Tim Clayton studied at the Florence Academy of Art, which takes a classical approach to drawing and painting. They first focued on learning to see light and shadow while drawing from the figure in charcoal, and later progressed to painting still lives and and figures. The principals learned from this course of study prepared him to tackle any subject, by reducing complex forms to simpler shapes and finding light and shadow in the composition.

While in school, Tim found that he enjoyed taking the principles he learned and apply them outdoors, where he loves to observe nature. Today he hikes around the hills of Maryland and West Virginia, searching for scenes he finds interesting and doing small plein air paintings. Sometimes these are finished products, but others return with him to his home studio where he transforms them into larger works.

For Tim, landscape painting is an endless challenge. He strives to find a combination of naturalistic representation and his own emotional response when he paints