Artist and curator at Claggett/Rey Gallery in Edwards

The Vail Daily

The Long Road: recent watercolors and oils by Timothy James Standring

Timothy James Standring (b. 1950) has never stopped painting since he took classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the late 1960s. The curator emeritus of the Denver Art Museum, he has curated more than 18 exhibitions at the museum — most notably “Becoming Van Gogh.” He will be at Claggett/Rey Gallery in Edwards Saturday to meet and greet visitors.

Over the past decade, Standring has focused on small-scale works in watercolor, paying gimlet-eyed attention to the poetics that the medium can express. Aspiring to sustain a balance between close observation and exuberant flourishes with his handling, Standring is as sensitive to his materials and techniques as he is to the recurring themes he paints. He has found inspiration in a wide variety of artists from Anthony Van Dyck, John Linnell, Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent, Joachim Sorolla and Andrew Wyeth.

“#16” | Watercolor | 4“×9“

His recent works reflect his preference for painting with the belly instead of the point of the brush which results in images that appear as if they were produced as dry oil brush oils on unprepared paper like sheets produced by the works of the 17th century Genoese painter Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609–1664), an artist that Standring has studied for some time. Such heavily pigmented watercolors turn his compositions into poetic statements that sustain a life of their own. Such efforts convey meditative observation of his settings which are a challenge to such a fickle medium that watercolor painting encompasses. Standring has recently, in fact, been painting in oils, inspired by Daniel Sprick, Quang Ho and Jane Jones, all of whom conveyed how the two approaches complement each other.

“#1” | Watercolor | 5“×7“

Standring’s works are in private collections across North America and Europe. They have been thrice accepted for inclusion in the famous 10 x 10 x 10 juried exhibition held in Tieton, Washington, and recently in the 2022 edition of the Coors Western Art Exhibition. One of his monographic exhibitions was reviewed by the national critic Ray Rainaldi. Standring also conducts a watercolor painting workshop at the Lunenburg School of Art, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in September.