Interview with Artist Tim Okamura
When I first saw the painting above by Tim Okamura online I was blown away and decided to go see it in person in the “Here and Now,” group show that ran at the Lyons Wier Gallery on the West Side of New York City from January 8th, 2010 to January 29th, 2011. Tim graciously gave me an interview and I’m thrilled to share it here:
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – my father is of Japanese heritage, and my mother’s family is originally from England, but both my parents were born in Canada as well…
I moved to Calgary, Alberta when I was 18 years old to go to art school, and then moved to New York in 1991 for grad school, and I’ve been here ever since. It’s been almost 20 years now, with about 17 of those years spent living in Brooklyn.
How have you been trained artistically?
I have my BFA from the Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD) in Calgary, and my MFA in a program called “Illustration as Visual Journalism” from the School of Visual Arts here in New York. I had several great painting instructors including John Foote, Greg Crane, and Thomas Woodruff, who each had very different but valuable perspectives on making art. I also attended several classes at the New York Academy of Art, and was fortunate to have the artist Costa Vavagiakis – who now teaches at the Art Students’ League – as both an instructor and mentor. He definitely helped me refine many things on a technical level working from the model, and showed me what really focusing was all about.
Who are you influences?
I think I have several influences that each affect different aspects of the work… As far as the way I approach the figure I have tried to learn from several of the old masters, particularly Rembrandt, and Caravaggio but I also have contemporary figurative influences such as Lucien Freud and Odd Nerdrum. As far as compositional influences, I’m currently looking at other contemporary artists: Antonio Lopez Garcia and Neo Rauch are really vibing for me right now, even though I think most would agree they are quite divergent in their approach to painting. And I doubt the connection is obvious but I’m certainly inspired by the freedom Basquiat showed in his work as well. It’s something I really admire.
I also love most graffiti and street art – especially graffiti – I’ve always been into typography and letterforms, and calligraphy ( I had a calligraphy set given to me as a Christmas present when I was young…). I appreciate all the pioneers of graffiti, all the original writers – I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a few of those cats, like Lee Quinones, and I’m also amazed by a lot of these new wildstyle kids… their skill level these days is really really sick. When I incorporate graff elements into my work, it’s really more of an homage than anything – I mean I like the way the graff in my paintings functions as a compositional element, or for the message it conveys, but I would certainly never claim to be a graffiti or street artist myself… and I’ve collaborated with a couple writers – in particular the KidBelo from Canada – and really enjoyed the process and results, so hopefully it’s something I will do more of in the future.
What is difficult about producing work?
The difficulty comes for me in just putting in the hours that the paintings require… starting a painting is always exciting, and signing it is a moment of joy, but a lot of the process in between – buildling, developing the layers, refining the details – can be a real grind. It does truly feel like a job sometimes, and people don’t always understand that. I don’t have a smile plastered on my face the whole time I’m painting… it can be a real struggle, especially when you run into unexpected obstacles along the way, with composition or something, or when the paint won’t behave the way you want it to. But, in the end, if I feel good about the painting – and I usually work it and re-work it until I do – it can definitely give me a true sense of satisfaction. It can be like finishing writing a song that you really love to sing….
What is your dream?
I suppose there are many things I could answer this question with… like getting to a point where I simply don’t have to worry about money…lol, but I think something that would be a really profound experience would be to have a complete retrospective exhibition put together. If someone organized a show where they were able borrow back every painting – or maybe all of the best paintings – I ever did and show them in one space… that would be really mind-blowing I think. To see them all again in person – it would be intense, the ultimate “this is your life” event for an artist. For better or worse. I’m sure there would be a lot of me saying, “oh my God, I can’t believe I let that out of my studio..” but I am envious of any living artist that has had the experience of a really comprehensive retrospective.
We’ll see……
Imitating Life Through Art::Tim Okamura
Bless...its been a minute..hope this finds ones feeling good and doing better... I ran across this artist and his works a little while ago and had been meaning to share it w/ ones. Tim Okamura truly imitates life through his art, or rather just pays it the best compliment. You usually have to look @ his portraits twice to see if its an actual photograph...He hails from Alberta, Canada and currently resides in Brooklyn where he is constantly inspired and pleasantly surprised by the daily offerings that he witnesses by way of people, places, and things...Check more of his works at www.timokamura.com...Bless Up...