Artwork Details
About the Artist
Interview with the Artist

Tim Williams

Mexico City, 2023

acrylic on wood

48 x 23 x 4 inches

$ 5,000.00

C-lective Curator’s Cut:

Paris is part of Tim's Travelin’ Man series, where each ticket reflects a journey and carries anecdotes from his travels. Inspired by an unforgettable trip to Paris, where he reconnected with a longtime friend, a fellow creative. He originally went to attend a techno festival, but the visit became a week of painting, exploration, psychedelics, running from the police, and more unexpected adventures. The ticket layers playful and iconic references, from luxury logos to landmarks and comic-book imagery, capturing the city’s energy and Tim's personal narrative. Its soft colors reflect Paris’s elegance and beauty, a gentle contrast to the vivid spontaneity and youthful spirit of that week.

Tim Williams, aka OPTIMIST

We Love Tim. Tim, known in the art world as OPTIMIST, is an Oakland-based, mixed-media artist whose vibrant, pop-inspired work celebrates movement, identity, and the rhythms of city life. Merging graffiti aesthetics with the narrative flair of comic books, his art is rebellious, playful, and deeply rooted in human experience.

  • Bachelor’s in Conceptual Information Arts, San Francisco State University

  • Worldwide practice spanning 15 years, creating mixed-media, layered works informed by graffiti, comic books, and daily life

    Extensive travel, especially to Taipei and other cities, directly inspires his Travelin’ Man series

    Featured in his successful solo exhibition “Travelin’ Man” at RVCA Gallery, San Francisco

    Presented at Context Art Fair, Miami (2023)

Tim’s Travelin’ Man series is a dynamic chronicle of cities and experiences, capturing the energy of place through motion, memory, and bold mark making. Influenced by street art, zine culture, and pop art, his work is both spontaneous and deliberate, layered with color, texture, and storytelling. From Oakland to Osaka, each piece reflects not just the spirit of a location, but also Tim’s evolving relationship with the world around him.

C-lective is proud to present the complete Travelin’ Man series, along with a broader selection of Tim’s works that continue to celebrate movement, identity, and connection.

"I always saw my art as a way to connect with people—on walls, in sketchbooks, wherever I happened to be."

See Tim's Site & Additional Works

Interviews in progress, please check back soon!