46^th ANNUAL
ARTS OF THE TERRACE JURIED ART SHOW

I was born in to a military family and in 1963, my parents and my three siblings boarded an ocean liner and sailed the sea to Japan. As all children do, I scribbled and drew all the time. Influenced by Japanese culture, Speed Racer got a lot of draw time along with Godzilla, Samurai Warriors, Buddha’s, Japanese animation, temples and toriis, cherry blossoms and Mt Fuji. I had a new world to discover and document. It was in a quonset hut on a military base outside Tokyo my parents enrolled me in an oil painting class. At seven years old, my art career started off painting a cat, a dog and a horse. I loved drawing animals and to this day, 61 years later, still favor animals as my subjects.

After moving around a lot, we settled in Spokane where my mom and dad met in high school. I attended a three year art program at a local community college. Nothing but ART. I met my wife Lynda in a figure drawing class and have been making art together ever since. We moved to Seattle in 1988 and ran a silkscreen studio in a huge warehouse studio at the bottom of Queen Anne. I printed for local Design Agencies for four years. The money was great and the camaraderie was top notch, but we got burned out. We sold the business with all the equipment and walked away. Built a studio behind our house, got an art rep and began my stint as an illustrator, painting for clients, mostly back east. It was fun until it wasn’t. Got tired of painting other people’s ideas and wanted to continue painting my own creations. It was then I took a full time position in construction working as an electrician. Luckily no buildings burnt down but didn’t escape the occasional shocks when cutting through live wires. Adrenal rush for sure.

During my couple years working full time in construction, I came home every night to paint.
It was during those years I created a body of work called Hat’s Doos & Tattoos, a series of 24 paintings, 24”x36”, depicting exotic women sporting unique hair styles with flamboyant tattoos. Tattoos were just getting popular and I didn’t have any so I designed my own. Lynda created larger than life sculptures of nine of my divas and in 1997, we rented an abandoned office space in Pioneer Square and threw our own 1st Thursday art opening. We hired a service to hang 200 posters in local bars, restaurants, shops and on telephone poles. Back in the day, every telephone pole was plastered with posters mounted from the ground up, leaving behind thousands of small colorful paper remnants stapled to the poles. The poles were works of art in themselves. The show was a huge success, drawing in hundreds of people on opening night, packing the house. Some came with my poster they snatched from a pole for me to sign. It was an amazing night/month, an art highlight for sure. We then bought the house we had been renting.

In 1998 at the age of 40, two friends braided my long curly hair in to 40 braids and chopped them to my scalp, leaving a more than interesting texture. This was my right of passage to quit my construction life and begin my life as a full time artist, saying no to real jobs. I welcomed the new freedom and for the last 28 years been navigating my wide world of art. Still have my box of braids. Still reckless and job free.

I never sought gallery representation. To do so, you needed to paint for a year+ to accumulate a body of work to sell for 50% commission. Through private parties and networking, I found my own base of collectors. I donated paintings annually to various organizations, Artist Trust, Henry Museum, Soil, and entered various gallery group shows. Art was thriving back then and I would sell paintings on time, spreading out the payments for months, some for a year, to maintain a steady cash flow. In all the years doing that, no one ever missed a payment.

Our country is going through some rough times now and has affected my life and moods. My work never took on serious political issues, just wanted to create art which brings joy. Corny but true.
I am building an extension to my studio and will be creating a new body of work. Chock full of animals!

I am honored to have been chosen to be a juror in this year’s Art of the Terrace. Lynda and I both had pieces in this event 35 years ago! I have never been an official juror, just been critiquing art unofficially since art school. Look forward to viewing your work. Cheers! Tim Lord.