Built-Up Abstracts: Art by Timothy J. Sullivan
Earth Abides, acrylic on canvas
Timothy J. Sullivan is an artist currently based in North Vancouver, British Columbia. In his art practice, Timothy produces bright abstractions, large and small, using mixed media and a range of artistic tool. The resulting works are built-up abstracts with layers of style and color.
Decorum Denied, acrylic on paper
I rather enjoy the way that Timothy combines planes of rough, mottled and textured paint with moments of bright, clean primary colors and hard-cut, geometric forms. As we discussed in our previous feature of Timothy’s layered style paintings, the artist often works through a subtractive process, unrestrainedly adding paint to the substrate, then using a palette knife or another tool to scrape and peel away some of that paint and expose the layers underneath. In some of his works it appears as though the artist has reduced a painting, only to once again add to it in the form of final touches and embellishments.
The front page of Timothy's portfolio website
The artist’s sketches on paper are smaller than his paintings, but no more contained. The nature of paper as a surface prevents the thick, tactile layers of paint, allowing the artist’s process to transform into something more delicate and ethereal.
