Detroit Artist Tim Yanke Is Driven by the Motor City
โThe Bear Helperโ (2020), Tim Yanke
Park West artist and native Detroiter Tim Yanke says the Motor Cityโs two underlying foundations โ the automobile industry and music โ have directly influenced his career as an artist.
โYouโre a product of your environment โฆ Iโm very proud to be a product of Detroit,โ he says. โThis isnโt New York, this isnโt L.A., this isnโt the Chicago art market, this is the Detroit art market, and Iโm proud to be a part of it.โ
Yanke may be inspired by the southwestern culture of the U.S., but freely admits that his hometown has played an integral role.
Yanke says the moment he realized art would be his pursuit in life was when he was 5 years old. One Sunday afternoon at his familyโs home, he completed a drawing and showed it to his father. Yanke never forgot what his father said.
โTwilight on Horsebackโ (2019), Tim Yanke
Tim Yanke at Park West Gallery
โHe said โYou know what Tim, youโre very creative, youโve got a great imagination,โโ Yanke says. โI thought, โWow, if your dad says youโre creative and youโve got a great imagination then I must be creative and have a great imagination,โ so you stick to those things.โ
This gave him the confidence to continue studying and practicing art throughout school. Detroitโs deep connection with the automotive industry led Yanke to drawing hot rods, deuce coupes, and muscle cars. He lived near Woodward Avenue โ a road used for an annual Dream Cruise that celebrates classic cars โ so he was constantly exposed to the cruising mindset.
โI heard about cruising way before I was even able to drive, so I was always drawing cars and redesigning cars, designing cars for the future along with choppers and motorcycles,โ he says. โAnything that had wheels I was drawing it, and I think that is really where I honed in a lot of my skills for drawing, because the more I drew the more I taught myself how to see objects and understand perspectives.โ
Of course, Detroit is known for its impact on the music industry, lending to the cityโs nickname of Motown. Music is a major component of Yankeโs process and became just as important as his brushes, paints, or canvas.
โMusic is definitely a major influence in the rhythm and the spontaneity of my paintings,โ he says. โEven if there is content or imagery involved, music is an underlying theme to the colors I choose to the motion of the paint.โ
โHeaddressโ (2019), Tim Yanke
Yanke recognizes the role Detroit has played in his art and gives back to his community through his artwork. Yanke has worked with Habitat for Humanity of Oakland County to donate his American flag-inspired โYanke Doodleโ art to more than a dozen homeowners in the non-profit program.
โItโs the least I can do โ provide a splash of color in somebodyโs life,โ he has said.
He has also teamed up with Michiganโs Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency to help raise funds for the non-profit and encourage creativity in the lives of its Head Start preschoolers.
โYanke Doodle,โ Tim Yanke
Yanke has worked with Park West Gallery since 2007 and now his artwork can be found all over the world in galleries, major exhibitions, and private collections.
If youโre interested in the art of Tim Yanke, register for our exciting online auctions or contact our gallery consultants at (866) 995-0904 ext. 4 or sales@parkwestgallery.com.
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