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September Issue 2004
Appalachian Cultural Museum in Boone, NC, Offers Works by Bob Timberlake
This fall, people in the High Country will have the opportunity to be taken "across time" with the breathtaking works of North Carolina's own Bob Timberlake. From Sept. 18 until Nov. 13, 2004, the Appalachian Cultural Museum in Boone, NC, will be presenting approximately 70 of Timberlake's original paintings, along with many pieces of interesting memorabilia from throughout his fascinating career. Many of these paintings are rarely put on display, making this event a must-see for any long-time fan or intrigued newcomer to the "World of Bob Timberlake."
The public will be able
to view such originals as Mr. Garrison's Slab Pile, Timberlake's
very first release in 1970, as well as his 100th release from
1995 called First Light. One of his most recognized and
popular pieces from 1975 entitled Late Snow at Riverwood
will be on display, which was his first painting to experience
a "sell out" as a print.
In addition to these classics, the new release for 2004 (and of
particular interest to residents of Boone) will be unveiled. Timberlake
is one of the most recognized painters in North Carolina as well
as the United States, although he has never gone far from his
hometown of Lexington, NC, about 60 miles northeast of Charlotte,
NC.
A University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill alumni, for many
years Timberlake was deeply involved with five of his family's
businesses. He did not become interested in being a painter until
the age of 28, having already established a career and started
a family. The moment that changed the course of his life came
while flipping through the pages of a Life magazine in
1965. He found himself gazing at a painting by Andrew Wyeth, and
was taken aback. The image so affected Timberlake that he knew
his calling, his real passion, was for art.
By 1970, Timberlake would be a full-time painter, and little more
than two years later he would sell out his first show at Hammer
Galleries in New York before the opening night. In this short
amount of time, the effect Wyeth's painting had on him just seven
years earlier was recreated in those that viewed his paintings.
People from all over the world observed his work at the Hammer
Galleries, and most reactions were similar: reminders of home,
a special childhood memory, the home of a grandparent and the
warmth and comfort it provided. These reactions to Timberlake's
paintings continue with each new viewer of his work, work that
is primarily composed of real images and locations that are near
and dear to his heart. The farmhouse of a family friend, a granddaughter's
quilt, even scenes from Highway 421 close to Bamboo road and a
view from just off Highway 105 heading towards Linville, NC.
Most of us familiar with Boone can easily recognize these images.
Such familiar and close to home expressions are how Timberlake
makes a connection and leaves lasting impressions with his viewers.
As a painter, the majority of Timberlake's work is known for portraying
a simpler time, a time that many yearn for yet fear is far gone,
with amazing attention to every last detail. Fans of his work
can reminisce with this lost era with an entire line of furniture
and home furnishings started up in 1990, viewable along with his
artwork and many other interesting finds at his Lexington gallery.
Many of us have seen the recent eye-catching edition to Main Street
in Blowing Rock, NC, where Timberlake opened a gallery in 2001.
Timberlake's undeniable talent as a realistic painter has long
been solidified in the world of art, although no one was more
surprised by his success then Timberlake himself. Yet even more
astounding than his success is how he came to achieve it. Many
interesting occurrences took place to form the seeds from which
his career as an artist would grow, and according to him, the
lack of a single one of them would have halted the course his
life would take. Being in the right place and the right time,
striking up a conversation with the right person, the chance crossing
paths with someone or something that causes you to change your
path. All these entities joined forces, forces he doesn't begin
trying to explain, to create the legacy of Bob Timberlake. Indeed,
this is a legacy he treats with surprising modesty.
Timberlake possesses the spirit of a true North Carolinian, a man in love with his state and all it holds. He is renowned for his paintings of gorgeous places from the mountains to the coast, but he is also known for being a socially engaging and contributing citizen. He has raised nearly two million dollars for the Duke Children's Hospital and Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and in 1979 he received the North Carolina Public Servant of the Year Award. Timberlake has also played an active role in Keep America Beautiful, the Boy Scouts, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the University of North Carolina among many others.
Although Timberlake has traveled, visited many places, and had enough amazing experiences to fill five lifetimes, nothing compares to home. Timberlake touches on this in his memoirs published in 2000, Partial to Home, in which he states "life's genuine treasures aren't to be found in some far-off, exotic realm, but in all that is around us, right at home."
For more info check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call 828/262-3117, or visit (www.bobtimberlake.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.