Timothy Griffith was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1958. He began painting in 1968, and in the 1980’s briefly attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. However, it took many years to return to education, and he graduated from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2020.
Tim’s work has been exhibited in New York City, Washington DC, Chicago, Laguna Beach, CA, Bethlahem, PA, Grand Rapids, MI, St. Louis, MO and many other locations throughout the United States.
Tim’s work reflects the continuum of Art’s long history. In his creations you will see elements of many styles. Believing that art is an evolved craft, and holding on to past aesthetics, he makes his work a modern invention of those past successes. Drama and emotion are forefront in the compositions, and he calls the apparent style Neo-Baroque… and within, you can also see Realism, Surrealism, American Regionalism, Neo Art Nouveau, and Neo Art Deco. His recent efforts are a take on Precisionism (think O’Keefe).
Primarily a figurative oil painter, Tim incorporates the many techniques and styles listed above, and the nexus of these elements is nothing like any artwork you may have ever seen before. His work has been called bold, bright, severe, and smart, with thoughtful subject matter and skillful use color, unique and often forced perspectives, they elicit drama and emotion from the composition.
“My artwork is an extremely well crafted product. I produce artwork from long lasting, high quality pigments and substrates, lightfast, non-toxic paints, heavy duty stretcher bars, fine cotton or linen canvas, and (forever) lasting acrylic primer. I use gallery wrapped canvases and continue the composition to the sides and slightly around to the back. I call my method ‘Painting to the wall.’ The finished work is thoroughly varnished. They can be hung without framing- and are visually complete from all viewpoints.”
– Timothy Griffith
After a covid-delayed graduation, Tim relocated from Milwaukee to north-central Illinois for its geographic proximity to art communities from Chicago, Crystal Lake, Woodstock, through Rockford, and Freeport.
As of December 2023, (and since 2015) Tim has created 128 large-scale artworks (most 24″x30″ or larger), entered 121 exhibits, been successfully juried into 85 of them, totaling 297 invited pieces, and earned 11 awards.
Current Memberships…
- Artpop Street Gallery, Charlotte, NC
- Beloit ArtCenter, Beloit, WI
- Freeport Art Museum, Freeport IL
- Galesburg Community Arts Center, Galesburg IL
- Oak Park Art League, Chicago IL
- Peoria Art Guild, Peoria IL
- Rockford Art Guild, Rockford IL
