Timmy Hord’s art and musing

Thanks to all of you who attended the first reception for my show at The Art House.  I’d love to see the rest of you on Friday December 21! 

I’ve sold quite a few pots and the majority are these tiny Quaich I’m producing in clay.  A quaich is a traditional scottish drinking vessel for whiskey, (pronounced quake) it comes from the gaelic cuach meaning cup.  Through my years as piper to many events, I’ve been “paid” many a time with some fine pewter quaichs.  I have seen them made of clay and wood, and have been loving the process of throwing the wee bowls and handbuilding the lugs and feet.  Sometimes throwing the feet too, whatever feels right at the time for that one.  I am still experimenting with glazes, but this one is one I hope to achieve again.  If you’re in the Charlotte area, they are fabulous small gifts for your favorite whiskey drinker in your life.  Happy Christmas!  Would love to see you.  Check out my website for contact info.  I’ll meet you anytime we can work out.  Loving life as always.  Cheers to you doing so too!

Hello!  I am very excited to be the featured artist at The Art House in NoDa for the month of December.  I will be sharing my Tartan paintings as well, as my Heart series and if I have enough space, I’ll have a nice row of Still-Lifes to share.  Gallery crawl nights and receptions are to be held on Friday December 7 and 21.  The Art House is located at 3103 Cullman Ave. off of 36th St., off of N. Tryon in Charlotte.  If things go well, I’ll also have a table of pottery to show off as my debut as a new event in my life and I’m truly loving playing with mud!  Here are a couple of paintings you could come view while enjoying a drink with me.

Hello Hello again.   I’ve taken a back seat to painting since the end of August.  Silly me, has been managing a volunteer crew for the Amazing Maize Maze located on the marvelous property Rural Hill I’ve been painting over the years.  I am happy to have been able to spend time in the corn and benefit the ongoing life of the farm and it’s hairy coos.  I plan to paint some of the new images I photographed on my way to work this fall.  The maze just ended on Oct. 21, so I’m just getting ‘my life back’ slowly and hope to keep up with this blog through this years end.  I know, I know I have said that each time, so stay posted!!! I may surprise you!   I have been learning to throw pots and even though I haven’t painted in 2 months, I have been diligent about attending my pottery classes.  I’ve yet to photograph any of it, since I’ve been prone to giving my early pieces away, but I’ll do that too.  Keep happy and loving life.  That’s the only reason, I personally am staying on the planet for now.   Above is the very first painting of Rural Hill I produced some years ago. 

My goal is to continue to do as the title of this segment says and to enjoy every moment of every day.  Every artwork I produce is effected by this attitude and I am continually thinking of centering myself in gratitude before I choose an action for the moment.  I have finally photographed more of my paintings produced earlier this year.

I have 2 still lifes to show you today.  Both are 8×10’s painted with oils on canvas.   This one is titled, ‘A bowl of camiellas’ and was produced this past winter with cameillas picked from the bushes planted in the  front yard of my studio, and a beautiful crystal bowl I found in the kitchen there.  Turns out,  it’s owner had brought food in it for my birthday bash in December and when she came to paint that next Thursday evening, she recognised it so the beautiful bowl went home with its rightful owner. Good for me I was finished with the painting!

     This funky looking little painting began at a high school art show I was sharing my work with with this winter as well. Simply named, ‘Daffodil’s in a ceramic vase’,  I finished it in my studio and enjoyed playing with some styles I remembered from a book I have of still life paintings owned by The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC., that showed at the Mint Museum in Charlotte some years ago.   It has a playful feel to it, that I intended to stay with the viewer as a fun little artwork to enjoy.  Hope it works for you.  Of course, comments are welcomed.

This is one of the images now showing at Java Passage a coffee shop in Charlotte.  Many of my abstract paintings have begun with my attempts to amass univeral energy onto canvas.  My heart series evolved through that thought process, but with a new acquaintance in mind.  The hearts flowed with that first small paint and since then I’ve been allowing the paint to swirl with images of love and friendships in my mind and the results are most pleasing to me.  I hope you enjoy them as well.  There are a dozen there to choose from, prices ranging from $40 to $275.  More to come…images are still swirling in my mind and that feels really, really good!  Bye for now.

Rose bouquet- oil, 10×8

I haven’t taken the time to post in months.  I have been painting and hope to get back to keeping up  with my blog here very soon.  Enjoy my newest small heart painting and a sweet still life.

Heart series 6, white border- oil, 7×5

It feels so good to create.  I love my life.  I’ve been staying busy but I am so very thankful for the commissions that keep coming that have been causing my delay in finding time to keep up with my blog.  I will post more fun paintings, as I create them,  in between these wonderful ways I have been blessed to keep my finanical promises.  Thank you for all the wonderful work sent to me that I enjoy producing with all my heart.

 I visited the farm again last week and took several more images to paint.  I love dusk there and in the winter the gray trees highlight the evergreens against them.  Next time I plan to visit the moos and capture more of them in my images.  This last time I concentrated on the scenery.  I will continue to paint the seasons of Rural Hill with much enjoyment.  I’ll keep posting them as I go.  Eventually, I’ll figure out how to put them all on a page you can see them together.  But, for now, enjoy nine bales.

I’ve been painting plaids and tartans in oils (there is a techincal difference) for several years now.  Making them up and layering the oil paint is so joyful.  The actual mixing of the paint to match the color for the next layer has been, its so hard to describe, for me it is so fun and relaxing.  Blending and mixing to get just the same hue and value is a rush.  These two tartans were designed for my best girlfriends from the piping world.  Friends since high school and forever Pam and Kathy.  June’s is still in my head tweaking and will be posted with my own after I get them painted.  I asked them for colors they wanted and designed the patterns after many thoughts of them and the love felt between us all. 

Highland cattle are abundant on the farm.  They are blessed to have this great land to live on and Eddie to care for them so well.   These guys munch in the setting sun on this wonderful land.

  Rural Hill Farm in Huntersville, NC is one of my favorite locations.  It is managed by the Catawba Valley Scottish Society (CVSS) and a gorgeous 260 some acres.  They hold 4 or 5 major events there each year, but in between times, it is a serene and beautiful area of land that I have been photographing and painting different scenes.  I will continue these paintings throughout the seasons to share the pure beauty of a North Carolina countryside. The stone circle is a peaceful place and I have often just walked the grounds in pure wonder of nature and love.