About Timothy White

As a shamanic practitioner who has participated in many indigenous entheogenic traditions, my paintings often reflect the surreal visionary states engendered by psychedelic plant medicines. My paintings are often initially inspired by mystical images experienced in dream states or during entheogenic plant ceremonies. As I begin work on a painting, I start by collecting reference images that help reveal a narrative story.  I find that subconscious elements often pop into mind, enriching the perception of everyday images.  

I started my career in painting at the age of 65  after retiring from my previous careers as a photojournalist and magazine editor.  As a self-taught folk artist, my still-evolving style has been influenced by the surreal works of Hieronymus Bosch, Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, and Gustave Klimt, as well as by the narrative, figurative styles of Paul Gaugin, Marc Chagall, and Mati Klarwein.  Unfettered by the dictates of academic styles, I delight in dancing across the boundaries between surrealism, magical realism, and narrative figurative art.  By juxtaposing expressive portraits, surreal images, and iconic motifs into colorful, dreamlike scenarios, my paintings invite viewers to peak into the extraordinary worlds of entheogenic plant medicines.