Memorial slideshow:
Tim Quinn dies at 62
Artist well known for murals, sculptures
by BRIAN GAWLEY
Renowned artist and Sequim Gazette cartoonist Tim Quinn was found dead in his apartment late Saturday morning, Dec. 19, from what appears to be natural causes.
“There’s no way to be certain until the autopsy but it appears to be natural causes. Foul play does not appear to be involved,” said Sequim Police Lt. Sheri Crain on Saturday.
An autopsy by the Kitsap County medical examiner tentatively was scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 22.
The autopsy is being handled by the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office, which serves as the coroner in counties Clallam’s size.
Quinn’s body was discovered by Allen Drake, co-owner of the Sunshine Cafe, and John Duffy.
They went to check on Quinn, whose apartment is upstairs from the restaurant, because they hadn’t seen him for a few days, said Drake’s wife, Dianne.
When no one answered the door, Duffy crawled through an open window and found the body. She called 9-1-1, Dianne said.
The area around Quinn’s apartment, which includes the back entrances to the Sunshine Cafe and Sequim Gazette, was taped off until late Saturday night while police investigated.
“It took a while because we wanted to be thorough,” Crain said.
Quinn had been the editorial cartoonist for the Jimmy Come Lately Gazette and Sequim Gazette newspapers since 1984.
He previously lived in Huntington Beach, Calif., and on a farm northeast of Seattle.
Besides his cartooning, Quinn also was known for his wood carvings, some of which decorated the area outside his apartment.
He painted the “Olympic Visions” and “Sluicing the Hogback” murals in downtown Port Angeles and created the theme for the 100th anniversary of the Sequim Irrigation Festival.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Mary E. Quinn, who died in July 2007.
Besides his father, he is survived by his brothers William J. Quinn, of Auburn, and Peter J. Quinn, of Olympia; sister Katherine Fite of Fresno, Calif.; and a son Sean.
No formal service is planned although his friends are organizing a celebration of life to be announced. His black cat “Spooky” has been adopted by friends.
Artist well known for murals, sculptures
by BRIAN GAWLEY
Renowned artist and Sequim Gazette cartoonist Tim Quinn was found dead in his apartment late Saturday morning, Dec. 19, from what appears to be natural causes.
“There’s no way to be certain until the autopsy but it appears to be natural causes. Foul play does not appear to be involved,” said Sequim Police Lt. Sheri Crain on Saturday.
An autopsy by the Kitsap County medical examiner tentatively was scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 22.
The autopsy is being handled by the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office, which serves as the coroner in counties Clallam’s size.
Quinn’s body was discovered by Allen Drake, co-owner of the Sunshine Cafe, and John Duffy.
They went to check on Quinn, whose apartment is upstairs from the restaurant, because they hadn’t seen him for a few days, said Drake’s wife, Dianne.
When no one answered the door, Duffy crawled through an open window and found the body. She called 9-1-1, Dianne said.
The area around Quinn’s apartment, which includes the back entrances to the Sunshine Cafe and Sequim Gazette, was taped off until late Saturday night while police investigated.
“It took a while because we wanted to be thorough,” Crain said.
Quinn had been the editorial cartoonist for the Jimmy Come Lately Gazette and Sequim Gazette newspapers since 1984.
He previously lived in Huntington Beach, Calif., and on a farm northeast of Seattle.
Besides his cartooning, Quinn also was known for his wood carvings, some of which decorated the area outside his apartment.
He painted the “Olympic Visions” and “Sluicing the Hogback” murals in downtown Port Angeles and created the theme for the 100th anniversary of the Sequim Irrigation Festival.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Mary E. Quinn, who died in July 2007.
Besides his father, he is survived by his brothers William J. Quinn, of Auburn, and Peter J. Quinn, of Olympia; sister Katherine Fite of Fresno, Calif.; and a son Sean.
No formal service is planned although his friends are organizing a celebration of life to be announced. His black cat “Spooky” has been adopted by friends.
Tim Quinn was an artist and more
by BRIAN GAWLEY
Tim Quinn always knew he wanted to be an artist and judging by his extensive portfolio throughout Clallam County, he succeeded.
His work ranges from the “Olympic Visions” and “Sluicing the Hogback” murals in downtown Port Angeles to the logo for the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Cutty Hunk to numerous wood carvings and photographs to the now-destroyed sand cliff carvings on Miller Peninsula.
Tim was “super proud” of those carvings, said longtime friend Virginia O’Neil.
“He liked those because they irritated the authorities. He was proudest of the sign the state put up, ‘No carving of cliffs,’” she said.
“He was one of the most accomplished people I’ve ever met. He was a once in a lifetime character. Anyone who met him couldn’t help but be impressed by him,” she said.
He was born Timothy R. Quinn on March 17, 1947, in Hollywood, Calif. Tim grew up in southern California except for two years spent in Panama while his father, Jim Quinn, was serving in the military.
Tim graduated from Whittier High School in 1965 and spent four years as a U.S. Army medic during the 1960s.
He majored in graphic arts at Fullerton College while working as a valet at the Brown Derby and the Coconut Grove restaurants.
Then for six years, Tim worked as art director for Flexographic Printer in Los Angeles.
He also owned and operated Quinn’s Stained Glass in Huntington Beach, Calif., designing and building windows for celebrities.
His father said that as teenagers, Tim and his friends used to take the bus over to Hollywood, jump the security fences and try to meet celebrities.
“He always knew he wanted to be an artist. He always told his mother he wanted to be one.
“He had an eye for it. I was amazed every week when I saw the newspaper.”
Nor’wester Rotary Club president Doc Reiss said Tim always found a way to make something just a little bit better.
“When the Olympic Visions mural was damaged, Tim said, ‘I’ll do it again for the original price.’
Then he found a higher-grade paint developed by Disney that is fade-resistant,” he said.
“He always tried to work with the club and do what he could. He believed in bringing art to the community. We hear on a regular basis how wonderful our murals are.
I see people gathering to have their pictures taken in front of them and they also are part of the downtown heritage tours,” Reiss said.
Nothing can be done now about the still-unfinished Olympic Visions mural because of the current weather, so the club will contact other mural artists to see who is interested in taking the job, he said.
Jackson Smart of Jackson’s Sign and Graphics in Port Angeles said he first met Tim while in the U.S. Army in southern California in the 1960s.
“We met while at the Tracy Defense Distribution Depot. He was a medic and I was a firefighter. Then we didn’t meet again until we were both in Sequim.
“He had started to do artwork and as an artist I heard about him. We’ve been friends ever since and collaborated on several projects,” he said.
Sequim Gazette editor Jim Casey said Tim’s sometimes cockeyed but always clear view will be sorely missed.
“Tim didn’t bend his knee to anybody, especially people whose egos made them big targets. He called issues as he saw them and drew his cartoons with an honesty he could stand behind,” he said.
Besides being an artist,
Tim worked as a professional cowboy, lifeguard, sheep shearer, camp counselor, ambulance driver, movie extra and X-ray technician.
by BRIAN GAWLEY
Tim Quinn always knew he wanted to be an artist and judging by his extensive portfolio throughout Clallam County, he succeeded.
His work ranges from the “Olympic Visions” and “Sluicing the Hogback” murals in downtown Port Angeles to the logo for the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Cutty Hunk to numerous wood carvings and photographs to the now-destroyed sand cliff carvings on Miller Peninsula.
Tim was “super proud” of those carvings, said longtime friend Virginia O’Neil.
“He liked those because they irritated the authorities. He was proudest of the sign the state put up, ‘No carving of cliffs,’” she said.
“He was one of the most accomplished people I’ve ever met. He was a once in a lifetime character. Anyone who met him couldn’t help but be impressed by him,” she said.
He was born Timothy R. Quinn on March 17, 1947, in Hollywood, Calif. Tim grew up in southern California except for two years spent in Panama while his father, Jim Quinn, was serving in the military.
Tim graduated from Whittier High School in 1965 and spent four years as a U.S. Army medic during the 1960s.
He majored in graphic arts at Fullerton College while working as a valet at the Brown Derby and the Coconut Grove restaurants.
Then for six years, Tim worked as art director for Flexographic Printer in Los Angeles.
He also owned and operated Quinn’s Stained Glass in Huntington Beach, Calif., designing and building windows for celebrities.
His father said that as teenagers, Tim and his friends used to take the bus over to Hollywood, jump the security fences and try to meet celebrities.
“He always knew he wanted to be an artist. He always told his mother he wanted to be one.
“He had an eye for it. I was amazed every week when I saw the newspaper.”
Nor’wester Rotary Club president Doc Reiss said Tim always found a way to make something just a little bit better.
“When the Olympic Visions mural was damaged, Tim said, ‘I’ll do it again for the original price.’
Then he found a higher-grade paint developed by Disney that is fade-resistant,” he said.
“He always tried to work with the club and do what he could. He believed in bringing art to the community. We hear on a regular basis how wonderful our murals are.
I see people gathering to have their pictures taken in front of them and they also are part of the downtown heritage tours,” Reiss said.
Nothing can be done now about the still-unfinished Olympic Visions mural because of the current weather, so the club will contact other mural artists to see who is interested in taking the job, he said.
Jackson Smart of Jackson’s Sign and Graphics in Port Angeles said he first met Tim while in the U.S. Army in southern California in the 1960s.
“We met while at the Tracy Defense Distribution Depot. He was a medic and I was a firefighter. Then we didn’t meet again until we were both in Sequim.
“He had started to do artwork and as an artist I heard about him. We’ve been friends ever since and collaborated on several projects,” he said.
Sequim Gazette editor Jim Casey said Tim’s sometimes cockeyed but always clear view will be sorely missed.
“Tim didn’t bend his knee to anybody, especially people whose egos made them big targets. He called issues as he saw them and drew his cartoons with an honesty he could stand behind,” he said.
Besides being an artist,
Tim worked as a professional cowboy, lifeguard, sheep shearer, camp counselor, ambulance driver, movie extra and X-ray technician.
Tim's View
Editor’s note: Reporter Matthew Nash profiled Tim Quinn in the Sept. 9, 2009, edition of the Sequim Gazette. This is a modified reprint of that article.
For the past 25 years, Sequim’s personalities and news bits have been immortalized in “toons” by Tim Quinn.
His first editorial cartoon, for the Aug. 29, 1984, edition of the Jimmy Come Lately Gazette, was about the town’s mayor.
Quinn came a long way to work on art and cartoons after living in Huntington Beach, Calif., and the Seattle area before moving to Sequim in 1984. He experimented with art when he was young but said, “I never got higher than a B or C in art classes because I didn’t go by the book and do what the teacher wanted.”
He graduated with a degree in graphic arts from Fullerton College in Southern California.
However, cartooning wasn’t the first thing on his mind when he moved to Sequim. Quinn had a hard time finding steady work so he took casual labor jobs such as bucking hay and pulling cattails from ponds.
One day a Gazette advertising salesman saw him doodling on a napkin and complimented his pictures. He thought it’d be a good idea to have Quinn draw editorial cartoons about Sequim.
“I told him I wasn’t much of a cartoonist, but they offered me $15 for each piece, so I said yes,” Quinn said.
“However, it turned out to be a dollar an hour at first because I worked on the pencils all through the night, erasing and starting over.”
Progressive painter
His hard work paid off, though, as cartooning led to more artistic connections and endeavors.
Quinn created designs for silk-screened T-shirts, drew cartoon maps and caricatures, sculpted, created stained glass and painted signs and murals all around the county.
He considered himself more of a carver, though. He made chain saw, driftwood, ivory and Kodiak bear-tooth carvings; sand sculptures and carved peace pipes. “When I carve, it’s therapeutic,“ he said.
“I have a few projects I keep for myself but most of the time when I create, it’s for work.”
His reputation spread by word of mouth and Quinn became a full-time artist.
“I grew up wanting to be a cowboy but I discovered it’s a lot of work and didn’t pay much,” he said. His talent continued to be recognized by community members and one of his paintings was chosen as the theme artwork for the 100th anniversary poster of the Sequim Irrigation Festival.
Process
Quinn said his favorite cartoonist was Mort Drucker, an old caricaturist for “MAD Magazine.” However, Quinn didn’t feel pressured to make his cartoons a certain way, namely funny.
“Some are sarcastic, but it isn’t about being funny or not. It’s about what’s going on now,” he said.
“But usually I’m just being sarcastic.”
His source material came from talk with friends and acquaintances and his contacts behind the scenes.
“It might be gossip, but if I can confirm it from a story in the paper, then I’m good to go.”
Mondays typically were dedicated to crafting the cartoon; he gave himself until 6 p.m. to prepare for the Wednesday edition of the Sequim Gazette.
Every cartoon contains Slick the Slug, often hidden in the landscape, a weekly challenge for readers to find.
At the time of his death, Quinn was in the process of recreating his mural behind the Conrad Dyer Memorial Fountain on First Street in downtown Port Angeles. It pictures a grand landscape of the Olympic Mountains.
More information on Quinn can be found at www.timquinnart.com.
Editor’s note: Reporter Matthew Nash profiled Tim Quinn in the Sept. 9, 2009, edition of the Sequim Gazette. This is a modified reprint of that article.
For the past 25 years, Sequim’s personalities and news bits have been immortalized in “toons” by Tim Quinn.
His first editorial cartoon, for the Aug. 29, 1984, edition of the Jimmy Come Lately Gazette, was about the town’s mayor.
Quinn came a long way to work on art and cartoons after living in Huntington Beach, Calif., and the Seattle area before moving to Sequim in 1984. He experimented with art when he was young but said, “I never got higher than a B or C in art classes because I didn’t go by the book and do what the teacher wanted.”
He graduated with a degree in graphic arts from Fullerton College in Southern California.
However, cartooning wasn’t the first thing on his mind when he moved to Sequim. Quinn had a hard time finding steady work so he took casual labor jobs such as bucking hay and pulling cattails from ponds.
One day a Gazette advertising salesman saw him doodling on a napkin and complimented his pictures. He thought it’d be a good idea to have Quinn draw editorial cartoons about Sequim.
“I told him I wasn’t much of a cartoonist, but they offered me $15 for each piece, so I said yes,” Quinn said.
“However, it turned out to be a dollar an hour at first because I worked on the pencils all through the night, erasing and starting over.”
Progressive painter
His hard work paid off, though, as cartooning led to more artistic connections and endeavors.
Quinn created designs for silk-screened T-shirts, drew cartoon maps and caricatures, sculpted, created stained glass and painted signs and murals all around the county.
He considered himself more of a carver, though. He made chain saw, driftwood, ivory and Kodiak bear-tooth carvings; sand sculptures and carved peace pipes. “When I carve, it’s therapeutic,“ he said.
“I have a few projects I keep for myself but most of the time when I create, it’s for work.”
His reputation spread by word of mouth and Quinn became a full-time artist.
“I grew up wanting to be a cowboy but I discovered it’s a lot of work and didn’t pay much,” he said. His talent continued to be recognized by community members and one of his paintings was chosen as the theme artwork for the 100th anniversary poster of the Sequim Irrigation Festival.
Process
Quinn said his favorite cartoonist was Mort Drucker, an old caricaturist for “MAD Magazine.” However, Quinn didn’t feel pressured to make his cartoons a certain way, namely funny.
“Some are sarcastic, but it isn’t about being funny or not. It’s about what’s going on now,” he said.
“But usually I’m just being sarcastic.”
His source material came from talk with friends and acquaintances and his contacts behind the scenes.
“It might be gossip, but if I can confirm it from a story in the paper, then I’m good to go.”
Mondays typically were dedicated to crafting the cartoon; he gave himself until 6 p.m. to prepare for the Wednesday edition of the Sequim Gazette.
Every cartoon contains Slick the Slug, often hidden in the landscape, a weekly challenge for readers to find.
At the time of his death, Quinn was in the process of recreating his mural behind the Conrad Dyer Memorial Fountain on First Street in downtown Port Angeles. It pictures a grand landscape of the Olympic Mountains.
More information on Quinn can be found at www.timquinnart.com.
Empty spaces, lost giftsSue Ellen Riesau, Sequim Gazette Publisher
Unfortunately, it’s not a mistake. We did not forget to fill the space to your right, normally reserved for editorial cartoonist Tim Quinn.
Rather, the blank space reflects the emptiness we and the community feel as we come to grips with the loss of Tim.
Tim died Saturday in his apartment from natural causes. At age 62, he certainly leaves a void in the North Olympic Peninsula artistic arena.
The Gazette’s editorial pages won’t be the same, either. For 25-plus years, Tim drew a cartoon, using humor and satire to illustrate his position on current issues in Sequim and its surroundings.
Like all artists who depend on creative juices to entertain, amaze, provoke or make us think, Tim did not always find it easy to put to pen to paper and produce a timely cartoon for the Gazette.
Many a Monday night he would be fighting his deadline, asking the editor if it would OK to run one of his previously printed cartoons. Then, just like magic, a new cartoon would appear for print in the Wednesday paper.
Turns out, Tim was part of a declining breed of journalists; there are only about 250 editorial cartoonists practicing their craft in the United States. With the downturn in the industry, many daily newspapers are getting rid of cartoonists. In particular, it’s becoming a rarity to find a local editorial or political cartoonist; rather, many big-city papers are using syndicated material, which seldom reflects a local community.
Editorial cartoons always had been an important feature of our country’s newspapers.
We were lucky; we had one of our very own. Tim lived and worked in Sequim and understood the relevant issues. Like the good political cartoonist he was, he never shied away from telling it like it was. In other words, Tim got us to think about subjects and form our own opinions about them. That’s the prime goal of an editorial cartoonist, and Tim was exceptional.
Sequim Gazette owner and former publisher Brown M. Maloney, said, “I met Tim 21 years ago when I purchased what was then The Jimmy Come Lately Gazette. Since I was already a reader of the newspaper, I was familiar with Tim’s cartoons.
“It was very unusual then that a weekly newspaper would have a local cartoonist and it is just as unusual today. We love the message that can be sent through a good editorial cartoon. Tim will be sorely missed.”
As is often the case, we don’t know the true value of what we have until we lose it. That’s certainly going to be the case with the absence of a weekly Tim Quinn cartoon. We will miss his art form and commentary on our little corner of the world. He has indeed left an empty space that will be painful and difficult to fill. Mostly, we will miss Tim, our neighbor and good friend.
On a lighter note, all of us here at the Gazette want you the readers, the advertisers and the community at large to know how much we appreciate your support and continued goodwill. We are sending you season’s greetings and hope your holiday is peaceful, warm and full of good cheer.
Partial North Olympic Peninsula
portfolio for Tim Quinn
portfolio for Tim Quinn
■ Miller Peninsula cliff carvings
■ Dungeness River Aubudon Center mural
■ “Welcome to the Sequim Dog Park” sign
■ Train mural in Carlsborg
■ Sequim grain elevator photograph
■ Sequim Bay sunset photograph
■ Sequim Educational Foundation logo
■ Johnson Creek trestle interpretative mural on the Olympic Discovery Trail
■ 25 years of editorial cartoons for the Sequim Gazette, Jimmy Come Lately Gazette and Forks Forum
■ Sequim Gazette logo
■ U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Cutty Hunk logo
■ Port Angeles and Port Townsend souvenir logos
■ Dungeness River Aubudon Center mural
■ “Welcome to the Sequim Dog Park” sign
■ Train mural in Carlsborg
■ Sequim grain elevator photograph
■ Sequim Bay sunset photograph
■ Sequim Educational Foundation logo
■ Johnson Creek trestle interpretative mural on the Olympic Discovery Trail
■ 25 years of editorial cartoons for the Sequim Gazette, Jimmy Come Lately Gazette and Forks Forum
■ Sequim Gazette logo
■ U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Cutty Hunk logo
■ Port Angeles and Port Townsend souvenir logos
