Then There Was Us

There are no rules in Tim Garwood’s world, everything is useful to him as an artist (ask his DPD courier). Tim Garwood is a painter of intuition and spontaneity. Often collecting materials from the streets and from his studio to construct paintings, the works are alive with a real and potent force. He paints on IKEA tablecloths, sacking, fragments of canvas on the floor, wood, lace, denim, shoelace, and glass, exploring a visual language across paintings, drawings and mixed media works. When we met in Tim’s studio, he showed me a glitter-coated piece of charred wood - something he dreams of making a frame out of in the not-too-distant future. The neon lights sit elegantly on top of his paintings and light them up in a way that’s never been seen before. Tim’s approach to his work is highly honest and experimental. His use of glitter – something that came to him in recent years – is an addition that feels both exciting and nostalgic. We headed over to Tim’s studio where we were lucky enough to be one of the first to see his latest work. And trust us, it’s good.

Congratulations on your latest exhibition Horatiu Boldor. Can you tell me more about the themes and ideas surrounding it?  

‘Horatiu Boldor’ was the name of the DPD courier that delivered the last batch of spray paints that I needed to complete my show. I don’t know anything about him, but he is like many ideas that arrive and depart as I am making paintings. Fundamentally important one moment and then ebbing away. It felt to me that using that name as a title for my show represented the idea of spontaneity – following an impulse when making work. Sometimes I think that even when experience tells me that what I am about to do to a painting won’t work, I have to do it anyway and then see the failure with my eyes, in real life. In general, the longer I wrestle with a painting the stronger the result – I have found that I am not someone who resolves paintings quickly and I think sabotaging them during the making is probably something I have learnt to do subconsciously for a better final painting.  

What’s the longest you’ve wrestled with a painting? 

Years! I’m quite happy abandoning a painting, leaving it facing the wall for ages and then yanking it out at a later stage to have another crack at it. Those pieces always end up looking like fighters.

I’m fascinated by ‘Rough House’, can you tell me more about that piece?  

‘Rough House’ is a recent painting I made and is part of a series of works that I have been making on and off since 2017. The work is made on stretched IKEA tablecloth which has a grid pattern woven into it. I saw the tablecloths when I was shopping there and thought that they would be an interesting ground to work on – the surface would already be activated and stimulating to paint on before I even begin working on it. What I found when I stretched the cloth is that the grid warps and bends as it is pulled around the stretcher bars. It’s a lively surface to work on and there is something very satisfying about the rigid, man-made, material which I like when combined with daubs of softer, more organic paint. 

What were your first creative experiences?  

I have always been observant. My mum taught me to always look up and that has stayed with me. I don’t think anything of it as it’s just how I have always been – it’s only when I speak to others and realise how un-observant some people are that I think about what I am looking at. I think if you are observant then creativity is a natural reaction to that as there is so much visual stimulation to process. 

Are there themes from your childhood that still inspire you creatively? 

I am happy to allow myself to follow spontaneous thoughts and accept that occasionally that takes me in unexpected directions. This freedom is essential when on the hunt for fresh ways to make a painting. I don’t think there are themes from my childhood that inspire me but having children of my own led me into a period of making work that was heavily influenced by memory - that was the basis for my show Abroad From Earth at Sim Smith in London in 2020. I don’t feel that I really want that grounding in the work at the moment but when I’m making work my mind meanders so it’s conceivable that those sorts of things may come around again, although I doubt in such a direct way. Memories and things I see will always be a good source of painting titles though I think.  

 How do you learn composition within painting?  

I’m not sure that you can learn it, during the making of my work it’s something that I actively avoid. The quick, easy compositional wins, often die quickly becoming really stale to look at. I work on a lot of paintings at once and this helps to not get too bogged down in a painting. Increasingly I tend to get pieces to a certain point where they feel comfortable – too comfortable – then I face them to the wall and leave them for a couple of weeks or something like that. When I come back to them I am seeing them with fresh eyes and the resolution that the painting needs is usually to be less precious - they need to be attacked. 

Do you look at your earlier works and think they are not as good as your more recent pieces? Or does everything stay relevant? 

Increasingly I look again at work that I have written off and realise what I actually learnt from those pieces. Everything is relevant if it is helpful in pushing the process along. Every now and again there is a huge leap in the work, which is exciting. Recently I would say that that is the introduction of neon lights, however, lots of small shunting along is equally important. A slow build of ideas can creep up on you. 

How do you want your practice to evolve going into the future? 

I hope that it will remain unpredictable and get increasingly ambitious. I am more open than ever to a wide use of materials. I think the work is heading into new territory touching on sculptural elements which is exciting for me. I am establishing ways of making larger works that can handle the materials that I am working in so I can see an increase in scale on the horizon too. 

Talking about becoming increasingly ambitious, if you could create or paint anything, what would it be? 

I like making wall paintings. So it would probably something like that. Something huge in a public space somewhere, something outside would be great.