Tim Gates

 

Why are you an artist? 

 

i can't really remember but it saves me a lot of getting fired. more seriously its what i want to do and i decided not to do otherwise. its something that i found inside and need to do at this point. its the thing that balances me, gives me a view i can share, keeps me from losing my mind and helps me lose myself for awhile. going to my studio in the morning most of the time is liking waking up christmas morning when you're a kid. i can't wait to get to it. could just be the coffee.  

 

Could you tell us some more about your paintings?

 

 i tend to paint mostly from imagination. usually people, faces. i'm more interested in color and its subtleties than creating a real three dimensional image. i don't think the way i work is much of a sure thing, my process is pretty scattered. i get a lot of ideas from having a kid, watching him grow up and also from the city and the people.  i usually start working and try to find something in the imprimatura, the ghost of a painting, and bring it out. i like to try to give a certain sensitivity to an image, soul, a universal look of questioning or a kind of stillness or uncertainty. i also want to give inspiration and not leave the viewer disturbed although depending on that viewer the image could come across as one of darkness or not, depends. i'm thinking hopeful. 

 

Could you talk about your latest series of paintings and what you are trying to achieve with them?

 

the latest stuff i'm working on is larger than usual and i'm painting on canvas for a few of them and i'm using more paint.  i tend to use thin paint since i do most stuff on bich panel and wood just doesn't take paint like canvas, it doesn't absorb the same, so i think it causes me to paint a certain way.  i'm working on a bunch of new stuff for a show in june and its all people oriented. 

 

What artists have influenced you, and how? 

 

some artists i really like are soutine, jorge castillo, picasso, rafael perea, modigliani, odilion redon, takamitsu, goya.  some of them for there soulfulness, some for color and language, others for their work ethic. 

 

What inspires you to paint and how do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio? 

 

oh yeah work ethic. that's the hardest thing for me. when all you do is paint you have to learn to be self motivating and its pretty hard sometimes to demand creativity. i didn't become an artist because i had this amazing ability to constantly pour out work. i'm finding mental blocks left and right but getting by them is always satifisfying. i think if it got to be unchallenging i would quit. sometimes to break a lull, all it takes is a glass of wine or two or three, cigarettes, an argument, or a friend giving me some shiiit. oh yeah and music. a lot of what keeps me working when it gets rough is fear of not being able to do what i love. you should always remind yourself that you are lucky to be able to do what you want and that its not really that bad at all so get with it dumb ass! at least that's what i say to myself. 

 

How have you handled the business side of being an artist? 

 

hmmm. i've been supporting myself through painting for about 5 years. i've done shows in the city and marin at small galleries and shops and cafes. from there i've gotten a pretty good base of people who buy my work. i've had some collectors buy several paintings. so my stuff has slowly spread out word of mouth style because i haven't done any major gallery shows and i don't really have representation. i'm not the businessman wouldn't you know. but a lot of people have been really good and have really helped me along. and when the shit really hits the fan i paint houses instead of pictures. always lovely.  

 

What do you do for fun (besides painting)? 

 

spend time with the ones i love, make good dinners, not watch tv, but movies. feed henry my iguana. try to get out for a change on a long walk. think about how to get my work to new york and mexico and europe...stuff like that.