Feb
24
2010
Learning To Ride A Bigger Horse: Part 2 Art Licensing & Bob Timberlake
Author: Deb Trotter
“The Ritual” by Bob Timberlake – 1986
“Admire A Big Horse. Saddle A Small One.”
I’m still admiring those big horses – thinking about looking at the world from a tall saddle. In my last post, I used Ree Drummond’s The Pioneer Woman as an example of someone who rides a Big Blogging Horse. This post will address someone who rides a Big Art Licensing Horse – and it sure enough isn’t me.
When it comes to Art Licensing, there are highly successful artists whom immediately come mind. Mary Engelbreit. Paul Brent. Claudine Hellmuth. Thomas Kinkade. Tara Reed.
While each and every person above is outstanding, I’d like to focus on another artist – one with whom I share a special kinship. North Carolina artist, Bob Timberlake.
If you’ve ever lived in the Carolinas – or practically anywhere in the southeast – you know that Bob Timberlake’s work represents the rustic, time worn south of days gone by. Some call Timberlake the “Andrew Wyeth of the South.” As a matter of fact, it was Wyeth himself who encouraged Timberlake to “pursue painting full time.” And when Timberlake chose to follow Wyeth’s advice, another star was born.
I received this print, “Christmas After Christmas,” from my husband as a gift on our first wedding anniversary. That was in 1986 – the same year that “The Ritual” (which we also own) was created. At that time, “Christmas After Christmas” was $200. Today it is worth more than $1700.
Perhaps you are already beginning to understand Timberlake’s style – his realistic detail and innate sense of everything that is soft, timeworn, and rustic. Bob Timberlake has the ability to bring you back home.
The message of his artwork is so universal – so timeless – that his name is synonymous with front porches, flowers blooming in wooden barrels, and weathered wood. He is a realist painter with an antique heart and the very soul of your Grandmother.
It was only a matter of time until manufacturers and businesses realized that Timberlake was a goldmine. You will find his name on everything from art prints and posters to furniture, rugs, lamps, and other fine home furnishings. As a matter of fact, we own a brown leather Bob Timberlake sofa – a piece so lush and so heavy that it takes six strapping men to move it.
We have a few other Bob Timberlake pieces as well, all manufactured by Lexington Furniture Company. Many of the pieces in this assortment of home furnishings were inspired by Timberlake’s personal antique collection – each and every one a treasure.
See the video below … and just tell me if the Timberlake style doesn’t draw you home.
Most recently, the Bob Timberlake brand has expanded to include a beautiful resort … The Bob Timberlake Inn at Chetola Resort, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina - and the Bob Timberlake Log Home Collection, a partnership of Hearthstone of Georgia and Timberlake, who lives in a log home himself.
In 30 years Timberlake went from a business man to an artist with an ‘empire’. Not bad for a country boy!
But Bob Timberlake didn’t succeed because he was lucky. He succeeded because he was a visionary. Smart. Talented. Creative. Business minded. Hard working. And determined to succeed. (Also, I understand from friends who know him that he is one heck of a nice guy.)
Now I ask you – does this man ride a Big Horse, or what?
Bob Timberlake worked really really hard to master that horse of his. And the Timberlake horse is not a licensing horse I will EVER have the pleasure of riding. But I surely do like to curl up on my Timberlake sofa while I’m sketching … or sorting through my vintage photos of cowgirls from days gone by. And it really does feel like home.
I figure I have at least a few of Bob Timberlake’s good qualities – so that’s a good start. The rest I can work on.
Thanks, Bob, for the inspiration.
Now, where did I put that little saddle?
Deb Trotter ~ Cowboy’s Sweetheart Artist
