Tim

Tim Bowen by Fiel Luna

        I found out tonight that my cousin in Philadelphia took his own life.  His name was Tim Bowen, and he was an artist and a musician.

         My earliest memory of Tim is from when I was little, maybe 10, and he came to visit our Grandmother (that's what connects cousins, after all) in Spartanburg, SC.  He was on his cross-country tour, so this would have been around 1975, the heyday for hitchhiking.  I remember my mother getting a phone call in the kitchen and telling us, "Well, he's here...let's go pick him up."

Djangology by Tim Bowen

       
   
                            He was travelling with another guy -- weirdly, I remember his name: Buck -- and they literally had nothing with them but the clothes on their back, some big backpacks, and their guitars.  We picked them up at Hearon Circle near a pay phone, and the smell of them assaulted us the second they hopped into our station wagon.

    "Oh God," I heard my mother say before she pulled up to them.  "They look like hobos."
    "Hey, Aunt Mary!"
    "Oh, Tim...for the love of God....you've got a week of dirt on you!  Don't touch anything when we get back to the house, but go straightaway and take a shower!"

Self Portrait by Tim Bowen

         After they showered, Tim regaled us with stories of their journey across the country -- of the cars they rode in, of the trucks they flagged down, of the songs they sang with their guitars for payment.  And they sang songs for us too.
           I was fascinated that he had a contraption that strapped his harmonica up to his mouth so that he could play guitar and sing, but then play harmonica when he needed to.
        My grandmother -- Nanny to us, Nana to him -- was especially excited by the visit. I remember how eagerly she sat for Tim in her chair-- regal, as her artist grandson sketched her portrait. It was one of the times I remember her happiest.
       He taught me how to draw storm clouds.  Draw your poofy cloud...now lick your finger and rub the edges of your cloud.  Just rub around the edges.

The Love Dogs --  at East Side Club, 1981

     
       
       Of course, as is so often the case, I lost touch with my cousin over the years.  But we had recently reconnected with the help of Facebook, and I got to see all of the amazing artwork that he's painted over the past 40 years, and he told me about the time that he and his band opened up for The Feelies back in the day.  It was good to reconnect.


         Tim's last post  was on January 3.
In it he posted a picture of one of his most recent works: I Love You (78" x 98", acrylic on canvas, 2011).  You can visit his Facebook page and see his wonderful legacy here: Tim Bowen Facebook