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Tim Townsley Feature

by Kirk Silsbee

There’s nothing new about fine artists using jazz musicians as subject matter.  As far back as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, painters like Archibald Motley, Jr. considered jazz and its makers as subjects worthy of serious interpretation.  As jazz has been marginalized from mainstream entertainment, the players are seldom depicted in contemporary art.  When they are—especially in present day Los Angeles—the level of expression seldom rises above gushing fandom or naive folk art.

Painter Tim Townsley has been addressing jazz musicians in his work for a number of years.  He paints figuratively and the human figure is consistent in his wide-ranging oeuvre.  Townsley, who speaks rapidly and directly, notes that jazz is something that he returns to periodically.  “I get bored quickly,” he confesses.  “But I love jazz, so I keep coming back to painting musicians.”

His new show of paintings, “Jazz Impressions”—the opening reception for which is this afternoon--won’t be hosted by a gallery.  Townsley’s latest offering will sit in the Crowne Plaza Hotel LAX, preceding an evening performance by pianist and singer Dena DeRose.

Although he studied formally at Otis Art Institute, UCLA and Cal State L.A., Townsley has a practical background that few painters have.  He painted sets, backdrops and movie mattes for about 25 years.  “I grew up in North Hollywood,” he notes, “and my dad worked in the studios.  I learned some tricks when I got to work with Benny Carrera.  He was about 70 and he’d worked with D.W. Griffith.  He could sightline a big wall and figure out the perspective of a scene, within two or three inches of accuracy.”

Townsley’s pieces vary in their mode of expression and their intent.  “Most of the musicians I’m interested in painting are gone,” he confesses, “So I have to rely on photographs.”  Though depictions of the arch of tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins’s distinctive head or Billie Holiday’s regal cheekbones are accurate, Townsley doesn’t duplicate photographic images.  “I try to play with what’s there.  Depending on what it suggests to me, I’ll work tight or loose.”  A head portrait of pianist Oscar Peterson—painted a la prima in a couple of hours—roils with energy and seems to move before your eyes.  “I’m always playing with color and line,” he notes, “so painterly things like focus or depth of field can bring a psychological aspect to the subject.” –Kirk Silsbee

“Jazz Expressions” by Tim Townsley, Crowne Plaza LAX, opening reception, Thur. 4:30 p.m.  Free, Brasserie Jazz Lounge, 5985 W. Century Blvd., L.A., (310) 642-7500.  www.in-housemusic.com

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L.A. CityBeat, Feb. 21, 2008