Why this artist's passion is very much about both life and work

For some artists, doing life drawing takes some special skills. Concentration helps, but it’s also looking beyond the body to see the muscle, the sinew, the texture of the skin, the curves.

Because it’s hard for life models to maintain that pose, the artist usually gets only around 20 minutes a sitting to capture what they need.

Not so, if you’re Bungendore artist Tim Snowdon who, he’ll tell you, always likes “to shake things up a bit”.

“I usually go to these sculpture classes in Queanbeyan on a Wednesday,” he said. “They have life models who can hold the pose for longer, around four sessions, so I can get a picture out of it.

“I do the picture, then I add a little extra to it … that gives them a setting. I put a little of myself into it.”

In one of his latest nudes, he adds a coffee cup on a stool into the painting of a Rubenesque figure – one of the works which will appear in his next one-man show, Pearl & Journeys, which opens this weekend at the Suki & Hugh Gallery in Bungendore.

The exhibition, the second at the gallery in two years, will feature new work as well as older pieces, from the more traditional artwork he is known for to the nudes.

“Rubens did it,” Tim said. “Getting across in your work the humanity of the model. Even though you don’t know the person, you try to get across that they are a person.

“If you look at the Mona Lisa, she was a person but what is it about her that is so enigmatic? It’s just part of her charm.”

Pleased with how his nudes came out, Tim said he was keen to include them in his latest exhibition.

“These ones are not half bad,” he laughed.

“When you work with life models, part of the process can be to try to analyse the body, like you would with a portrait. It’s quite a meditative process. Everyone gets so absorbed in what they’re doing. I love it … and hopefully you can produce something people can enjoy.”

But Tim says he knows that few artists can make a decent living from their passion.

Yes, he’s a painter, but he also likes to tell people that, chances are, he’s the only licensed painter they’re likely to know. No, he doesn’t paint pictures of houses, but, when asked, he paints actual houses.

One of his favourite works, he says, is a house out in the bush near Braidwood which he was commissioned to paint, at the owner’s request, a very hot pink.

“It wasn’t even my idea,” he said, “that’s what the owner wanted, and it looks amazing.

“It’s a struggle to make a living as an artist,” he said, “but I consider myself lucky that I’m also a licensed painter because I really enjoy it.

“It’s a good feeling to start something – and then finish it.”

Known mostly as a still life painter, Tim has twice been a finalist in the Moran Prize for portraiture. He trained in Canberra and Sydney before spending decades refining his skills in Australia and overseas.

His work is held in collections in Australia, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

Pearl & Journey, an exhibition by Tim Snowdon, is at Suki & Hugh Gallery, Bungendore, until 20 October, 2024. An online catalogue is available on the Suki & Hugh website

Original Article published by Sally Hopman on About Regional.