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Renowned portrait artist stands up to the one-two punch of Usher syndrome
Tim Chambers had plenty of challenges growing up with significant hearing loss. There was the awkwardness of being a kid with hearing aids as well as difficulties in communicating with teachers and friends. However, a strong passion and remarkable talent for painting and drawing enabled him to move beyond the hearing issues and into a life that was both sustaining and satisfying.
Tim also used his keen sense of humor to move through difficult situations. For instance, he’d pretend that he was able to pick up baseball games with his hearing devices. His classmates bought into the scheme and anxiously awaited updates to the score.
After high school, Tim received art scholarships to the University of Illinois and Washington University (St. Louis), and later transferred to smaller art schools in Nashville and Minneapolis. He went on to study under master portrait artists Henry Hensche and Cedric Egeli. His inspiration for painting came from his father, William, who is a gifted, professional illustrator and portrait artist. Tim and his dad have even competed against one another. In one competition, father and son took first and second place, respectively.
Ultimately, Tim learned from the best portrait painters to become one of the best himself, earning numerous awards and opening his own studio in Purcellville, Virginia.
But Tim’s world was turned upside down at the age of 30 when he went to the eye doctor for a regular exam. He recalls, “I went in for a routine eye check up, and the doctor looked a little confused and referred me to a specialist. I was very scared, because my whole identity was based on what I saw as an artist. I was winning very prominent international awards at the time.”
Offering Tim no hope or suggestions for coping, the specialist told Tim that he had retinitis pigmentosa (RP). “When the doctor gave me the diagnosis, he said it as if I was going to die,” Tim remembers.
Ultimately, the doctors figured out he had Usher syndrome — a genetic condition that causes hearing loss as well as vision loss from RP — and that not only was Tim’s vision now at risk, he could also lose more hearing. During a follow-up appointment, the doctor told him to find another career. “I was floored,” Tim exclaims.
Tim says he didn’t sleep well for the next two years. “At night, my mind would race. I got so panicked. I had a picture in my mind of being deaf and blind, and being relegated to a chair in the living room, because I couldn’t do anything any more.”
But as fate would have it, Tim eventually learned that his family physician had RP. Thanks to the support and counseling he got from that doctor and another general practitioner, Tim returned to his normal affable self. He also credits his faith as a source of strength in dealing with Usher syndrome.
Now 44, Tim’s portrait-painting business is as good as ever, and he enjoys family life with his wife, Kim, and three children: Lindsie, Drew, and Chloe. He’s become more appreciative of what he does have. “I’m more compassionate. I understand what it is like to be different…and to not know what lies ahead. I’m thankful for the gifts I have…and grateful when I wake up in the morning and
I can see my clock!”
Tim acknowledges that he still gets afraid, but he is also hopeful because of progress in research. “There are times when I get scared about my future,” he says. “I try to be as smart as I can about the decisions I make today. But I also like to check the FFB Web site on a regular basis to see the latest in research. I’m very encouraged. The picture is getting clearer. I’m very thankful, and I’d like to find ways to use my art to help raise money for research.”
To see more of Tim’s portraits, visit www.timothychambers.com. |
