Educated Guesses Still, Twingley doesn’t like to call his work “art.” He makes pictures and writes stories, he says. “My interests have always been varied. I don’t think I’d have been wholly satisfied if I were one thing – a fire fighter or banker or golfer. Making pictures and writing stories potentially involves everything, and I’ve always liked that aspect of what I do.” Whatever Twingley does, it started when he was two years old, in his father’s studio. He and his Dad, a high school art teacher, now retired, “played” the way other kids and dads played catch or went fishing. “We did those things, too, but it was the paintings and drawings we made together in his studio that meant the most to me.” His mother, a librarian at Bismarck State College for nearly 40 years, had her own impact. Twingley also loves words. His illustrated novel, The Badlands Saloon, was published by Scribner in 2009 to good reviews. Twingley’s parents and his Bismarck childhood were, in his words, “perfect, as far as I can tell.” He regrets the influence
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Arts and Humanities News 2011-2012
of the Internet on today’s young people for stealing the time they need to let their imaginations explore. “Isolation is a good thing from time to time…if you fashion your life on the pop culture fed to us on the Internet, you’re probably in trouble.” But the eclectic artist is pragmatic, too. He has a Facebook page, and a blog. In 2007 he accepted a position as Senior Lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Now he can pass on the teaching traits he inherited from his MSUM professors – generous feedback, understanding, and encouragement to take a few chances – to his own students. “Making a drawing or a painting is a lot like life itself: You make an educated guess, knowing full well that whatever idea you have in your head and what comes out on the paper or canvas won’t ever match up exactly,” he says. “The trick is to pay attention and expect to be surprised.” If you’re not familiar with Twingley’s artwork or writing, you can start by visiting his blog (twingley.blogspot.com) or his website (www.twingley.com).