NORMANITE IN THE SPOTLIGHT Tim Kenney

Normanite in the Spotlight: Tim Kenney

By: Chelsey Kraft

At 52 years old, after 30-years in marketing, Tim Kenney decided it was time for a change.

For a more flexible schedule, Kenney began working as a full-time paint contractor when his mom moved in with the family for her last years of life. But, a new career was on the horizon.

This new dream would be prompted by a phone call. Kenney’s nephew Bobby Beals, an art dealer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, called and asked him to deliver some paintings to Dallas.

Among these paintings, one of an aspen tree stood out to Kenney. It reminded him of the trips his family has taken the past 65 years to fly fish in Colorado and New Mexico, surrounded by the same trees. While driving back to Norman after the 9-plus hour drive from Santa Fe to Dallas, Kenney started to wonder if maybe he could become an artist, too.

For six weeks, Kenney kept thinking about the possibility. Eventually, he called his nephew and shared his vision before signing up for lessons and giving this dream a go.

“I’d wake up thinking about it. I’d go to bed thinking about it. I’d daydream about it while I was working, painting houses, listening to the radio or whatever,” Kenney recalled. “One day I just said, ‘I’m going to do it.’”

Twelve years later, Kenney has a thriving art career as an abstract impressionist, painting primarily aspen trees but also flowers and other colorful subjects – ones that are about “the joy and the colors and the beauty” – by using oil on canvas and predominately palette knives.

Kenney, originally from Virginia, moved to Norman with his family in the summer of 1970 when he was 14 years old. The next year, Debbie McAuley and her family, also from Virginia, moved to Norman. Kenney and Debbie started dating when they were 15 years old and married on May 27, 1978. The couple has four kids – Tim, William, Kathleen and Suzy – and six grandsons. Both Kenney and McAuley graduated from the University of Oklahoma. He went into sales and marketing and she became a teacher.

Once Kenney decided to pursue art, he took lessons with Carol Armstrong at Firehouse Art Center. He walked into his first class armed with a bunch of palette knives, oil paint and a picture of an aspen painting. Despite still having not practiced, Kenney wanted to jump past the basics to learning the techniques for the works he knew he wanted to create.

“Carol read me right away,” Kenney said. “She didn’t force me to learn shading. She didn’t force me to learn color. She didn’t force me to do anything. She can read people really well, so she just said ‘Tim, get over there, squirt that paint out, and we’ll get started in just a minute.’”

Kenney’s first gallery was in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and he is currently showing in Oklahoma City, Edmond, Santa Fe and Breckenridge, Colorado.

In addition to creating pieces for galleries and festivals, Kenney is passionate about donating his artwork to a range of causes. One organization Kenney consistently supports is the Nicole Jarvis Parkinson’s Research Foundation. In May 2014, Kenney traveled the United States to paint 50 paintings in 50 states in 50 days. He donated 20 percent of his proceeds to this foundation, and in 2017, he gave the same amount following his trip to paint 77 paintings in 77 days in 77 Oklahoma counties.

“When you give for the right reasons, it always seems to come back in a great way,” shared Kenney, who said his wife has a giving spirit and encourages him to give. “In the last few years, I have given over 20 paintings a year to different charities in Norman, Oklahoma City and other states. It’s always great to be able to donate to charities that help people in need. I have taken my wife’s lead when it comes to giving. When she was a schoolteacher, she was always giving to her students and to our family members that ever needed anything. She has been a great inspiration for me.”

In 2019, Kenney sold 40 paintings between the Oklahoma City Arts Festival and the Edmond Arts Festival. With those shows canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenney pivoted to Facebook as a way to both make some income and support local charities in Norman and Oklahoma City.

Starting in March, Kenney auctioned off at least one painting for a different nonprofit each week, including the Mary Abbott Children’s House, Meals on Wheels, WildCare Foundation and Big Brothers Big Sisters, just to name a few.

Every Tuesday for 26 weeks, Kenney started his day at 8 a.m. with a video announcing the charity. He’d then provide updates of the progress every two hours before hosting a Facebook Live at 7 p.m. for final bidding. For the first painting sold, Kenney would give 100% of the proceeds to that charity, an average of $1,000 each, then would split the proceeds for any additional ones sold.

For Kenney, there are three people in his life who made this all possible. First, his wife, who when told of his new plans said, “It sounds good to me, Tim. I know you can do it if you put your mind to it.” The second is his nephew, who asked him to deliver the paintings that sparked his interest. And the third is Armstrong who, “saw my dreams and said, ‘OK, let’s go. Let’s see what we can do’” and has encouraged Kenney and become a good friend.

“The first year I didn’t make a dollar, and the second year I made $3,000. I told my wife, ‘Look at that graph from zero to $3,000, we are on our way to millions.’ I think she rolled her eyes,” Kenney quipped. “I’m not making millions yet, but I’m having a blast and I love what I’m doing, so it’s pretty special.” – BSM