Tim Hillis

Following a BFA in painting (American University), and a failed attempt at graduate school (unnamed NY college), I spent the next couple years creating and showing, trying to be an artist. Finding this frustrating and unfulfilling, I gave it up to pursue other roads, some art-related, some not. Many years later as my youngest children went off to college, I began to consider retirement, and what new path I might follow, I found art lurking near. As I began my first experiments, I was surprised how quickly I found my way, how much I had developed and matured as an artist without seriously touching it for 35 years. Most important lesson learned: One does not “try to be an artist” or “become an artist,” one explores the nature of the world and one’s relationship to it through art. I hope to continue doing that for the rest of my days.