Artist Statement

Having been born and raised in the magnificent, post-industrial city of Saginaw, Michigan, I am interested in the notion of deterioration and urban decomposition. During the past several years, a great deal of my fine art work has been an exploration of psychology, history and narrative practices within the construct of portraiture. I am fascinated with the endless possibilities for discovery through research in history, and I attempt to make each object, person, letterform, or surface offer further points of entrance to the intended narrative.

Much of my work engages with physical and psychological deterioration, memory, and personal history. It is created utilizing acrylic paint, graphite, and charcoal on a variety of surfaces.

Personal Life

I am immensely grateful for my beautiful wife Elizabeth (an incredible artist and studiomate), our daughter Sophie, dog Roma, and cat Tillie.

A very active studio artist, I have been included in over 75 group and solo exhibitions over the past ten years. I am a member of The Art Bomb Studios Co. – a non-profit organization that seeks to promote visual art in the South Carolina upstate area.

For me the field of Design acts as an intersection of history, culture, imagination, storytelling, connection, empathy, and strength that I am passionately engaged with, often through a focus on typography. I am forever fascinated with all things lettering, from antique signs to vintage packaging to “lost” specimens. I have had a lifelong love affair with letters.

A devoted educator, it is my honor to act as Professor of Art + Design in the South Carolina School of the Arts at Anderson University. One of my duties at AU is leading the Summer Semester In Florence, Italy Program, allowing me to share my passion for travel and cultural inquiry with my students. In addition, I act as Director of the AUTF (Anderson University Type Foundry), the first ever type foundry created by students, and as Creative Director of the Ivy Leaves Journal of Literature & Art, a nationally awarded publication of note.

Two books of my poetry have been published—The Mean Season and Sagnasty Grammar—reflections on a youth spent amongst the industrial ruins and rousing backstreets of Saginaw, Michigan. I also operate Europe Is Our Playground, a “slow-motion self-portrait” site.

The longterm driving passions that have been with me my entire life include travel, music, film, literature, history, the Detroit Tigers, and Notre Dame Football.

Get To Know More

A few items published recently…

Tim Speaker: Inexhaustibly Curious — Town Magazine, February 2024.

Resurrecting Ancient Typography — Anderson University News, November 2023.

Top 30 Design Lecturers in the World — TDK Awards, January 2024.

“The things that we love tell us what we are.”

— St. Thomas Aquinas