We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tim Breaux. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tim below.

Tim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you wish you had started sooner?

There is no pure way to travel through life in pursuit of a particular dream. There are always advantages and consequences to a particular path. For me, I chose a path of relative security by pursuing a degree in pharmacy. It’s not like I reached a crossroad in life and had to choose, or anything like that. I just never even considered being an artist.

When I was fifteen, I went to work with my grandfather, Virgil Warren, doing concrete construction for three days. I believe I got paid $2/hour. He wasn’t a big guy, but it seemed like he could outwork everyone else around him. He grew up during the depression and was raised by his uncle after he was orphaned. His uncle had a history of booze running during prohibition, and I even have a photo of Virgil as a boy holding a jar that looks suspiciously like moonshine. During WW2, he was a veteran in the Navy, so, as a member of The Greatest Generation, he had a strong work ethic.

When I went to work with him, he had already retired from a long career in the offshore oil fields, and working construction was his second career. At the end of the three days working, Virgil looked me in the eye and said, “Boy, you better get an education because you are not going to make it as a laborer.” We were in complete agreement at that moment, and that comment always stayed with me. So, college was in my future.

My choice of pharmacy was really quite random. My parents didn’t press me into any particular major, and I didn’t really have a strong desire to pursue a particular field of study. When I arrived at college to enroll in the first semester, there was a list of majors to choose from, and I randomly chose pharmacy. I fully intended to change my major later; however, that never happened, and in 1986, I became a pharmacist.

It wasn’t until I was forty years old that I began painting. I chased it as a hobby for about eight years as it progressively consumed more and more of my time. My lifelong pursuit of hunting became more of an impediment to my progress as an artist, so I stopped hunting seriously and painted instead.

During that time, we had a hobby farm in Rogersville, MO, with 34 acres to maintain and several horses, goats, chickens, and dogs. There just was not enough time in the week to practice pharmacy full time, maintain a farm, and paint full time. So, when the kids went off to college and we became empty nesters, I jumped at the chance to sell the farm and move to the city where I could have someone else mow and maintain while I took painting seriously.

It certainly is a scenario where circumstances dictated that my career started much later in life. The flip side of that is now I am recently retired and have the financial security to paint what I want, when I want, and how I want. There were times, however, that I regretted not having all those extra years in front of the easel to become better. The question, “What if?” or “What could have been?” creeps in occasionally. But, I think everyone follows their path, and I enjoy where I am now.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I had always been a fan of art. When I went to museums or galleries I could stand in font of a particular painting for a long time and marvel at the techniques and emotions they contained. While I did not paint or draw I believe the artist was always in me. All I needed was the right opportunity.

When I was forty I had painted some murals on my daughters wall with hobby paints. One cold February morning I was bored so I set up a still life with apples on a plate and painted them with the hobby paints.

Later, after I had been painting for a few years, I met an artists at a gallery opening who invited me to go plein air painting. I bought an outdoor easel which was a pivotal moment in my career. That started me down a path of learning to paint from nature, through observation.

Now, I am a realist painter. I believe we artists “stand on the shoulders of giants” so I study the works of other artists and their legacy to inform what I do now. I view myself as one link in a chain of knowledge and exploration. I am making my contribution to a heritage of creativity.

My most shocking career moment, the moment that made me really ponder the divine nature of Gods control over all things, was when I won the 2018 Best of America Exhibition.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Absolutely. I didn’t wake up one day and decide to pursue art as a career. Art chose me. Shortly after I began painting I realized that there were endless opportunities and different avenues to progress. Having started later in life, I chose oil painting and I knew I had to figure out how to get better as fast as possible.

I started researching how to learn. I investigated pursuing a Master in Fine Art at an online college. A few people cautioned me about the quality and speed of that process. Luckily, the internet was really taking off about that time so I started searching for established artists that might agree to one one one teaching.

My online research revealed an artists named John Pototschnik that met all of my criteria. I boldly approached him and ,miraculously (another example of Gods provision), he accepted me as a student. Thus, began a three year mentorship that gave me the drive and tools to become a professional artist.

Now I tell all of my students, find one or two good teachers and learn all you can from them.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I once met a young lady from China. In China they have a strong cultural regard and support for artists. However, in China, they embark on their career path early in life. This young lady was in her late twenties. She was very interested in my career as an artists. The core issue for her was that she really wanted to be an artists, however, she thought she had missed her “window” to become an artists.

I related my story to her of how I started painting at age forty. I encouraged her to pursue her dreams.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.timbreaux.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breauxtim/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tim.breaux.56