Some recent sketches

Some pages out of my bigger sketchbook. A few are just studies drawing landscape features and such, others are thumbnail ideas for larger drawings.

Images © J. Timlin 2011

Artist statement

This is the latest draft of my artist statement, after some revisions for my senior thesis class.

In a certain sense, all art is about its maker. My art is about its maker in more than one sense. Through art media I investigate my level of cognizance regarding my experiences. Sometimes the work is searching and sometimes it is explaining, but it is always an attempt to apprehend the significance of my personal history to my amalgamation as this individual. I have begun searching out my personal visual vocabulary, which I utilize as a tool to revisit, reflect on, and reinterpret my life in visual terms. I address past and present occurrences, acquaintances, impressions, remembrances, affinities, and what they all mean to me in the moments of creation. At times, the pieces may coincidentally pertain to the more general questions of the human condition. Humbler are my pursuits, however, typically seeking answers more selfish and specific. While in a certain sense all art is about its maker, my art is about its maker in every sense.

 Just a few minor but significant adjustments. I think I resolved alternatives for certain ambiguous or vague terms which make my intentions a bit clearer.

Senior Thesis

So far this summer I've begun to think about and work on my senior thesis, building off of the ideas I latched onto last semester. I've been writing a little about the work to flesh out my ideas, and sketching for some eventual pieces. More updates will hopefully be forthcoming, but until then here are some tidbits of what I have thus far:

Working Statement:

     In a certain sense, all art is about its maker. My art is about its maker in more than one sense.

     In my work I deal with my measure of consciousness (awareness) regarding my experiences. Sometimes the work is searching and sometimes the work is explaining, but it is always an attempt to understand the significance of my experience to myself and to my development as an individual. I have begun searching out my personal visual vocabulary, which I use in my work to revisit, reflect on, and reinterpret my life- from the events, to the feelings, to the people it contains- and what it all means to me in the moments of creation. At times, the work may coincidentally play to the universality of human experience, but typically its aim is solely the selfish, and specific. In a certain sense, all art is about its maker. My art is about its maker in every sense.

Allegory of Home series:

Charity:

all images and text © J. Timlin 2010

Rosy Lamb

A painter/sculptor in Paris, using primarily plaster and oil paints. I like the effect the plaster surface has on the paintings, and she does some really interesting things with plaster frame imprints. I'm also a fan of the "unfinished" finish of some of the portraits. Although I think that relates to time constraints, it's still a good exercise in decision making and painting economy.
More of her work here.



























The project she worked on called The Sleeping Author Project sounds really fun, and similar in certain ways to the portrait project I was developing. While Lamb's paintings attempted to capture the subject (a stranger) within an hour of their personal introspection or dreaming, I would want my time to be unrestrained. My painting would aim to be the physical and visual record of that time spent in the presence of the sitter (a strong personal relation or acquaintance). The process would also involve good decision making, editing, and painting economy. I anticipate my most difficult and frustrating obstacle to be the time necessary for my subjects to spend in my presence. Time is always seen as valuable and precious, something to be held onto rather than given away. Though I'd like to think my sitters would take something away from the experience on a personal level. We shall see.

Brainstorm.

While mindlessly working and contemplating my art career, the foundations for a new series in my painting began to develop.

The idea is to reference painting as it was in the 19th century: much more a form of social engagement than a solitary personal struggle as it tends to be today.

In addition, it is to be a form of visual name-dropping. Artists like Sargent painted "their people" in their portraiture; a sort of 19th century street cred.

While the physical and formal aspects of the work will reflect that time period as well (via composition and medium), I want the series to be influenced by the life of the 19th century artist. I don't want to be one of them, I simply want to experience a bit of what being an artist was like during that peak in civilization.



Therefore, I want the subject of the work to reflect not solely the people I know, but more specifically the people I know and respect, or admire. This will take that 19th century tradition and give it a contemporary and personal twist.

Many 19th century portraits were commissioned, while these will be more personal. They will be done from life in a one-on-one environment, and as such they will be more than just a record of the sitter. They will be a record of the passage of time spent in the direct company of each individual.



It is a series about respecting the ideas and practices behind the art that came before you, but it is also a series about respecting relationships and connections, and the value of an education supplemented with experience and conversation.



The idea will require more research, but seeing as I don't have a painting class next semester, I will try to make this my project.

More soon.