Husband, wife partners in art

IN AN AREA that is becoming renowned for its love of the arts and for its artists, Coeur d’Alene has become home for one of the nation’s well-known representational painters, Timothy Thies.

Thies and his wife, Kristen, moved to the area almost two years ago, bringing with them their gallery, West Wind Fine Art. The gallery is currently housed in their home, but eventually they plan to move it to downtown Coeur d’Alene.

Timothy Thies (pronounced Teese) is best known for his stunning landscapes but also paints portraits and vibrant, realistic florals. He is one of the few living artists who use a technique of applying 22- or 23-carat gold to canvas, then painting with oil over the application. The technique creates an aura of sunshine through the trees, for example, in a landscape. He is proficient in gilding and creates his own frames for his works.

Thies, who has made his living as a fine artist for 25 of his 51 years, remembers drawing in the third grade.

“I did little mice and birds and all sorts of stuff when I was in grade school,” he said. “My mother still has a painting I did in the eighth grade. I had no idea … everyone takes art, and finally in the eighth grade I took an art class; my teacher said, ‘You should be taking art.’ “

The picture his mother still treasures is of a mountain cabin and a flowering tree.

Thies was also an athlete. He signed up for art in high school, and on the first day, his high school art teacher asked him where he thought he was going. She figured that with his “jock” status he would disrupt the class, so she wouldn’t allow him to take the class.

“She figured I was just going to cause trouble,” Timothy said. “I’d like to talk to her today!”

Thies loves painting water scenes, portraits and still enjoys drawing. He just started sculpting, because he said it works on a different part of the brain. He and his wife have traveled extensively looking for inspiration – “following the career the art world has taken them,” according to Kristen Thies.

Kristen Thies’ background is in design and marketing. The couple met shortly after his graduation from the Colorado Institute of Art. Timothy Thies is originally from Iowa, but he was attracted to the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, so he pursued his education in Colorado.

He had an advertising agency before he decided to take the plunge into working exclusively as a fine artist.

Kristen Thies, originally from Utah, was working in the fashion design industry in New York, where she met Timothy. He was studying with the artist Nelson Shanks, who invited Thies to be his private student.

Kristen and Timothy discovered they have exactly the same tastes in art, design, and most everything else, including their two Irish terriers, Rudy and Princess Lilly.

“I’ve had the good, great fortune of studying with two of the greatest painters of our time,” Timothy said of Shanks and Richard Schmid.

Kristin Thies is the dealer, agent and publicist for Schmid. She met Schmid after a slide presentation he had given at the Loveland Museum of Fine Art in Colorado. She was so taken with his work, she wrote him a letter. At the time she was a co-director of a museum in Denver.

“He got the letter and called me,” she said. “He said, ‘Kristen, your letter made me blush.’ At the same time Timothy was invited into his painting group, which is a great honor. He chooses people to paint along with him. He teaches techniques that have been lost.”

Schmid asked Timothy if Kristen would help him get his book published.

The book, “Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting,” is a best-seller. The book is now in its sixth printing. Kristen Thies said the soft-cover version should arrive in bookstores soon.

“He is a proponent of keeping this kind of art (representational art) alive because it was nearly destroyed by the modern art movement,” she said.

“That’s what the book is about. It’s how to paint like the old masters.”

Timothy and Kristen Thies are truly a couple who work together; they have been on their artistic journey for 25 years.

They had a show last September at the White House on Sherman Avenue with paintings by Timothy, Schmid and Schmid’s wife, Nancy Guzik. Collectors came from all over the country for the event.

An average Timothy Thies painting, 20 by 24 in size, sells for about $6,000. Former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca is one of his most famous customers.

Timothy and Kristen Thies have traveled widely and most recently lived in Vermont.

But they have settled on Coeur d’Alene as home. Kristen’s mother, Patti Dugan, once a very well-known big band singer, lives there as well.

Another one of their projects is marketing Dugan’s CD to benefit the Coeur d’Alene Library Foundation.

“We’re not moving!” Kristen said. They have embraced Coeur d’Alene and were even Ironman volunteers last month.

This entrepreneurial couple plan to add antiques to their repertoire once they have a storefront. They do a great deal of national marketing, and it is their belief that when they do find their ideal space downtown, it will be tremendous advertising for Coeur d’Alene.