Timba Smits

posted by Mel Luff January 26, 2015

With an obsession with art that started with fingers, paint, blank walls and presumably angry parents – at the age of 3, Timba Smits, is an Australian, East London based creative. The artist, illustrator and independent publisher claims to survive “on a diet of art + design + illustration + type + movies + burgers + hard work + more burgers!.”

His work exudes a vintage style with a modern twist, evocative of his self-confessed love-hate relationship with technology. In high school he claimed that he would “never use a computer to make art. That shit’s for goobers” and subsequently enrolled in a computer graphic design course in the year 2000. However he is still keen to maintain that “The pencil is mightier than the mouse” and doesn’t particularly like the new developments in the art world. Labelling himself as a traditionalist, his hand-drawn stylistic incorporates a range of textures and through drawing influence from the visuals of the 40s 50s and 60s results in a clean-cut yet nostalgic visual style.

Considering he never actively seeks out work, his list of clients is impressive, inclusive of Esquire, The Guardian, Wired Magazine, Little White Lies, Johnny Cupcakes, Dunlop and Red Bull to name a few. Timba is also founder of the independent micro-publishing house and cult-design magazine Wooden Toy Quarterly.