Tim T. Thornton's Bio

My name is Tim T. Thornton. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, and moved north to the San Francisco Bay area when I turned eighteen. I began drawing at an early age and was encouraged by my grade school and high school art teachers to pursue my interest in the arts. Upon leaving Art School, I was confronted with the financial demands of the "real world", and after working a string of non-art related jobs, I eventually landed back in southern California, where I found full time employment as a scene painter in Hollywood, painting for film and television. I returned once again to the Bay area, where I was hired by the University of California at Berkeley, as the scenic artist for the Theater program there. In 2002, I married my artist wife, Patricia, and in 2005, we relocated to Montana. Artist Statement: While art continues to be my focus, I've also had a lifelong interest in cinema. There's something very personal about sitting in a darkened theater watching moving images on a screen, and the "willing suspense of disbelief." As a child, the movie house became a sort of Temple for me, where I could sit in silent reverence, gazing up at the larger than life movie gods. I do believe that film is the dominant art form of the 20th Century. When asked, "What is your favorite film?", I find that it's nearly impossible for me to come up with a succinct answer. It's like being asked to name my favorite piece of art. The list has simply grown too large. And it continues to grow. I do have a fondness for silent films though, I think because the storyline depended on pictures, and required little, if any exposition. As an artist, much of what I've been working on, draws from this visual library of cinematic images. The icons of early film continue to inspire and thrill me, as much as th ey did when I was very young. By wresting images from film, and translating these onto the painted surface, I hope to pay homage, and breathe new life into them, by giving them a new context and meaning. One reason, (among many, perhaps ) for choosing painting over film as an art form, is this: Film requires a collaboration of many talented people and a good deal of technology. The act of painting requires only myself, some paint, and a brush . I can enjoy complete creative control over a project. I like that. Visit Tim T. Thornton's Website »