Growing up in the Midwest, Tyler studied art on his own and slowly, steadily taught himself how to draw. Starting as a young kid, he worked inside a self-imposed study regimen, barely touching a paintbrush until he moved to New York City, where he spent years in formal art schooling. He studied at both the New York Studio School and The New York Academy of Art. At the Studio School, Mercedes Matter, an epic figure in the US art world, engaged him in direct connection with an unbroken line of influential American and European artists including her father, Arthur B. Carles, as well as Matisse. 

 

This intense preparation and exposure inspired Tyler to travel throughout Europe to further study the old masters. He traveled extensively throughout Italy, a culture he visits often and has a special affinity for; he has spent time in nearly every major museum in Europe.

 

This rigorous learning and traveling contributed to Tyler's unique painting practice. Rooted in meticulous observation of how the subject matter interacts with the surrounding space, Tyler paints slowly and deliberately in the immaculate environment of his studio, with works often taking months, sometimes years to complete. 

 

In 2011, Tyler founded The Fire Barn Gallery in Grand Haven, Michigan, which collaborated with the Detroit Institute of Arts, Grand Rapids Art Museum, ArtPrize and Muskegon Museum of Art, among many other institutions. The gallery specialized in showing artists from around the world next to local artists, and was the beginning of Tyler’s work in the Midwest, where he has a deep passion to connect Americans with fine art.

 

This passion inspired the creation of AllArtWorks, an online art platform designed to help artists grow and sustain their careers. Through this company, and through charity initiatives such as Portraits for Purpose, Tyler spends a significant amount of his energy outside of his own studio building awareness around art.