Spotlight On: Tyson Snow

From a young age, Tyson Snow (tysonsnow.com) remembers his mother pointing out beautiful things, fostering an appreciation for the world around him. Whether he’s painting a portrait of a sleeping child, drawing a tribal woman in Africa, or casting a bronze monument for a public park, Snow hopes to create beautiful things that bring others joy.
Beyond that, though, he aims to create art that speaks to people or even teaches them something about themselves. “Those who wish to take more time to contemplate their own thoughts and feelings might find more personal meaning in the pieces,” says the Auburn-based artist.
Snow’s work is on display at galleries in Arizona and Utah, where he previously lived, and his bronze monuments and statues are installed in numerous states, including Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Michigan.

The Reaper
How did you get your start as an artist?
From the time I was small, I was constantly drawing, especially when I was required to sit still and listen. I’m certain I spent more time sketching in notebooks and even in textbooks and on test papers than using those materials for their original intent. As I grew, I had the occasional opportunity to illustrate for school newsletters, contests, and portrait commissions.
My start in the professional art world came during my time at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. As a student, I was hired as head illustrator and puppeteer for an up-and-coming PBS children’s TV show, a part-time designer for a team of product designers within Walt Disney World, and a couple of graphic design firms. After graduation, I returned to fine art and got my start as a lowly sales associate in a gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona. After some time, I went from selling other artists’ work to being represented within the gallery’s stable of artists and sold quite well. My time there led to my first public bronze sculpture commission.

That Man May Be
Tell us about your artistic process. Has it evolved?
It varies from project to project and depending on the medium. However, my personal work typically begins with a topic or subject that is important to me. Whether it’s a painting or a sculpture, I almost always start with a loose concept sketch in a small sketchbook or on a scrap of paper. These sketches often develop over time with more fine-tuned drawings or a clay sketch.
There has been a natural progression to my work. It started out with materials that were easily attainable, such as a pencil and paper. I did my first reverse drawing (white pencil on black paper) in high school when my art teacher put a piece of white chalk and a black paper in front of me and said sternly, “Do something,” then walked away. She saw potential in me that I didn’t see in myself. She entered the piece into a competition, and it was selected for a statewide art show. Curiosity carried me into other mediums.

Virgin Valley Monument

VajaveheNo.2

Guide
Where do you find your inspiration?
Inspiration flows in from what feels like so many directions at once: good music, literature, and even films. I have a lot of my own personal thoughts and feelings, but they’re, of course, informed by my upbringing and experiences. Many visual inputs come from the many amazing traditional and representational artists that have come before. I find the human form is one of the more meaningful or powerful subjects to depict.

Sarah
What are you currently working on?
I’m working on several sculptural projects, including the likeness of a respected female historian that will be placed in a park in Northern Nevada along with about 20 other bronze works I’ve sculpted for that same site. Also, a piece for a high-profile client in Abu Dhabi and various figurative and architectural works for a client who is renovating a private estate in Montecito. I also just received the green light on two other bronze monuments: a life-size sculpture of Christ for a cemetery outside a Catholic parish in New York, and a bronze monument that will be placed outside a community college in Michigan.

Blind Windows
What do you hope to convey through your art?
The thing I try to convey the most is the connection that we have as humans to one another. I like to peel back time, space, creed, age, gender, or religion. If figures are portrayed in a timeless way, I hope the viewer will see themselves in the works. Many of us search for what and who we are and how we fit in the universe—our purpose. What is our potential? The attainment of truth and pure knowledge comes by sincerely searching and being open, selfless, kind, and humble, to name a few attributes.
Every piece of art I’ve made, on some level, carries with it the underlying message that no matter where or who we are in life or what we think we know about ourselves, there is more value to every soul on this earth than we can comprehend.
by Jennifer Maragoni
Artwork images courtesy of Tyson Snow.