Tim Eaton

Mr. Eaton grew up in the rolling pasture lands of South-Central Maine. To describe it, he uses one word “magical.” There were rivers and lakes, mountains, and meadows. His favorite subject as a young teen; was antique barns, of which there were many. His grandmother was an amateur artist on his mother’s side and handed him his first set of “real brushes” when he was six or seven. She entered him in his first show when he was eight and he came home with a ribbon. Everybody’s experience of course is different, but the cliché endures... He was “hooked.” Graduating from a private high school, Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, he had the good fortune of studying portraiture under the watchful eye of Richard Whitney, who is recognized today as one of the top twelve portrait artists in America. At the time Whitney was the youngest member of the Boston Guild and was commissioned to paint a portrait of Mitt Romney when he became Governor of Massachusetts. As a student, Eaton traveled to Europe and Asia. He carried a watercolor pad and painted scenes from the countryside in France, to the canals of Venice and on to Istanbul and China. These pieces served as a primer for his later years working solely from the heart in the studio. “No more bugs, no more racing the sun” he quips. Studio work is a respite from the challenges of working plein air. And it suits him well. He will tell you that standing in front of a canvas is like going on a mini-vacation, a furtive escape if you will, from the everyday challenges of his moonlight operations restoring furniture, color matching faux finishes and bringing antique murals back to life. He has had the honor of working on historic buildings from famous families such as the Vanderbilts and the Rockefellers, but “nothing,” he says, “compares to making my own history.” Foothills 20x40in Eaton received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Vermont. He spent two years studying at the National School of Decorative Arts in Nice, France where he had the opportunity to visit numerous museums from Florence, Italy, the Cote d’Azur in Southern France and of course Paris which greatly influenced his approach to art. Impressionism still plays a vivid role in his compositions, where hard work and keen observation has allowed him to find his rhythm and style following in the wake of Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, John Sargent and lastly Andrew Wyeth. A recent collector says this about Eaton’s work: Having seen his beautiful work online, I contacted Tim in the spring of 2022 to ask him to paint for me the “portraits” of three wonderful and aged trees that I have on my property… After just our initial meeting, Tim’s easy enthusiasm for the project made me know he was the artist for the job. The finished works - which exist after a collaborative process of his getting my feedback at points along the way - are alive with color and joy, shading and light. He has truly captured each one, so that I recognize them from the canvas. Tim’s artistry is superb. And I am so grateful that I have worked with him on this special project. Ken Caruso Exhibitions include shows at The Emile Gruppe Gallery in Jericho, Vermont, The Geary Gallery in Darien, Ct, Bedford Frame and Gallery in Bedford, NY, The Pound Ridge Library, Pound Ridge, NY, the Works Progress Gallery at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, also in Pound Ridge, Gossett’s Nursery Annual Harvest Festival in South Salem, NY. And “The Secret Gardener” in Hudson, NY. For the last three summers Eaton has shown his work and consistently sold pieces from the collection on all the holiday weekends at the aforementioned “Secret Gardener” in Hudson, New York. “I paint” he states, “because of my desire to provide a sense of renewal, a sense of hope. The world needs it”...