I am artist Timothy Griffith originally from St. Louis, MO USA, now residing in the far western Chicago suburbs (Rockford, IL). This website, and the companion site 'Paint Room Studio' [blog site], are the showcase and archive of my lifetime^55+yrs body of artwork- paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, and sculptures. The website address that you are currently viewing is: https://www.timgriffithart.com

• Mini Bio...

• Born 1958 in St. Louis, MO USA and began painting in 1968. Attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1980's and graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (covid delayed) October 2020 (BFA, cum laude).

• This website's main purpose is to present my art and facilitate contact.

• I have had artwork exhibit on the East Coast and West Coast, Washington D.C., and many locations throughout the North America.
  Fun fact: I have three sons who were all born on August 13th- and they're not triplets.

• About the Media I work with...

• My philosophy is that (my) artwork is an extremely well crafted product. Setting aside my choice of subjects and the deliberations of composition and execution- I manufacture a product out of long lasting high quality pigments and substrates, lightfast, non-toxic paints, heavy duty stretcher bars, fine cotton or linen canvas, (forever) lasting acrylic primer. I want the work to last hundreds of years hanging on a wall. My artwork is built with longevity in mind.

•    Additionally, I use gallery wrapped canvases and continue the composition to the sides and slightly around to the back. I can my method 'Painting to the wall.' This finished work is thoroughly varnished. My paintings can be hung without framing- they are complete from all viewpoints. If you do frame it, I suggest 'float' frames so that all the details and care paid to the sides can still be viewed.

•    I use the Imperial System for length measurement [inch/foot/yard/mile], not metric- although I often use some 'less than ordinary' length parings, such as w34" x h32" (the approximate ± size of Van Gogh's "Starry Night") and w36" x h30" (the approximate ± size of La Touche's "A Pardon in Brittany"); but by far, my favorite canvas size is 21" x 34" (a fibonacci pairing and golden rectangle), both portrait or landscape orientation- for many reasons...first, because I can compose elements along the implied fibonacci spiral, second, when in landscape orientation it is approximately the same proportions of modern TV/video screens, and the compositions within are often subconsciously familiar to people. Third, many proportions of human beauty can be traced to the minds unconscious acceptance of the golden mean's visual occurrence in many of life's beauty-- faces, bodies, flowers, etc., and I believe that all the golden ratio considerations I employ will subliminally convey a deeper sense of beauty to the observer.

• About Commissions...

• As a rule I do not do commissions. Many people I know find this personal policy difficult to understand. They feel that if something like art comes easy to a person, they should be willing to take requests'. Their expectations are uninformed and hurtful. I do not take commissions for the following reasons...

•    1) My view of what is, and is not art, varies wildly from most others [just look at my art that is already out there].

•    2) it is NEVER easy. My art arises out of my psyche and often takes many years to evolve from nebulous concepts, to tangible graphic mental images, to perceptible lines and forms on canvas. There are fantastic layers of intentions, purpose, symbols, and elements to my work- there are references to historical works in it... there are overt and covert elements within telling stories, or hinting at secrets- there are countless hours of color analysis- designed experiments within- repeats of previous, successful experiments- there are hidden messages {both textul and symbolic}... and more layers are added as it progresses.

•    3) my schedule is quite chaotic, and often governed by manic, or depressive, periods of activity. I will not allow any schedule to hold sway over me. [that ended when I finished University]

• None of these qualities are conducive to a social contract to create a specific piece of art for a person. It is, instead, a recipe for conflict and disappointment. It is my belief that my work habits are not conducive to the arrangements associated with commissions.