Tim Donahue - Artist - 2006
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Inspiration by Tim Donahue
Editors Note: Tim Donahue is a two time Emmy Award winning graphic artist.
Former Nebraskan, life-long film lover, and two time Emmy Award winner Tim Donahue was best known in the Hollywood Visual Effects industry as the Art Director of Introvision. Prior to starting his own company, he was creating the best illusions of his life-long film-making passion with Sam Nicholson at Stargate Digital. Sam and Tim were working together on various projects for over 25 years. Together, they have created numerous astounding illusions that continue to expand the technical and creative possibilities of today's film and television production.
Tim has worked on numerous features for Stargate Digital, plus a long list of top fall television series and features. His team was incredibly busy creating all kinds of images from ancient Rome and Troy to futuristic Washington DC and more. Their work encompassed all the artistry's imagination, technical wizardry, and state-of-the-art digital mattepainting.
Tim's love for the industry began when he was nearly 5 years old in 1952 while watching the second release of KING KONG on the big screen in Omaha. He's been "hooked" ever since on creating the "Great Illusion". Finally coming to Hollywood in 1978 after teaching and degrees in Art and Photography, he began his career working under two of the top wizards of the industry, Linwood Dunn, and Wally Gentleman at the old Film Effects of Hollywood. Two years later he was offered the job as Art Director for Introvision and many years later he branched out doing freelance Art Direction, Visual Effects Supervision, and mattepainting at various establishments throughout the industry. Late in 1998 he joined with Stargate to form a new Matte painting Department and the results are witnessed daily on television screens across the world. Tim's credits include the following:
- Spartacus (2004) (TV) (matte painting supervisor)
- The Guru (2002) (digital matte painter: Stargate Digital)
... aka Gourou et les femmes, Le (France)
- Tomcats (2001) (senior matte artist)
- Running Mates (2000) (TV) (digital matte artist)
- Race Against Time (2000) (TV) (digital matte artist)
- The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in 'For Love or Mummy' (1999) (digital artist) (uncredited)
- Deep Blue Sea (1999) (lead matte painter: Flash Film Works)
- The Deep End of the Ocean (1999) (matte painter)
- "Fantasy Island" (1998) TV Series (digital matte painter: Encore Visual Effects)
- Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998) (visual effects matte painter)
... aka Mafia! (USA: short title)
- Tale of the Mummy (1998) (matte painting supervisor)
... aka Talos the Mummy (Europe: English title) (UK: video title) (USA: working title) ... aka Russell Mulcahy's Tale of the Mummy (USA: complete title)
- The Survivor (1998) (digital matte artist)
- Angels in the Endzone (1997) (TV) (digital matte painter) (uncredited)
- Switchback (1997) (plate supervisor: VIFX)
- "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show" (1997) TV Series (digital matte painter) (uncredited)
- Batman & Robin (1997) (matte painter)
- Quicksilver Highway (1997) (TV) (digital artist)
- DNA (1997) (digital matte painter)
... aka Genetic Code (Europe: English title)
- Celtic Pride (1996) (design artist: VIFX miniature effects unit)
- Broken Arrow (1996) (matte artist: VIFX) (uncredited)
- The Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space (1995) (TV) (digital matte painter)
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995) (digital matte painter)
... aka Power Rangers: The Movie (International: English title: TV title)
- Batman Forever (1995) (art director: VIFX)
- The Demolitionist (1995) (matte painter)
- Aurora: Operation Intercept (1995) (digital matte painter) (visual effects supervisor)
... aka Operation Intercept (USA: video title)
- Timecop (1994) (art director: VIFX) (uncredited)
- New Nightmare (1994) (composite supervisor) (matte painting)
... aka Wes Craven's New Nightmare (USA: complete title)
- Clear and Present Danger (1994) (art director: VIFX)
- Coneheads (1993) (visual effects art director: Video Image)
- Free Willy (1993) (matte painter)
... aka Sauvez Willy (France: dubbed version)
- Out on a Limb (1992) (visual effects supervisor: Introvision)
- Interceptor (1992) (visual effects)
- Billy Bathgate (1991) (visual effects art director: Introvision) (uncredited)
- Black Robe (1991) (effects art direction: Introvision)
... aka Robe noire (Canada: French title)
- Blood Ties (1991) (TV) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- If Looks Could Kill (1991) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
... aka Teen Agent (UK)
- Flight of the Intruder (1991) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- "Land of the Lost" (1991) TV Series (visual effects supervisor)
- Darkman (1990) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Miracle Landing (1990) (TV) (matte painting supervisor: Introvision)
- Driving Miss Daisy (1989) (visual effects art director: Introvision) (uncredited)
- Breaking In (1989) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Lock Up (1989) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- UHF (1989) (miniatures and art directiorn: Introvision)
... aka The Vidiot from UHF
- The Karate Kid, Part III (1989) (art director: visual effects)
- 976-EVIL (1989) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Distant Thunder (1988) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
... aka Enfer après l'enfer, L' (Canada: French title)
- Rambo III (1988) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Sunset (1988) (visual effects art director: Introvision) (uncredited)
... aka Catalina (USA: cable TV title)
- Housekeeping (1987) (matte painter)
- Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story (1987) (TV) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Adventures in Babysitting (1987) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
... aka A Night on the Town (UK)
- Murder by the Book (1987) (TV) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
... aka Alter Ego
- Monster in the Closet (1987) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- The Christmas Star (1986) (TV) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Oceans of Fire (1986) (TV) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Stand by Me (1986) (visual effects art director: Introvision) (uncredited)
- The Hugga Bunch (1985) (TV) (matte supervisor: Introvision)
- Oh, God! You Devil (1984) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Reckless (1984) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Two of a Kind (1983) (visual effects art director: Introvision) (uncredited)
- Megaforce (1982) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Inside the Third Reich (1982) (TV) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- Outland (1981) (introvision matte artist)
- First Family (1980) (visual effects art director: Introvision)
- The Shape of Things to Come (1979) (visual effects art director: Film Effects of Hollywood)
... aka H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come (USA: complete title)
- "Project U.F.O." (1978) TV Series (visual effects artist: Film Effects of Hollywood)
... aka Project Blue Book (USA)
- "Wonder Woman" (1976) TV Series (visual effects artist: Film Effects of Hollywood)
... aka The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (USA: new title) ... aka The New Original Wonder Woman (USA: first episodes title)
The following was authored by Tim, expressing what this characterization means to him. Enjoy.
What is INSPIRATION? Where and How do You find it?
Charging across the waters of Life as we do daily, it seems unnerving to witness yourself without guidance...without direction...without conviction or confidence. But WHO in this complex world doesn't find themselves often in this situation? Every once in a while a VOICE comes out of the Blue and the Gold. You question if you should acknowledge it. The Voice feels fresh. It isn't always smooth or clear, but it's Clean and Exciting. It Inspires you to LOOK again...to FEEL again. You make a Choice and you follow. However cautiously, you let yourself Flow. Must you "Recognize" that voice...must you put a FACE to it? In your Heart and Soul, you KNOW. But perhaps you Turn again, just to test it. The Silence repeats itself for some time again... and it takes your breath away like nothing else...NOTHING.
So, you Learn to Listen again. You Grow to Reach like a young vine to Touch Life... and it touches you back. So This is what it is!... Life! You let the Ocean of it soak into your skin until your outer shell shrivels up with it. But you realize it's not only Life...It's Joy...It's Passion...It's Peace... It's Forgiveness. It's all the things that your Soul Stands For... Reality. Some things you can't accept on this side of the Ocean, but These you know you want to Treasure! You find a portion of YOUR part of the Light. You Connect with all that is Living with You... and you Honor it. You press on in the Direction that you now not only SEE, but you FEEL as well.
You KNOW this Path. And... There it is again... The WORDS return and you Find yourself going Home over and over. Each time it is a brand new Path and yet was it forged "In The Beginning"? It doesn't matter anymore because NOW in every Turn there are Discoveries. That's what INSPIRATION is to me. That's how it feels. I discover these Turns through my Art and with my "Vision" of everyday life. But it doesn't end there... I struggle to SHARE them as much as I possibly can. Sometimes I "Discover" them (well, ...maybe only after a Gnat directs me to it in his own particular way).
These "VOICES" are out there... Listen. You'll hear them. But once in a great while one comes through like Bill Dahl's -- that makes it FUN to Listen and fun to be Aware again. He screams Personality, he cries with Wit, and he Whispers with the intelligence that it takes to show ourselves our OWN Lives -- and helps us find our inter-dependent MEANING in it. But he often hides it like an Easter Egg so we can enjoy Finding it all by Ourselves. He hides it in the most obvious places...in a tiny twinkle in the eye of a puppy, in the powder on the wing of a fallen moth, in the unquestionable Grace of a doe sailing over the Fences of Life.
Just a Twinkle is all it takes to see Truth. You KNOW it. It IGNITES Us and We are propelled Together with new speed and vitality -- across the Waters and back into the Clear above it. And it hits us in the face and cleanses our Souls... Inspiration.
It was one of those moments that He twinkled this dimly brilliant image into my head -- and through my own gifts I have been honored to offer it to You.
Artist Tim Donahue Timdonahue (at) yahoo.com
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