By Gussie Fauntleroy
Tim Holden grew up listening to stories of his grandmother’s life on her father’s Oklahoma farm. Those were quieter, simpler times, and as he poked around the aging farm equipment, the young boy imagined bygone days of chores and family life. Stories from that era stayed with him over the years, eventually forming an emotional and imaginative foundation for his art. “People at that time had struggles and hardships, yet at the same time things were not as complicated as today,” observes Holden, now 37 and living in Waco, TX, with his wife, Allison.
As the son of western painter and sculptor Harold T. Holden, the younger Holden grew up immersed in art books and the smell of oil paint. His own path took him first into graphic arts, as a designer and editorial cartoonist for the daily Tulsa World newspaper. He also spent a year in Kenya as an illustrator for Wycliffe Bible Translators before moving full time into fine art. Today Holden’s award-winning paintings suggest narratives, often evoking personal or collective memory and emotion. In one, a young woman and soldier may be sharing precious time before he leaves for war; another depicts a farmer in his field with two white plow horses.
“I’m trying to create a scene where the viewers bring their own stories to it,” Holden notes. “I’m painting everyday life, a slice of someone’s day.” His paintings may be seen at Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX, and www.timholden.org.
Featured in “Artists to Watch” January 2006