BIOGRAPHY - Tim Rees

Tim Rees is an emerging Novorealist painter, using his technical drawing skills to glorify the human figure, which he believes has the most power to engage. Tim Rees grew up in Arizona with a love for drawing. He began to study animation at Collins College but was disappointed on the reliance on computers in contemporary animation, preferring instead traditional drawing methods. He then began to pursue a medical degree but found his desire to create art overwhelming. Rees painted with a small group of artists in downtown Scottsdale during the day while working a night shift at a hospital. It was then that someone told him about a the Palette and Chisel Academy in Chicago, which provided access to models every day of the week for a small membership fee.

Rees moved to Chicago in 2009 to study at the Palette and Chisel Academy, which he describes as a club where people of all skill levels come to practice alla prima, or painting all at once. Here Rees was often challenged by low lighting, crowded rooms of eager artists and restless models. However, the practice improved his abilities so much, that after just a year and a half the academy hired him as an instructor of drawing and painting.

Teaching has been another great learning experience for Rees. Now an instructor at Scottsdale Artists’ School and the head of Rees Atelier, he paints under the tenants of the Novorealist philosophy, which states that there should be a greater emphasis on humanism in a time when people are overly focused on technology and consumables. His desire is to convey beauty through technical mastery and strong composition.