ahead of time or have a vision for how I want a painting to look; instead, I start with a mark or wash of color and the painting grows from there. Throughout my days I think about shapes and colors and I draw and paint them in my imagination, but I never try to take those ideas directly out of my head and put them on paper. What I imagine and what I put down on paper surely influence one another but they're entirely different processes and functions for me.

Everything I create is about intangible moments. A fleeting thought, a memory of being near the ocean, a moment shared with someone… these are the things of our lives and when I think about these moments in my life I see them in my mind as colors and shapes.

Lydia Bassis

How do you choose your materials?

I work with a wide variety of water-based media and choose them based on color, opacity or translucency. I use a lot of acrylic mediums in my work so that I can control how fluid, stiff, transparent, or opaque the paint is. I like glazing and tints so although the shapes in my work might appear very simple, there are often many layers of paint in place to achieve each subtle color.

Have you always worked with paint? Why do you choose to work with it?

In college, I studied printmaking and I never had the chance to take a painting class. When I started painting I used gouache. I liked how flat and opaque the colors were, and I worked with oils because they were familiar to me in comparison to etching inks. I had to stop using oils because of the fumes and when I switched to all water-based media I found I liked them better. I prefer water-based media for building layers of translucent color and for how quickly it dries — the fast drying time means I can work faster.

You have a particularly unique process for the way you adhere paper to panel. What led you to this process and how did you know it was the right one to pursue?

When I started applying paper directly to wood panels something clicked for me. I never loved working directly on canvas or linen; I felt limited by the surface quality I could create. With paper on panel, the surface has a translucency and a tactile quality that I really love. I paint in a way that leaves a lot of the paper visible and this paperiness and empty space are important to me. I don’t like things to be too filled in, so the negative space gives me room to breathe. I majored in printmaking in college and I think something about that early experience solidified my love of working on and with paper.

What tangible objects or intangible moments are you most interested in representing through your works?

Everything I create is about intangible moments. A fleeting thought, a memory of being near the ocean, a moment shared with someone… these are the things of our lives and when I think about these moments in my life I see them in my mind as colors and shapes.

I paint in a way that leaves a lot of the paper visible and this paperiness and empty space are important to me. I don’t like things to be too filled in, so the negative space gives me room to breathe.

Lydia Bassis

Are you formally trained? Did you go to art school? Who did you train with?

I went to The University of Washington and double majored in Printmaking and Art History, but I never had the chance to take a painting class. Next I went to Rutgers, Mason Gross College of the Arts, where I received my MFA. At Rutgers I applied as a printmaker but it was an interdisciplinary program and I mostly painted while I was there. I took classes with all of the professors, but I think my classes with Steve DiBenedetto and Thomas Nozkowski were the most influential and I still think back to our discussions and critiques to this day.

Do you remember the first work of art that captured your attention?

I was in Amsterdam when I was 14 years old and we went to the Vincent Van Gogh Museum. There was a room of his Japonaiserie paintings that drew me in. It’s the first time I remember spending a long time looking at a painting and being interested in what it was about and how it was made. My next memory of being captivated by a work of art came in college and it was when I saw a Mark Rothko painting for the first time. I was mesmerized and spent a long time researching him after that.

Is there any artwork on display in your home/studio? Whose is it?

I have artwork in every room of my home. There are paintings I’ve purchased at antique stores or estate sales, some that were trades with artist friends, some that were bought directly from artists, and also a few of my own paintings hanging. Some of my favorites include a Kiki Smith etching that was part of a print exchange at Rutgers when I was a student there and she was a visiting artist, a painting by my friend Nina Tichava, a sculpture of a young woman carrying a suitcase that I inherited from my grandparents, a photograph by my friend Jamie Davis, and a drawing of a centipede by my three-year-old - I love children’s artwork.

What’s one of your favorite objects you own? What’s the story?

My favorite object is probably a ceramic hand-painted/glazed tile that I inherited from my grandparents. It’s framed, about 12”x16”, and very colorful. The imagery is of a child handing its mother a flower and between them is a bluebird. The glaze is intricately painted and there are areas of bass relief carving in the clay; I’ve never seen anywhere quite like it. My grandparents traveled all over the world and had a beautifully curated home; I know this artwork came home with them on one of their trips but I don't know where they got it and there's no signature. When I look at this particular artwork that was theirs, it transports me back to their home in the most wonderful way.

Post updated August 28, 2023.