Tim Rogerson

Ringling College of Art and Design Illustration Alumni 2004

Tim Rogerson

Alumni Illustration '04

 Born in Orlando, FL,  Tim moved with his family to North Carolina at the age of four. His father, who at the time, was employed by Walt Disney World as Show Director in charge of managing the parades and performances in the Magic Kingdom, made every day a magical adventure for the future artist. “My father taught me how to draw Mickey as soon as I could hold a pencil and I’ve wanted to be a Disney artist ever since.” says the artist.

 Tim was accepted into the prestigious Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, Florida. Early in his studies, he gained the reputation as an upcoming artist and influence in his own right. He studied the old masters approach to oil painting while at the same time, explored the expressive paintings of the modern masters. Bringing both approaches together of traditional and modern painting would earn him his spot in the Best of Ringling exhibitions in 2003 and 2004 which is the highest honor for a student. 

 After graduating from Ringling College of Art & Design in 2004 with a BFA, Tim began his career as a Character artist at Disney. He was the last artist to be hired and trained by Disney Legend, Ralph Kent, who was one of Mickey Mouse’s official handlers, also known as “The Keeper of the Mouse”. Tim says, “One of the best times of my life was getting to learn the Disney way of drawing from Ralph at the studio, even when he made me draw 1000 circles on my first day. It was a dream come true to work with an artist who worked with Walt.”

Tim has been taking the art world by storm becoming one of the top collected Disney Fine Artists of today with his works selling in galleries all over the world.  His modern twist to classic Disney characters has won critical acclaim by the trade and his peers. His art style, Contemporary Cubism, is a combination of all the masters from Picasso to Warhol to Basquiat.