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Our Residents

For SHA Resident Timothy Champoux, Art is Life

For SHA Resident Timothy Champoux, Art is Life

For SHA Resident Timothy Champoux, Art is Life

SHA resident Timothy Champoux stands in his apartment studio at Saab Court, surrounded by his paintings.

Springfield Housing Authority resident Timothy Champoux considers himself an innovator, and sees art as his calling.

And the walls in Champoux’ apartment at Saab Court are vivid, living proof of his convictions.

From classical portraits to his signature style of magic realism – veiled women, smiling clowns, cars sitting atop cars, floating heads, skyscrapers whose windows seem to burn with light – Champoux’ small home is a testament to his life’s work as an oil painter.“I’ve always done this. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t paint. To me, art is a calling, a vocation. It’s a life of sacrificing and going without,” said the resident of the senior housing complex.

For SHA Resident Timothy Champoux, Art is Life

SHA resident Timothy Champoux in his studio at Saab Court.

Indeed, Champoux, a lifelong Springfield resident, lives the simple life of a man driven by the desire to create, and to solve the problems that painters face in their work. He said it has taken him most of his life to understand how to draw and paint, as well as how to build the colorful wooden frames that he wraps around each piece.

He’s never taken a single art or drawing lesson, and is rather self-taught using trial and error.“I feel I’ve finally figured out how to paint. I understand the medium,” he said. “It’s very very difficult. It’s all problem-solving. It’s one problem after another.”

Fine-tuning an idea, creating a design, working out light and depth, and making something interesting and attractive to the eye – all of these are the challenges of the artist, Champoux said.

For SHA Resident Timothy Champoux, Art is Life

Champoux’ painting ‘Lost Water.’

Champoux applies to his approach to his work the four-step creative process model developed by early 20th century reformer Graham Walls. It includes 1) preparation, or examining the problem from all angles, 2) incubation, or letting the idea sit in the mind and work its wonders, 3) eureka!, or the magical-feeling moment when the solution takes hold and 4) verification, putting the idea to practice to determine whether it will succeed.

“I let the idea or the problem sit in my head and become something,” he said. “Once you start to verbalize it, the process just stops. When you get the idea, you’ve got to just do it.”Champoux has another take on his art: “A painting should be interesting, and it should have harmony. It should be beautiful to the eye.”

One look at his studio shows that Champoux puts that theory to practice very well.

For SHA Resident Timothy Champoux, Art is Life

Champoux’ painting ‘View from the Bridge.’

A sampling from his home gallery includes ‘View from the Bridge’ with two slanted buildings, three floating figures, a car and a fire truck; ‘Lost Water,’ showing three figures, one facing backwards, holding jugs of water; and ‘Homage to Heath Ledger,’ with the late actor in full color in his role as the Joker in the 2008 Batman movie ‘The Dark Knight.’

There are many more. Several more of Champoux paintings are on display in SHA’s Executive Offices at 25 Saab Court. They include a poster portrait of President Barack Obama, whose original hangs in an office in the Statehouse in Boston, ‘Night Lights,’ a vase of yellow flowers seemingly lit from within, and ‘John Lennon,’ a green-haired depiction of the late member of the Beatles.

SHA Executive Director William H. Abrashkin said he was introduced to Champoux early in his tenure running the agency. After seeing some of Champoux’ work, Abrashkin invited him to display some of the pieces.

For SHA Resident Timothy Champoux, Art is Life

SHA resident Timothy Champoux in his living room at Saab Court, where many of his oil paintings hang. In the background is his ‘Homage to Heath Ledger.’

“He has unusual depth and breadth of talent and I thought it would not only be aesthetically pleasing for our staff and visitors but also serve as an illustration of the hidden talent below the surface at the SHA,” Abrashkin said. “His work is professional, colorful and engaging. He is talented. He is able to work in various styles successfully.”

Visitors to SHA headquarters are frequently impressed when they see the paintings, Abrashkin said.

And employees like Isabel Serrazina, Executive Department manager, say they enjoy the décor that makes up their working environment.

“I love his bright use of colors, and I particularly like his portraits and flowers,” she said.

Champoux said he will continue to create daily, learning as he goes.

“For me, creativity is a process that unfolds. I consider myself a midwife in a way,” he said.

4214 days ago / Our Residents
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