Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Thayer
Hi Tim, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Being born on the West Coast and living half my life there and now the other half (so far) on the East Coast has created markers in my memory of my attitudes and growth as an artist and a human. I was born in San Francisco and grew up in Santa Cruz, CA. Moving to New York City in 1993 was a completely new experience. Later, in New York, I moved “up-the-river” to Tarrytown and raised a family all while creating artwork – paintings, drawings and cartooning. Now based in Durham, NC I explore the city by bicycle and work on paintings (and graphic/web design) at Golden Belt Artist Studios in Durham, NC. I thank my mom for teaching me to follow my passion and I thank my environments I’ve lived in for the stimulation to see the creative possibilities.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Professionally being an artist is never a smooth road. Continuing to find shows, collectors, galleries and just generally getting your work out there is an ongoing business. These are the necessary challenges and struggles but not the ones I particularly enjoy. Artistically the struggles are where the real satisfaction comes in. Trying to figure how to solve a problem on the surface of my paper, panel or canvas engages me….I look forward to those struggles and the visual solutions.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I create paintings that have two goals. 1) To get beyond my understanding and preconceived ideas about art. 2) To find flow to the elements in the painting. To a degree it is easy to achieve either one of those but to achieve both is always the challenge. I don’t always get there, or I get there but later I can see a work needs more attention. I don’t worry too much about setting myself apart from others as I think each of us as artists naturally creates our own style, it’s not something we have to work at – that is the beauty of art.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
In terms of mentors being in school created a built in resource. From various professors I learned various things, but one professor stood out from my time at SJSU, Rupert Garcia. From Rupert I learned the importance to taking the work seriously – both the artwork itself and the physical act of creating work, the discipline behind creating meaningful artwork.
For networking – just have to get out there and find various groups. And that it takes a long time to make professional connections – you can’t just show up to one event.
Pricing:
- 6″ x 6″ unframed work $60
- 6″ x 6″ framed work $100
- 24″ x 24″ work $650
- 48″ x 48″ work $980
Contact Info:
- Website: https://timthayer.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/otterjet/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@slowroad66
