Tim Cantor

Tim Cantor paints in oils on a variety of different surfaces. He learned on his own since early childhood, almost exclusively in oils however he often uses other media such as watercolor and charcoal to create studies for larger compositions. Tim has a traditional style using brushes and paint and utilizes no tools or devices in his work.

Many of his works are based on his own fictional and non-fictional stories and poetry. These stories, he says, mostly come to him during the long process of creating the paintings.

Tim Cantor began showing his paintings professionally at the age of 15 when he was honored with the Bank of America achievement in arts award. At his first show, Senator Barbara Boxer presented the award and then chose a painting to hang in the White House. The early publicity created a demand for his work. After finishing high school in Marin County, he began traveling and exhibiting his paintings in galleries and open-air events throughout the Western United States. After seven years on the road he decided to display his paintings exclusively in fine art galleries and then in 2000, Tim Cantor established Ashby Galleries. Ashby Galleries and Ashby and Alfred publications are devoted exclusively to Tim Cantor and display his work year-round. As previously stated, one of Tim Cantor's paintings is in the permanent collection of the White House and just some of his well-known collectors include Baseball player Bob Scanlan, football player Dhani Jones, actors Terrence Howard, Robert De Niro, Robert Redford director Guillermo del Toro and actress Maggie Q. Tim's art can be seen hanging in the lounge of Ago, a restaurant owned by De Niro at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.

Tim Cantor and his artwork are currently on tour with the band Imagine Dragons for their Smoke + Mirrors North American Tour. Most of the Imagine Dragons North American tour stops will feature a SMOKE + MIRRORS ART GALLERY in the venue, showcasing original album and single art by Tim Cantor and immersive new mixes Imagine Dragons album featuring DTS Headphone:X technology.

Recently, Tim Cantor exhibited his art in New York City. The exhibit, Titled "Tim Cantor: Sweet Favour & Fiend", can be seen at AFA Art Gallery in Soho, NYC through August 2016.

In 1998 a video interview was created by Corbus about Tim Cantor and his life and work. Tim was interviewed in San Francisco by Corky Engel. The interview was titled "The Power of Imagination" and can still be viewed on YouTube via the Corbas channel.In 2005 Tim established Ashby Galleries and Ashby and Alfred Publications and also published a book in 2005 titled The Art of Tim Cantor.

"Many believe that Tim Cantor holds the ideal combination of extraordinary talent, unpredictable intrigue, and great diversity in his work to make him a timeless artist." ~ GoShop2day.com

"The Art of Tim Cantor features the stunning paintings and drawings of world renowned artist Tim Cantor." ~ Discover San Diego

"The Art of Tim Cantor, a specialized gallery exhibiting renowned artist, Tim Cantor, is not to be missed. He has a knack for capturing mood and mystery in each piece of art. These paintings have traversed the world in exclusive exhibitions and will no doubt maintain their allure for years to come." ~ Jada Thomas, Gaslamp.Org 2007 Article

"This exquisite venue features the exclusive collection of the renowned artist who has been painting since the age of six." ~ Victoria Lee, San Diego.Org

While there are two gallery locations (Sausalito and San Diego, California), In September 2010, the gallery in San Diego was voted the #1 Best Art Gallery in San Diego by 10 News.com

Coming sometime in 2011, Harvest Productions will be releasing a short film taking an intimate look at the Art of Tim Cantor. This film will feature interviews with Tim and Amy Cantor, as well as some of his closest collectors.

In June 2011, Tim Cantor and his piece "Beauty's Privilege" were featured on the cover of San Diego's City Beat Magazine. The article discusses his gallery in San Diego as well as his work on a new book and a new collection of art and writings. "Like most of Cantor's work, "Beauty's Privilege", the piece on CityBeat's cover this week, has a detailed emotional story behind it. His imaginative, surrealistic imagery is never done off-the-cuff; instead, the introverted, soft-spoken artist lets his emotions and thoughts drive the content of his pieces." ~ Kinsee Morlan, San Diego City Beat Magazine

Tim Cantor is currently (January 2012) the featured artist on the website of Fear & Trembling Productions. Fear & Trembling Productions is a not-for-profit company whose goal is to work with a select group of talented singer/songwriters as their Artist Development Manager to help them gain recognition by the recording industry. Their secondary goal is to recognize those people/organizations that help to foster music/musicians. They have recognized Tim Cantor's gallery due to the fact that in his galleries Tim uses soothing background music to allow each viewer of his art to absorb and interpret the beauty of his art undisturbed.

On November 3, 2012, over 3000 people attended Tim Cantor's 2nd major book release and exhibition of new works at his Gaslamp Gallery in San Diego. His new book is titled, "Tim Cantor, Paintings & Writings Book II". This original 333 page volume celebrates Tim Cantor's extraordinary vision from cover-to-cover with vibrant images of over 250 of his most extraordinary works to date as well as a collection of 70 poignant writings of unequalled intensity and range.

Pacific San Diego Magazine ran an article on Tim Cantor's November 2012 art show and book release. The article on page 31 of its November 2012 issue talks about Tim's work and his extraordinary art.

Pacific San Diego Magazine ran an article on Tim Cantor's October 2014 new collection titled "Nostalgia" which was introduced to the public at his art show at his gallery in the Gaslamp on October 4, 2014. The 8 page article discusses Tim, his wife Amy, and his new collection. Tim's artwork also graces the cover of this October 2014 issue.

In February 2015, Music Times ran an article on Imagine Dragons 'Shots' Music Video and how it brings Surrealist Artist Tim Cantor's Paintings to Life. The article discusses Imagine Dragons andTim Cantor's special collaborative relationship, and how Tim designed all of the band's artwork for their new album Smoke + Mirrors.

In February 2015, Spin or Bin Music published an article about Tim Cantor and his collaboration with Imagine Dragons for their Smoke + Mirrors album. The article highlights 5 things they learned about Tim from his interview including how he was inspired to paint each piece of cover art.

In March 2015 and interview with Tim Cantor and his wife Amy was published by Art Map London. The article discusses Tim's painting, starting at the age of 5, as well as his art gallery, Amy's influence and involvement, his collaboration with Imagine Dragons, and much more. This article really showcases Tim and his amazing journey as an artist.

In April 2015, Get Music Asia interviewed Tim Cantor to get The Story Behind "Smoke + Mirrors" Artwork for the band Imagine Dragons. In the article Tim discusses how the music of Imagine Dragons and a simple album title inspired him to paint the individual single cover art for Imagine Dragons album Smoke + Mirrors.

In June 2015, Rolling Stone Magazine ran an article on Tim Cantor's involvement and collaboration with Imagine Dragons for their Smoke + Mirrors North American Tour. Most of the Imagine Dragons North American tour stops will feature a SMOKE + MIRRORS ART GALLERY in the venue. The article features Imagine Dragons speaking about Tim Cantor and his collaborative work with them for their Smoke + Mirrors Album and Tour.

MTV News posted a link to Imagine Dragons "Shots" video and an article discussing the video and how it is inspired by the work of Tim Cantor who created the album art for Smoke + Mirrors and other collaborations with the band.

Tim's Art for Imagine Dragons album Smoke + Mirrors is also showcased of the Imagine Dragons US Website.

Tim's Art for Imagine Dragons album Smoke + Mirrors is also showcased of the Imagine Dragons France Website.

Tim's New York exhibition was featured in the Observer and titled "Weekend Edition: 7 Things to Do in New York's Art World Before June 20"

Artnet News published an article in June 2016 about Tim's Art at the AFA Gallery in SOHO New York. "Tim Cantor: Sweet Favour & Fiend" at AFA is a showing of Tim's oil paintings which offered a disquieting remix of historical Renaissance canvases. Tim was on hand during the exhibition's opening night to sign copies of his book. The Art of Tim Cantor will be on display from June 16, 2016 - August 31, 2016 at AFA NYC in Soho.

In the Huffington Post Tim and his art were mentioned by Michael Tommasiello who had attended the AFA Gallery exhibit.

In June 2016, The Knockturnal published a review of Tim's recent exhibition "Tim Cantor: Sweet Favour & Fiend" at AFA".

Imagine Dragons, whose album Smoke + Mirrors features the art of Tim Cantor, has achieved Platinum status. Their song, "On Top Of The World" attained multi-platinum status and "I Bet My Life" earned a platinum plaque on the same day. Tim Cantor was a collaborator with them on their album.

Tim's painting, The Four Seasons, paired with haunting music is discussed in the article "Tim Cantor's Art: A Study of the Four Seasons" on the Italian website - Arte Musica Venezia.

Tim Cantor's Art mentioned on the IMDb website as part of the Imagine Dragons: Smoke + Mirrors Live Movie (2016)

Daniel Patzman, drummer of Imagine Dragons, talking about Tim Cantor and Shots video

Tim Cantor on Genius.com

In May 2010, Tim Cantor was asked to participate in a project called Art Meets Fashion. In partnership with the San Diego Visual Arts Network (SDVAN)and Fashion Opportunities Connect US (FOCUS), The Art Meets Fashion mission is to initiate collaborations between established fashion designers and visual artists of excellence, to showcase the creativity in San Diego, and to encourage local teens to be involved in the Arts.

With his piece, Beauty's Privilege as the muse, Tim and international fashion designer, Gordana Gehlhausen(from Project Runway Season 6) have been inspired to create works of art which express an emotional impression of loss, love, and ultimately- finding beauty in the midst of tragedy and adversity. Along with Gordana, Tim will be working with David Hartig, a photographer whowill document the various steps involved to nurture an idea into a work of art and Denise Bonaimo (educator/ visual artist) will create a lesson plan that focuses on drawing from life experiences as the inspiration to create works of art with emotion. The team was recently mentioned in a November 15, 2010 article by Chantal Gordon for The Feast.com.

Currently the project is ongoing and will continue through 2011and will include fashion shows and exhibitions of the teams final projects including a VIP fashion show at the San Diego International Airport in April 2011. The Art Meets Fashion Event will host a VIP fashion show on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at the San Diego International Airport Series of independent exhibitions for each of the teams 3 hubs including NTC Promenade at Liberty Station, North Park and Downtown San Diego. Beauty's Privilege project will be exhibited at Shop Goga in downtown San Diego in April 2011 (TBA). One group exhibit, which will present highlights of each team at the San Diego International Airport from April –Sept 2011. ( Terminal 2, baggage claim)

The exhibition will feature the results not only of the collaboration of the artist and fashion designer, but also the documentation of the process by talented videographers, writers and photographers. An exciting component of the team is the educator who will be asked to create lesson plans for their classrooms and general publication.

The finished dress can currently be viewed on the website for this project www.zhibit.org/beautysprivilege. The dress was also recently featured in the April 2011 edition of San Diego Magazine in preparation for the fashion show in April.

On September 23, 2014, Cantor began working with the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning, American alternative band Imagine Dragons with the art direction for their long-anticipated second studio album, Smoke + Mirrors. After meeting the band and becoming inspired by the music and lyrics of their upcoming single, Tim Cantor created artworks for each song of the album. All three singles released – "I Bet My Life", "Gold", and "Shots" – feature the paintings as cover art. The paintings are included in the limited edition of the album. The artworks make appearance in the band's music video of "Shots".

A behind the scenes video of the collaborative efforts of Imagine Dragons and Tim Cantor was released by Imagine Dragons on their Facebook page and shows a glimpse of what goes into making an album cover.

In June 2016 Tim's Art was exhibited at the AFA Gallery in SOHO New York. "Tim Cantor: Sweet Favour & Fiend" at AFA was a showing of Tim's oil paintings which offered a disquieting remix of historical Renaissance canvases. Tim was on hand during the exhibition's opening night to sign copies of his book. The Art of Tim Cantor will be on display from June 16, 2016 - August 31, 2016 at AFA NYC in Soho.