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Tyler Thornton was born in Overland Park, Kansas in 1992. Having grown up in suburbia many of his earlier inspirations for art were in his favorite cartoons, and comics. He began drawing characters and soon was creating backstories and universes for them to fit. Later on he would take his drawing skills to school where he would take them to another level. Having the influence and instruction, Tyler’s drawing skills became ever more mature. In high school he was inspired by his painting teacher to unlearn the tight knit lines and ways of drawing. He was inspired by her work and teachings, and became a quick study. Years following Tyler would continue his artistic lessons, mostly still life and found landscape photos. It wasn’t until the year going into his senior year that he was able to take a trip to Colorado with a friend. There he was inspired by nature’s beauty, vastness, and colors. He became enthralled with and spent time working on hyper realism in his landscapes.
Tyler went onto college, though did not immediately pursue a career in the arts. Tyler was a devout student and became as involved as he could at the University of Kansas, after spending time at Johnson County Community College. He finished with a degree in Psychology in December of 2020, though took art and painting courses all throughout his collegiate years; taking any and all learning opportunities he could very seriously. It was his last painting course that he met his Mentor and Professor David Titterington. David challenged Tyler to think outside of his traditional lessons, and let the subject become the painting. Tyler was inspired in ways he hadn’t imagined. In that class, Tyler worked on surrealism. From there, he began to find his true artistic niche.
A personal decision was made in lue of graduate school, to pursue his own artistic merit on a public landscape. Tyler then spent much of the COVID 19 Pandemic indoors, painting. He began a series called “All Seeing Eye (Mindscape).” The series is seen through the lens of a surreal landscape; portraying some of the deepest emotional tolls life can take with regard to decision making, personal relationships, and accountability. He is also inspired to give back to the community, thus one of his first professional introductions, as an artist, was a free painting event during the summer of 2021 in Lawrence, Kansas. Along with a slew of friends and volunteers, he hosted a free painting class. Tyler instructed the course, as well as organizing it. Gathering free supplies and sponsorship, he also cultivated a group of local artists to showcase their work; all while hosting musicians to play throughout the afternoon.
Currently Tyler works on projects that tackle hard truths such as death, suicide, and the nature of reality itself. Further, he is working on name recognition as an artist, as well as networking. He recognizes he has much to learn, and wants to travel near and far to find the best experiences and mentors, to nurture his creativity. Tyler is a visual artist by passion. He is a self taught, non-traditional artist, with commendable mentors and teachers along the way. Tyler’s skills in painting portray a wide range of disciplines. His works are mostly created using oil paint, though circumstantially uses acrylic paint. In addition, Tyler is infatuated working with palette knives. He experiments as well with both molding and crackle paste for certain projects, to create depth and extreme layers. Tyler currently resides in Topeka, Kansas, continuing his career as an artist. He hopes to inspire others with the depth, thought, and emotion that goes into each of his pieces.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Matryoshka Tattoo, 918 N Kansas Ave,Topeka,KS,United States
