An East Tennessee State University alumnus and retired public school art teacher recently earned accolades when his paintings were highlighted for the community in a retrospective exhibit in Kingsport.
“Tim Tate’s Brushwork: A Lunch Bucket Legacy” was on display at The Roan Creative Space in Kingsport in July. The original artwork, created between 1980 and 2025, included everything from powerful Appalachian landscapes and industrial memory scenes to serene coastal views and colorful nods to pop culture.
The ‘lunch bucket’ philosophy
The title of the exhibit, “A Lunch Bucket Legacy,” came from Tate’s work habits as an artist. Rather than relying solely on inspiration, he keeps images in his mind of subjects he wants to paint, and works on them methodically.
“It’s the actual going down and spending the time. I’m going down to the studio and I’m gonna work for three hours,” he said. “It’s kind of that ‘lunch bucket’ philosophy. I’m going to work. I’m going to put in my time, and after three hours, I’ll do something else. And then tomorrow, I’ll go back and put in another three hours.”
The images Tate paints come straight from what he sees, and he frequently works from photographs he’s taken.
“I can look out the window of the front door there, and see the Mandevilla vine growing,” he said. “I think, ‘The way the light hits that after a thunderstorm looks pretty nice. That might make a good painting.’”
“Born and shaped in East Tennessee, Tim is an artist whose work – bold, honest, textured – reflects the blue-collar spirit and everyday beauty of our Appalachian landscape,” said Cindy Norris, creative director and co-founder of The Roan Creative Space. “His retrospective represented humble impact and creative longevity and honored decades of service and discipline.”
Becoming a blue-collar artist
Tate recalls looking through his family’s World Book encyclopedias from the late 1940s as a child and looking at the paintings featured, thinking of what they were about. The Kingsport native also remembers quite well one of his earliest spankings, which resulted from his drawing on the living room wall.
“After that, my aunt, who was a teacher, made sure I had plenty of paper to draw on!” he said.
Tate credits his Ketron High School art teacher, the late Don Hilton – also an ETSU alumnus – for helping him learn to draw what was right in front of his eyes.
“One of his keys was to learn to see – to draw what you see,” Tate said. “It doesn’t come naturally for a lot of people. People will miss things. They’ll just see the local color and never notice the gradations in it. You’ve got to learn it.”
Being a good artist, he says, can involve having a special gift, but it also requires spending hours of hard work at the easel, learning what does and does not work.
Tate realized early on that he wanted to be a high school art teacher, so he enrolled at ETSU to study art and art education in the Department of Art and Design. Along the way, he picked up a double major in English because he enjoyed the classes and professors. Because he worked full time at the Kingsport Press during college, it took him seven years to get his degree.
An impactful educator
After graduating from ETSU in 1978, Tate began what would become a 30-year teaching career in Sullivan County. He primarily taught art, but also taught some English classes and coached tennis and football.
“I never taught from a book,” said Tate, who also received an M.A. with concentrations in painting and drawing from ETSU in 1984. “I taught the way I was taught, which was skills – learning skill sets and how to do things. And most kids enjoy art, because it’s a break from the academics.”
Looking back on his career, Tate said he did not fully realize the significance of his impact on students until later in life.
“I didn’t really appreciate how important the job of teacher was until after I retired,” he said. “Somehow it hit me that sometimes the high point of a child’s day might be my class. That’s kind of an important role to play for a child. I think I became a much more effective teacher as I got older and was more patient with the kids.”
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To learn more about Tim Tate and view his artwork, look for Tim Tate Original Art on Facebook. Visit The Roan Creative Space, which spotlights regional artists at its creative gathering space in downtown Kingsport, at theroanspace.com.
ETSU is home to a vibrant arts community and hosts dozens of concerts, exhibitions and performances throughout the year. Visit the Mary B. Martin School of the Arts for the latest news and information on upcoming events.
