About Tim

forester, golden retriever, drawing, pen and ink, ink, ink drawing, dog, forester artist “A Forester and his Dog”‘ pen and ink.

 

I’m a forester in Northern California.  I started my career in natural resources 1977.  I have done a great variety of different forestry jobs over the years.  It is an awesome career in which my desk is the hood of my truck and the trees in the forest are the walls of my office.

golden retriever Tim, Teka and Blitz.

As an artist I started as most with a set of crayons, then as an adolescent my enjoyment of comic books increased my interest in creating art.  I tried watercolors as a teenager.  With no training my first few attempts looked more like acrylics, but over time with practice and study I improved.  I was drawn to watercolor because it is quick, bright, dynamic and full of surprises.  Watercolor is still my favorite artistic media followed closely by pen and ink and photography.  I have had the privilege of doing art for fun and profit and after six children’s books I feel I still have much work to do.

217 thoughts on “About Tim”

      • I’m working on a couple of pieces..trying to get ready for a show. The problem is I am working overtime at my pretend job (the one that pays the bills…I hate to call it my real job because it’s not what I would do if given a choice!!!). Thanks for the boost of encouragement…I so enjoy painting. I remember when we were at Shasta Community College and you did the watercolor of the bee..remember? I knew then you were a gifted artist, Tim. You and Mary are so talented!

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  3. I love water colours too, but they are supposed to require much more skill than oils and acrylics.
    I think your paintings are lovely and they have that lovely clarity and delicacy that only water colours have.

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  7. Hi Tim ,
    Thank you so much for stopping my blog and following! I really appreciate ❤
    What a wonderful blog you have 😃enjoy to see your beautiful art too. Looking forward to see more your posts😃

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  8. Hi Tim,
    I just found you through my blog,
    I absolutely love that you find beauty in your surroundings while you work at your “pretend” job! So cool! It really reminds me of myself. I find so much inspiration from nature and draw from my outdoor experience when I make alot of my art. I can really relate to that.
    I’ve noticed that you have published 2 children’s books. This is something that I dream of doing. Did you also write the books? I am collaborating with a writer right now. Any tips or suggestions?
    Keep up the painting!

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    • Thank you so much for your kind words. My wife is my collaborator on the children’s books. We both write and illustrate together, which is a joy. In fact, we have more coming through a small independent publisher. I think it is great that you have a writer to work with. Having a collaborator makes for a better product. Good editors for story and illustration are critical. You should look into to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI.org. They have some good resources. Our publisher recommends them.

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  9. Thanks so much Tom! I will definitely check them out. You are so lucky to be able to work with your wife on a project like that! Good luck to your future books!

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  12. Pingback: I’ve been Nominated! | honeydropstudio

    • Thank you Jane. I agree those goldens are pretty amazing. They are an unending source of entertainment around here. I really enjoyed your site. It is quite marvelous. Your watercolors are wonderful.

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  14. Well thank you Tim and I am a beginner in watercolours, so I am in the process of learning. I started this up last May and I am having a grand time. It is such a nice change from working on the computer… I guess that I needed to do this as it makes feel complete… don’t know exactly how to express it, but it fulfills my sense of just being human… with all of its faults and qualities.

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  15. Thank you for dropping by my blog. I really appreciate it. And I love your photos of the forest, nature and especially the big trucks. I like big trucks.Your blog is awesome and it’s very interesting. Cheers!!

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  16. What a refreshing view on nature and your interection with it. I have grown from a pseudo-ecologist to a hopefully better integrated and more open minded about what our real interaction with the planet is. Wendell Harris started me on this new path of equilibrium and you are visually and through your words reinforcing that. Thank you so much! will keep up!

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    • I so appreciate your comment. These issues are far more complicated than they are portrayed in the media. I see part of my mission here is to show people what is actually going on in my neck of the woods, since I can’t take them out and show them. I believe in what I do and love to share it.

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  21. Hi, I have nominated you for the Inspiring Blogger Award because I think
    you deserve a little something for making your blog always look fab! To
    share this little bit of blogging kindness: 1. Display the award image on
    your blog. 2. Link back to the person who nominated you. 3. State 7 things
    about yourself. 4. Nominate 15 other bloggers and link to their sites.
    5. Notify the bloggers that they have been nominated and link to the post.
    Thank you for all your great posts and congratulations!

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    • Thank you so much. I am so pleased you visited my blog. I visited your site and found it very interesting. Years ago I read the book “Poland” by James Mitchener. It was a fascinating story of the history of Poland.

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      • I appreciate it a lot! Books are so important. A quote from this one: “A Pole is a man born with a sword in his right hand, a brick in his left. When the battle is over, he starts to rebuild.” But no more war. Only forest as a part of nature, family, art, soldarity and …

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  24. Dear Tim, you have such an inspiring blog! I am humbled by your beautyful vision of the world, and all the work you do for it.. Thank You for sharing this, i am going to learn a lot from you 🙂

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  25. Nice to meet you, Tim. We have lotsa trees here in New Hampshuh, so we appreciate foresters. Anybody who knows Neal Adams, knows his comic book artists. Watercolor’s my favorite medium as well. Say, maybe you can use wood pulp to make your own canvases… : )

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    • Thanks Mark. Not everyone appreciates foresters, I appreciate you saying that you folks appreciate foresters in New Hamshuh (spell checker just cussed me). I almost removed the comic book reference, because it seemed to fall kind of flat. It’s good to know someone gets it. We do lumber and poles where I work, not paper, however I have been thinking of making some home made paper for fun to paint on. An interesting thought, if only I had time. Never enough time.

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    • Thank you Yvonne. It is nice that I get to spend so much time in the woods, fringe benefits I suppose. It has been fun sharing it on the blog. I’m fairly new at this also, but it has been rewarding getting to meet so many nice and interesting people.

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  30. I have highly enjoyed visiting your blog. You capture a mood through your photography and art work. I like your wildlife, your studies and your current dog, Nellie? … a beautiful take on all of it within your own neck of the woods! Just really very nice, thank you !!

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  35. Greetings from another artist in the woodwork. Been working as a Forestry Technician for a few years now. Last season I was a YCC crew leader on Six Cricks.
    “Nobody quit, nobody got fired, no one got hurt…”
    Fun blog, I’ll be back.

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  41. Hello Mr. Tim,
    I really enjoy your blog. LOVE the pictures. The ones you take AND the ones you make!
    I use to do a lot of camping and flyfishing up near Mt. Shasta.
    Anyway.
    I visit your wife’s blog through your blog but I noticed the link isn’t happy. I believe there’s one too many “o”s. The address shows up like this: http://www.thebackdooorartist.com

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  42. Northern California is the greatest, isn’t it? This is my home… I’ve always wanted a job where I could be outside all day. Except for in the middle of summer. Then, air-conditioning is nice. 🙂 Looking forward to checking out more of your blog!

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    • I grew up here and love it. Working outside here in the Summer isn’t so bad. After a while you acclimate to the heat. However, most of the time in the Summer I work at higher elevation so it is somewhat cooler. All that being said, I agree with you that the AC is nice. Thanks for dropping by.

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  43. Thanks for all your “likes” and your follow! I gather you are in or near Shasta County. I have a lifelong friend in Corning, retired but still caring for his olive grove. I always enjoy reading about the uncommon outdoors, so will be following you too!

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  44. Hello Tim,
    Thank you for visiting our blog. Just noticed about your family name is the same of one person named Doug Livingston, he is working for school district 92 here in B.C.
    I like your golden dogs we used to take care two male golden. They are special dogs and made us laugh and busy with them all day. so much fun with this dogs.

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    • Welcome Lusana. We enjoy our dogs very much. They are so full of energy, affection and personality. They always keep us amused.

      As for Doug, I don’t know if we are related, but I suspect somewhere way back we probably are.

      I was intrigued about your planned trip. That sounds amazing and I’m sure you two will have the adventure of a lifetime. I look forward to reading about it.

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    • I totally agree Julie. I am so impressed how these comic artists with such amazing style can produce the volume of art that they do. The cartoonists ability to communicate their humor is a real gift. I think the skill it takes to do what they do is not truly appreciated by most folks.

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  50. Hi Tim, it is good that art (or anything) can be appreciated on many levels. You and I may see deeper into the art of the cartoon than some people. If you and I looked at a forest we would see it differently. You would take in so much more information and understanding than I would. I’d proabably think ‘that’s nice’ while you would be weighing up … I don’t know…the health of the trees and their probable age, evident environmental stresses, fuel loads, evidence of fauna etc etc.
    Our differences is what makes life interesting. And it is great that so many subjects may be appreciated on infinite levels depending on who they are being observed by.

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    • Indeed Julie. That is the great thing about blogging, seeing how everyone else views their world. I love showing my little corner of Northern California and I love seeing what someone is doing in Norway or Columbia. What a pleasure it is.

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