Scottsdale Artists’ School: You are the SAS Beaux Arts 2021 Signature Artist. Tell us about this.
Tim Horn: I feel extremely honored to be the signature artist and happy to contribute to this wonderful institution. The painting I chose to donate for the event is titled Two Bedroom Ranch. It’s a scene I came across a few years ago while driving around the Sacramento River Delta—a unique agricultural area, two hours from San Francisco, with a labyrinth of waterways and levees. The levee roads offer an elevated perspective on the surrounding landscape, and one can see a greater distance. When I saw this particular house, I liked the contrast between the strong geometric shapes and the large organic shapes, as well as the strong light and large shadow shapes. I have a small obsession with all things turquoise, so the turquoise wall and orange curtain in the window really made it a perfect thing to paint for me. I find beauty in unexpected places. This painting came together one scene to make what felt like something quietly specular.
Tim Horn, Two Bedroom Ranch, oil, 18 x 24" (45 x 60 cm)
SAS: How long have you been teaching at the Scottsdale Artists’ School?
TH: February 2022 will be my sixth year. My workshop takes place in the classroom and outdoors, painting on the school grounds (and occasionally other locations). This may sound California and “new agey,” but SAS has tremendous positive energy. Everyone is happy to be there, and you can feel it. There’s a strong sense of camaraderie and sharing among the instructors and students. I love teaching there. It’s a wonderful facility with a great support staff, and the location is rich with museums, galleries and eateries nearby. I am very happy to be a part of this wonderful community.
SAS: What is the inspiration for your small-town themes?
TH: I am from a small town in Ohio, and I seem to gravitate toward scenes that remind me of the scrappy edges of the town where I grew up. Alleyways, gas stations, small country roads, farms and old neglected buildings. As a kid, my brother and I explored these places on our bicycles. Now they appeal to me as a painter; I find them interesting and comfortable to explore. I am not attracted to areas that are all neat, tidy and buttoned up.
Tim Horn, Insight, oil on canvas, 36 x 36" (91 x 91 cm)
SAS: Tell us about your shadow selfie series. Are you continuing it?TH: Yes! It’s something I kind of stumbled into while painting old cars. The selfies can have a very bold, graphic feel to them, and I’m trying to push them in both scale and variation, to see where it goes. They do feel somewhat unique, so there’s no baggage of trying to create my own version of what someone else has already done. I’m looking forward to my next show at Altamira Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona, where my newest works in this series will be displayed.
SAS: You are known for the beautiful pencil sketches you create before you start a painting. Can you talk about them? How long do they take?
TH: Whether I’m working from a photo or from life, I usually do a small 3-by-4-inch pencil sketch first. This has become an integral part of my process, helping me to identify drawing challenges in the scene as well as compositional issues. I approach them as value studies, with a side focus on composition. It helps me to slow down and take the scene in. No matter how long you look at something, you don’t really see it until you start trying to record it in a drawing. In the event of a fire evacuation, once my family and pets are safe, I would grab my sketchbooks.
A glance at a few of Horn’s sketches.
SAS: How have you stayed creative during these challenging times?
TH: In normal times, I do most of my painting in the studio, working on larger paintings for galleries or shows. When Covid hit, all my deadlines and scheduled painting events vanished overnight…[So] I packed up my gear and headed out in search of empty country roads. It was a wonderful escape from the gloom and uncertainty that was all over the news. I live in town of Fairfax, California, and there is a wealth of wonderful places to paint. I did a series of paintings in my small town…I challenged myself to explore an area that was not necessarily picturesque and see how interesting I could paint it. Not having the pressure of deadlines and shows gave me the freedom to experiment. It was a personally enriching experience.—
Visit www.scottsdaleartschool.org for more information on the school and its upcoming workshops.