The Art of Timo
WRUFF Events continues to redefine queer nightlife with its wonderfully diverse and inclusive Butch Please parties. We previously introduced you to Doug, the creator of WRUFF Events and now we are proud introduce you to Timo, the talented artist responsible for all the artwork you see in the Butch Please posters and marketing materials. Timo’s work can also be seen on flyers for many other LGBTQ+ events including Belly Rub Weekend and Bark After Dark which nicely exemplify the work that comprises their expansive portfolio. Get to know more about them below!
BWM: Tell us a bit about your background, who you are, where you’re from, and how you started creating art?
Timo: Hi there! My name is Timo (he/she/they, whatever you like as long as it’s respectful) and I’m a queer kink/pup artist based in downtown Los Angeles.
I grew up in Southern California but when I tell people about my childhood they assume I’m from the Midwest or Dickensian England. I grew up in a deeply religious conservative family and spent my childhood working in my grandpa’s tee shirt printing shop on the factory floor. Big machines for screen printing, ovens to bake logos onto ceramic mugs, that kind of thing. When I was like, maybe twelve or thirteen, there was this woman who worked in the art department, Tiffany – she had a big blonde perm and wore cheetah print everything – and I think she noticed before I did that I was a fruity little artist, so she whisked me away from the factory into the front office where she taught me how to work in Adobe illustrator. I wouldn’t come out as gay (or, gasp, a democrat) until years later, but from that moment on in the art department, I came out as an artist.
BWM: Tell us about the art you create, especially as it relates to the bear and/ or fetish communities.
Timo: I have an art style that’s very colorful, poppy and vaguely retro. I try to use older aesthetic nods to normalize the more “scandalous” subject material of the queer kink and fetish community. There’s a contrast there because it’s not the style you’d expect to see subby bears, bratty pups, and dominatrix drag queens in, and I think that’s fun. The art I make is a way of saying “we’re here, we’ve always been here, and we’re cute as f*ck”.
BWM: How did you come to work with WRUFF events? Do you work with any other queer organizations? Do you have any ties to the bear community or consider yourself a part of it?
Timo: I started working with WRUFF Events in 2022 designing art for their Orange County Pride kickoff party, and I fell in love with their commitment to diversity and art that celebrates kinky queer joy. I’m honored to have become the official artist for their events for the last few years, watching the parties branch out to Chicago, Washington DC, and beyond!
Outside of WRUFF, I’ve also done promo art for Belly Rub Weekend (a bear/gainer event in CA), Bark After Dark (a pup party in AZ), LA Pup (a dog show but for people who dress like dogs), VPL Palm Springs (RIP the Barracks), Just Peachy (butts) and Biqtchin’ (a gaymer drag night hosted by Biqtch Puddin).
As for other queer orgs, I’m a member of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles and I’ve also started coproducing a monthly kink/pup event in LA called HOWL.
Bear adjacent credits include: my boyfriend and partner of seven years who I love very much.
BWM: Are you professionally trained or self-taught? Tell us about that and the medium you create art in.
Timo: I studied film in college, and of course I owe my start to Tiffany in the art department, but as a digital artist I was very much self-taught. I still use Adobe Illustrator for my house style, but I’ll often branch out into other mediums such as After Effects, Blender, and Unreal Engine for animation, as well as traditional pen and paper when I’m experimenting with poses and developing my craft.
BWM: Who are some of your artistic inspirations?
Timo: I’m inspired often by 1950’s era Mary Blair and other pop art trends you might find in a Palm Springs estate sale. Over time my style has grown very much into its own thing, but it still contains nods of vintage inspiration.
BWM: Where can we see/ purchase your work? Social media profiles? Websites?
Timo: You can find me on Instagram at @timomakesstuff – custom portrait commissions and prints of my original work will be available very soon.
BWM: What big projects are you working on? What is coming next?
Timo: I’m currently co-producing a kink party in Los Angeles called HOWL – which has truly changed my life and introduced me to some of my favorite collaborators and a handful of new kinks. That happens on the first Sunday of every month at The Precinct in DTLA, and you can learn more at @howldtla on Instagram.
As for what’s next? Wherever WRUFF takes me. There’s some stuff I can’t talk about yet, but the World is Bound to hear about it very soon. Follow @wruffevents for more updates.
BWM: Anything we left out that you’d like to mention?
Timo: Donate to the Trans Lifeline give.translifeline.org
