Tim Baron is a freelance illustrator whose work has appeared in publications by Christianity Today International, Multnomah Publishing, and Warner Press. His philosophy of art is best summarized by Francis Schaeffer, who said, “The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.” See a gallery of his illustrations at http://www.timbaron.com.

Stephen McCranie: I reread the story you and Ben Avery collaborated on for Parable, Volume 1 and I must say, it’s one of the most uniquely done wordless comics I’ve ever seen. I’m wondering though, if there are no words in this comic, how did Ben Avery write the piece? What brought you guys together, and what inspired the creation of this story?

Tim Baron: Great questions. A lot of people have asked about the script. Actually, Ben wrote the script similar to any other comic script. Since there wasn’t any dialogue, Ben wrote detailed descriptions of what imagery would fill the word/thought balloons. The absence of dialogue forced me to work even harder at being a better visual story teller. I met Ben through my friend and coworker Gary, who knew him through college. It was funny, he mentioned Ben’s name in an email and briefly mentioned his comic work. I googled Ben that day and sent him an email with a link to my website. It took off from there. The story was actually Ben’s idea. He told me he wanted it to be like a Charlie Chaplin silent film. I’m really into turn-of-the-century Victorian era stuff, so I went with that feel and drew it in a style that was inspired by the art in Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s graphic novel, “Mr. Punch.”

S: So are you an illustrator who does comics, or a cartoonist who does illustration? Why did you become an artist in the first place?

T: Hmmm….all of the above I guess. Art has always been a passion, a love, a joy and a language for me. I’ve been drawing as far back as I can remember. My mom still has some super hero drawings I did when I was in preschool. I honestly couldn’t imagine not making art. I’d go loopy.

S: And how did you become a Christian? Has this influenced your artistic philosophy?

T: I was blessed to be introduced to the Gospel of Jesus at a very early age. However, it wasn’t until my second year at college at age 19 that I really came to a better understanding of my own sin, my emptiness, my own mortality, God’s holiness, and what Jesus did for me on the cross. Has my faith influenced my artistic philosophy? Absolutely. Everybody’s world view influences their art. Think of how beautifully themes like good versus evil, chivalry, sacrifice and redemption bleed off the pages of fantasy authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Consider how beautifully God’s saga of redemption is narrated in symphonies like Handel’s Messiah, or Bach’s St. Matthew Day’s Passion. Or how the etchings of Rembrandt Van Rijn and the woodcuts of Albrecht Durer place you as a silent observer inside a frozen moment in the Gospel narrative watching the events unfold before your very eyes. Ponder how God chose Bezalel and Oholiab in Exodus 31 and filled them with “skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts—to make artistic designs” for God’s tabernacle. So too, the Christian artist…and comic book artist should joyfully offer up his best creation as an act of worship to the God who is creator of Heaven and Earth, and to be able to say along with J.S. Bach, “Soli Deo Gloria,” or “To God alone be the glory.” I would challenge any readers interested in tackling this subject to read “Art and the Bible” by Francis Schaeffer, and “Addicted to Mediocrity” by Franky Schaeffer.

S: Are there any exciting projects that you’re working on now that you’d like to plug?

T: Yes! Ben and I have begun work on our story for Parable #2 which is a crazy story about a medieval looking apothecary and his monkey in a post-apocalyptic Earth infected by something called “The Lotus Plague.” The story is called “The Plague Doctor” and I’m pretty stoked on it. Ben is posting teasers and conceptual art regularly at the blog at www.plaguedoctor.blogspot.com. Check it out! Readers can also check out my regularly updated blog at http://www.timbaron.blogspot.com/.

S: Finally, I read on your website that you’ve got some crazy scar on your arm from the wild skateboarding days of old. How’d you get it? Were you a hard core skateboarder?

T: Oh man… seriously, I had two things that kept me sane from fifth grade through college. Art… and skateboarding. I ate slept and breathed both. The scar is on my right arm, and it’s from slamming on the right side of my body over and over again. Can’t tell you how many times I skinned my arm in the exact same location. I better stop talking skateboarding glory days though. I’ll start reminiscing like Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite.

S: Ha ha! Thanks a lot for your time.

T: Thank you. : )

In two weeks, tune in for an interview with Caleb Monroe!