Daily Inspiration: Meet Tim Cantor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tim Cantor. 

Hi Tim, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?

Long before I was born in 1969, my father kept safe a timeworn box of oil paints and brushes that were used by my great grandfather. He was of English descent, but born and lived in India and used these materials to render the landscapes of his travels throughout Asia in the early part of the 20th Century. When I turned five years old, my father saw that I was obsessed with drawing and gave me my great grandfather’s supplies. I immediately began to paint with the very same materials that were used nearly a century earlier. Though I was never able to meet this man who had such a tremendous impact on my life, the gift he left behind, continued to live on and his story inspired me. By the time I was 15, I was given my first solo exhibition in San Francisco, at which one of my paintings was acquired to hang in the collection of the White House. That was the first painting that I ever sold. In the years that followed, I continued to paint for exhibitions and hang my art in galleries around the world.

I am entirely self-taught as an artist. I am grateful for this. I feel like it’s given me a freedom that has allowed me to carve my own path (Get rid of underline here and below.) . I share my time between San Diego and Amsterdam where I work in my two studios during the quiet of night, painting from midnight until sunrise. Though I paint foremost from my imagination, I am drawn to historical Dutch, Flemish, and Renaissance methods. I strictly paint by traditional means, and more often than not, I grind powder pigments and apply scores of layers and glazes – sometimes up to 70 translucent layers- to my oil paintings. I usually have up to 30 individual originals in the works at one time. Some take up to two years to finish. I hide them away from everyone in the world and when the collection is complete, I celebrate with a big exhibition in one of my galleries.
Over the years, I have discovered another side to the creation of my art. Since I am alone so much in my own thoughts, I’ve found an underlying awareness that has evolved into my own writing style. During the conceptual phase of my paintings, I begin to develop narratives that act as descriptions; poetic explanations that point out the meanings and metaphors within my art. This process helps me express and understand what each individual painting means to me, and hopefully, brings some insight to those who wish to know more about what I was thinking and feeling.

In 2000, after years of exhibiting my art in many galleries, I realized my dream of having my own gallery where I could design the complete experience around my paintings, writings, and films. Now I have two galleries, one in the heart of The Historic Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego and the other in Amsterdam in The Kingdom of The Netherlands. Amid it all, I have also collaborated as Artistic Director on productions with performers, including a unique alliance with the Grammy Award Winning Band, Imagine Dragons; creating their album covers, video production, and tour design.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

It has been difficult at times. Very difficult. But my obsession with painting has never wavered. There was never a second thought of what I was going to do in life. I knew it, from the age of 5 years old, maybe even earlier. Without question.

However, since I began showing my art in galleries at such a young age, I was definitely taken advantage of at different times in my life. Repeatedly, my paintings were sold, damaged, and/or lost and I was never paid. It was painful, but it led me to where I am now. It pushed me to being independent, and I love having my own galleries and guiding the presentation of my work. There is nothing more fulfilling than creating a complete exhibition. There is a full evolution of my art on display; from the very first spark of inspiration in a conceptual drawing to the finished original oil painting, and its descriptive poem. I try to imagine all the details – to the music, to the lighting, to the flowers, and the narrations and sounds that fill the gallery’s atmosphere.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

I paint purely from my heart. I try to stay somewhat disconnected from distraction and unwanted influence. I do not even have a cell phone. Seven nights a week, if I am able, I’m in my studio surrounded by my paintings doing what I love.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?

I have spent my entire life and career making my living in an unusual way. My ideas and images constantly change, and so I have no assurance that what I paint will attract people. But I can’t see or do it any other way. I have to paint what’s in my head. What I’ve learned from this is that there is someone for everything. It seems that the more I keep focused on my own affections, I find the more successful my art. I can remember when I was a kid and people would ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would lie. I would say a Fireman or a Policeman. Whenever I said an Artist, I was met with worry and uncertainty. People would tell me what a difficult life I would have ahead of me. It was easier to keep my secret.

Even now, I base every important decision not on financial sensibility, but on hope and desire. My wife Amy has grown with me in this wayward sense. I am so thankful that she has helped me to remain carefree, yet​ fixated in what I do. It has taken me places I could have never predicted or imagined. I’ve published five books of my art, traveled a year on tour with Imagine Dragons, and opened my dream art galleries here in San Diego and in Europe. The simple truth is, I follow my heart, always.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.timcantor.com
• Instagram: TimCantor_Artist
• Facebook: Tim Cantor – Artist, Writer
• Twitter: TimCantorArtist
• Youtube: TimCantorFilms
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tim-cantor-gallery-san-diego