Tim Novara
San Diego, CA
I'm an artist with a background in architecture; my mixed media work explores how personal experience shapes our understanding of buildings and place.
Message
Tim Novara is a San Diego, California based artist whose work has origins in the fields of architecture and urban design. He earned his architecture degree from Syracuse University in New York and as part of the program spent a year studying abroad in Florence, Italy. He also holds a master’s degree in education from Vanderbilt University. His paintings strive to analyze components of the urban world and their relationship to the individual person. He has shown his work in regional and national juried exhibitions in the United States.
Statement
I have always been fascinated with the constructed world, our cities, buildings, monuments, and public spaces. These objects, places, or environments are often viewed as passive or static backdrops to our daily life. We move through them or around them, but don't always realize the impact or influence they might exert on us as humans. They live in their own way, with a history, personality, and purpose.
My painting is rooted in my architecture background and reflects a process of trying to understand specific locations and their connection to the individual through the act of diagramming and layering. Rather than working towards a specific end image, the painting evolves with each step of the process. This iterative work begins with photography, where I go on site to capture images on locations that focus on form, structure, light, and shadow. I then digitally alter the photographs to highlight significant elements, textures, shapes, and characteristics. Once those images are finished, I begin painting base colors on wood with acrylics. The digitally altered images are transferred on top of the painting by using various mediums. I then draw lines and shapes in pencil that highlight compositional elements, which becomes the underpinning for the rest of the painting. Thin layers of transparent paint are applied to represent the feelings and emotions of how I personally experienced that space. The colors and forms strive to create a sense of movement and destabilize the viewer. As a whole, the object begins to move, shift, and push, while the observer now remains stationary.
A central tenet of my work is that art should make a positive difference in your local community. To that end, I donate a portion of the proceeds from each sold work to a charitable organization.