artist statement:

 

    I work mostly in small scale drawings and paintings with elements of collage, found objects, and language worked into them. I consider art itself a language, and enjoy exploring the connections between it, actual objects, and what is more traditionally considered “language”.

 

    I enjoy the simplicity and immediacy of drawing.  By the act of simply dragging a pencil, charcoal, or what have you across a paper you can imply so many things.  It is also a tactile experience.  I love the feel of charcoal in your hand scraping across the paper.

Collage is very simple and immediate as well.  The image is simply provided.  I spend a lot of time getting lost paging through old books and handling objects, looking for words and images and associations.

 

   My paint, for the most part, is egg tempera.  I enjoy the act of mixing my own paint.  I think it gives me a better sense of the material, apart from just being a medium to apply color.

 

a brief biography:

 

  Tim Olson grew up on a farm outside of a small town in southeastern MN.   The land and buildings on the farm were filled with old tools and equipment dating back to the early 1900s.  He began drawing and painting at an early age. After high school, he earned a BFA in Visual Arts from Bemidji State University in northern MN.  Here he explored many mediums including pottery, ceramic sculpture, lithography, and wood block printing.  At this time he began to work collage and assemblage into his drawings and paintings.

 

   In college he began working in a series of group homes and work settings for people with a wide variety of developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and mental illnesses.  Working with these people, and watching how they dealt with language and the world around them, was extremely influential in developing his ideas about art.

 

   After college he has lived in several states before moving to San Antonio, TX.  He has taken part in several solo and group exhibitions in Minnesota, Oregon, Louisiana, New York, New Mexico, New Hampshire, and Texas.  His works are in several private and corporate collections in the United States and abroad.