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Creative

Before the job titles,
there was making things.

I'm a practicing visual artist — painter, photographer, illustrator, muralist. The creative practice and the professional work inform each other constantly, even when they don't look related.

Tim Mehlhorn

Publication · Self-published
FOCUS Coloring Book

A self-published coloring book of hand-drawn nature illustrations, available on Amazon. Every design was drawn by hand — from a simple butterfly to a complex bonsai tree — with difficulty varying to suit different moods and patience levels.

The concept: adult coloring as a genuine focus practice, not just decoration.

View on Amazon ↗
FOCUS Coloring Book flat lay showing the cover and three open spreads with hand-drawn nature illustrations including a bird, butterfly, and orchid
Interior spread from The Story of the Frog and the Giraffe — left page shows a bright green frog on a rock surrounded by four colored torches, right page shows a giraffe holding a golden basket

Illustration · 2020
The Story of the Frog & the Giraffe

Illustrated F&G's first-ever children's book, created for the company's Bring Your Child to Work Day. The book tells the story of two animals who partner to help their kingdom — giving parents a gentle, age-appropriate way to explain what their company does and why it matters.

Where F stood for Frog and G stood for Giraffe.

CADE Award · April 2020

Painting · 2017
Expression Paintings

A collection of 32 abstract paintings exploring how color, texture, and composition on a predominantly black ground can evoke specific emotional states. Each painting is a controlled experiment: what happens when you put these two colors against this texture, at this scale?

Solo exhibition — Monk's Kaffee and Pub, Dubuque, Iowa · February 2017

Photography · 2014–2015
Portrait Projections

A photography series investigating how we read portraits when the subject is partially obscured or transformed. Models are lit against pure black backgrounds with patterned light projected onto their faces — removing environmental context and isolating the relationship between pattern, texture, and recognition.

  • Harry Nohr Gallery, UW–Platteville · 2014 & 2015
  • Blurring the Edges — Dubuque Area Arts Collective · 2015
  • Rendezvous Coffee & Tea, Dubuque · 2015
Finalist — Photographer's Forum Magazine, Best of College Photography 2014
Platteville Over Time — a 4 by 16 foot ceramic tile mural showing the University of Wisconsin–Platteville's history from founding to future, with the text Remember the Past, Celebrate the Present, Pioneer the Future

Public Art · 2015
Platteville Over Time

A 4×16-foot ceramic tile mural commissioned as part of the University of Wisconsin–Platteville sesquicentennial celebration. The design draws from historic etchings and concept drawings of past and future campus buildings — a visual argument about the relationship between institutional memory and forward motion.

The mural is a mosaic of nearly 400 individually sized subway tiles, each with a distinct image fused via thermal toner transfer. No two tiles are the same.

  • Permanent installation — Markee Pioneer Student Center, UW–Platteville
  • Preview exhibition — Harry Nohr Gallery · 2015

Community
Making things with others

Gallery M115

While studying at UW–Platteville, I helped manage Gallery M115 — a student-owned and -operated art gallery in downtown Platteville featuring work by UW–P students and regional artists. In addition to showing my own work, I maintained the gallery's website and documented the exhibitions.

Walk MS — Event Photographer

Volunteered as official event photographer for Walk MS — the National MS Society's largest annual gathering — across four years and two cities: Platteville (2012–14) and Dubuque (2015).

PechaKucha Dubuque

Designed event posters for seven volumes (Vol. 2, 6, 10–14) and served as event photographer. PechaKucha's 20×20 format — 20 slides, 20 seconds each — has a particular resonance for someone who thinks about visual communication for a living.

Additional

  • Boys & Girls Club of Central Iowa — volunteer photographer, Talent Show (Dec 2023)
  • Hurricane Maria Benefit for Puerto Rico — poster design (2017)
  • Mines of Spain Trail Run — event photographer (2017)