Stories from the Studio: Tim Snowdon

Beautiful Bungendore is a creative gem in the heart of Queanbeyan-Palerang and the home town of painter Tim Snowdon whose work is currently on show at Suki & Hugh Gallery. STA visited with Tim and Gallery Director Susan Foxlee within his exhibition before heading over to his home and studio a few doors up the road.

Tim’s exhibition ‘Conversations’ references the way inanimate objects ‘speak to’ each other within still life compositions and can appear animate or to ‘take on a life of their own’.

Tim’s brush work faithfully depicts his subject matter in glorious detail and more than that, somehow in the alchemic process of capturing the bottles, bowls, fruit, flowers and crumpled paper of these everyday objects the artist elevates them to characters on a stage. Imbued with a magical inner light and personified qualities. They really are very beautiful paintings.

Snowdon gained invaluable experience living in New York, London then Paris, supporting himself by painting and decorating. In 1990 he earned a permit as a copyist in the Louvre. A long tradition dating back to just after the French Revolution where each year 250 permits are granted to amateur and professional artists, allowing them to copy the works of Old Masters. The masterpiece of Tim’s choice was Philippe de Champaigne’s “Le Christ Mort”.

Returning to Australia, Snowdon lived in Sydney and was represented by Charles Hewitt throughout the 90’s. He moved to Bungendore in 2002 after the births of his two sons where his attention turned toward raising his family, still painting and teaching painting when time permitted.