Bio
Rebecca Tickle grew up on a farm in Lucy TN, outside of Memphis. She was the child of two intellectuals, a gifted physician and a writer/theologian of rising renown, and the sibling to five older children. Intellect and art were held above all things. From this offbeat foundation to Memphis College of Art was a small step. MCA granted exposure to some of the best artists available in the area, both faculty and student and built a strong network of influences and friends. Working as an artist’s model granted access to their homes and studios in a way that wouldn’t necessarily have been possible if only a student. Actively painting on her own time outside of classes while majoring in fiber allowed her to watch from outside the normal schema. Landscape painting seemed to have always been part of life and nothing worth study. Spending hours and hours as a model for life drawing John Torina, who was a huge influence, and his students granted the time and money to continue working at home. Modeling with several other painters and photographers (both seasoned and experimental) in those years added roundness but listening and watching the classes granted insight that might never have come otherwise. Illness cut off that channel and after three years, school fell by the wayside. Thus began an almost twenty year cycle alternating between working and illness. Despite recurring disability, MS wasn’t actually diagnosed until 2007 and it changed life in countless ways. No longer able to leave the home and wander through the fields and wooded spaces in the area was devastating. The Memphis heat was a major contributing factor to illness. Thirty or so years of landscape photos became the only available source material. Working exclusively from these while retraining eyes to focus together made it possible to paint for at least two hours every day for two years while basically homebound. Recovering from the extreme disease flare slowly allowed more time away from the studio but the studio was inextricably linked to health at that point. Living in many homes with many people, the constant in the world is the studio and there is little desire to leave it.
Artists Statement
While trapped by my MS, I digitally reconnected with some of the people from MCA days. I had the privilege of talking about my work with artists who were my age as well as ones who had formerly taught me. I tried to make up for wasted time and bring what I could from each of them into my studio. I used this base to develop my own style. I try to develop images that combine realism and abstraction. I paint a scene that might at first glance seem photographic but then teeters on the edge of reality. I like to add unusual details to the work and use compositions that are not confined by traditional rules. The horizon line fascinates me. There is nothing more detrimental to a canvas than a strong horizontal line yet it is something that feels so natural and strong, inviting me instead of barring my entrance. In my recent work, I have been playing a great deal with line. Combining pathways and rows with the strong horizon interests me a great deal. The horizon line is frequently punctuated with branches and trees that allow organic form back into the image.
Rebecca Tickle grew up on a farm in Lucy TN, outside of Memphis. She was the child of two intellectuals, a gifted physician and a writer/theologian of rising renown, and the sibling to five older children. Intellect and art were held above all things. From this offbeat foundation to Memphis College of Art was a small step. MCA granted exposure to some of the best artists available in the area, both faculty and student and built a strong network of influences and friends. Working as an artist’s model granted access to their homes and studios in a way that wouldn’t necessarily have been possible if only a student. Actively painting on her own time outside of classes while majoring in fiber allowed her to watch from outside the normal schema. Landscape painting seemed to have always been part of life and nothing worth study. Spending hours and hours as a model for life drawing John Torina, who was a huge influence, and his students granted the time and money to continue working at home. Modeling with several other painters and photographers (both seasoned and experimental) in those years added roundness but listening and watching the classes granted insight that might never have come otherwise. Illness cut off that channel and after three years, school fell by the wayside. Thus began an almost twenty year cycle alternating between working and illness. Despite recurring disability, MS wasn’t actually diagnosed until 2007 and it changed life in countless ways. No longer able to leave the home and wander through the fields and wooded spaces in the area was devastating. The Memphis heat was a major contributing factor to illness. Thirty or so years of landscape photos became the only available source material. Working exclusively from these while retraining eyes to focus together made it possible to paint for at least two hours every day for two years while basically homebound. Recovering from the extreme disease flare slowly allowed more time away from the studio but the studio was inextricably linked to health at that point. Living in many homes with many people, the constant in the world is the studio and there is little desire to leave it.
Artists Statement
While trapped by my MS, I digitally reconnected with some of the people from MCA days. I had the privilege of talking about my work with artists who were my age as well as ones who had formerly taught me. I tried to make up for wasted time and bring what I could from each of them into my studio. I used this base to develop my own style. I try to develop images that combine realism and abstraction. I paint a scene that might at first glance seem photographic but then teeters on the edge of reality. I like to add unusual details to the work and use compositions that are not confined by traditional rules. The horizon line fascinates me. There is nothing more detrimental to a canvas than a strong horizontal line yet it is something that feels so natural and strong, inviting me instead of barring my entrance. In my recent work, I have been playing a great deal with line. Combining pathways and rows with the strong horizon interests me a great deal. The horizon line is frequently punctuated with branches and trees that allow organic form back into the image.
Solo Exhibitions
2014 “Looking” Methodist University Hospital Center for Excellence in Faith and Health; Memphis, TN
2013 “Seeing Things” Memphis Theological Seminary; Memphis TN
2013 Methodist University Hospital Center for Excellence in Faith and Health; Memphis, TN
2012 “The Sky and its under things” Architectural Millwork; Memphis, TN
2010 “Gathering” MIFA; Memphis TN
2010 “Always Looking” Architectural Millwork; Memphis, TN
2009 “At Home and Abroad” Theatre Memphis; Memphis, TN
2009 “Sampling” Sacred Tapestry; Marietta, GA
2008 “Rebecca Tickle” Architectural Millwork; Memphis, TN
2008 “New Work” Episcopal Bookshop St. Mary’s Cathedral; Memphis, TN
2008 “Openings” Utopia Animal Hospital; Memphis, TN
Group Exhibitions
2014 “Biennial Alumni Exhibition” Memphis College of Art (Juried by Richard Lou)
2012 “Alumni Summer Exhibition” Memphis College of Art (Juried by Beth Edwards)
2012 “Summer Exhibit” The Women’s Exchange; Memphis TN
1995 Juried Student Exhibition Memphis College of Art
1994 “Horn Island” Memphis College of Art; Memphis, TN
1993 “Horn Island” Memphis College of Art: Memphis, TN
Cover Art for
2013 Failure is Unimportant by Harry Calhoun; Flutter Press
2013 Our Locust Years by Corey Mesler; Unbound Content
2011 Before the Great Troubling by Corey Mesler; Unbound Content
2010 The Tense Past by Corey Mesler; Flutter Press
Bibliography
‘“Movie” Maker’ Leonard Gill, Memphis Flyer. December 25, 2014
“Working for MCA: Alumni’s creative legacy spans decades” Fredric Koeppel, The Commercial Appeal. June 6, 2014
“Faith in Memphis” header “Seeing Things” The Commercial Appeal. Sept 21,2013
“MCA alumni show offers feast of varied paintings” Fredric Koeppel, The Commercial Appeal. July 6,2012
“Local Scene”, Leonard Gill, Memphis Flyer. March 18, 2010
Solo Exhibitions
2014 “Looking” Methodist University Hospital Center for Excellence in Faith and Health; Memphis, TN
2013 “Seeing Things” Memphis Theological Seminary; Memphis TN
2013 Methodist University Hospital Center for Excellence in Faith and Health; Memphis, TN
2012 “The Sky and its under things” Architectural Millwork; Memphis, TN
2010 “Gathering” MIFA; Memphis TN
2010 “Always Looking” Architectural Millwork; Memphis, TN
2009 “At Home and Abroad” Theatre Memphis; Memphis, TN
2009 “Sampling” Sacred Tapestry; Marietta, GA
2008 “Rebecca Tickle” Architectural Millwork; Memphis, TN
2008 “New Work” Episcopal Bookshop St. Mary’s Cathedral; Memphis, TN
2008 “Openings” Utopia Animal Hospital; Memphis, TN
Group Exhibitions
2014 “Biennial Alumni Exhibition” Memphis College of Art (Juried by Richard Lou)
2012 “Alumni Summer Exhibition” Memphis College of Art (Juried by Beth Edwards)
2012 “Summer Exhibit” The Women’s Exchange; Memphis TN
1995 Juried Student Exhibition Memphis College of Art
1994 “Horn Island” Memphis College of Art; Memphis, TN
1993 “Horn Island” Memphis College of Art: Memphis, TN
Cover Art for
2013 Failure is Unimportant by Harry Calhoun; Flutter Press
2013 Our Locust Years by Corey Mesler; Unbound Content
2011 Before the Great Troubling by Corey Mesler; Unbound Content
2010 The Tense Past by Corey Mesler; Flutter Press
Bibliography
‘“Movie” Maker’ Leonard Gill, Memphis Flyer. December 25, 2014
“Working for MCA: Alumni’s creative legacy spans decades” Fredric Koeppel, The Commercial Appeal. June 6, 2014
“Faith in Memphis” header “Seeing Things” The Commercial Appeal. Sept 21,2013
“MCA alumni show offers feast of varied paintings” Fredric Koeppel, The Commercial Appeal. July 6,2012
“Local Scene”, Leonard Gill, Memphis Flyer. March 18, 2010
