Tichenor holds a BFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and a Masters degree in Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He studied under John McCracken, Stephen Courtright, and David Gebhard at UCSB. At Humboldt University he studied under David Storey and Eva Bovinesi. Currently on the faculty of University of Southern California’s (USC), School of Architecture, Tichenor is a Fellow of the Garden Conservancy and actively involved with The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Los Angeles Conservancy, The Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, and The Society of Architectural Historians, among others. 

 

His renderings have been widely published and exhibited at the Cooper Hewitt Museum and Max Protech Gallery, among other prestigious venues. Tichenor has been represented by Gilbert Bohlin in Los Angeles, Sears Peyton in NYC, and participated in several group shows. Tichenor's work can be found in numerous private collections from Los Angeles to Wyoming, New York City, Sydney, Palm Springs, and Rancho Santa Fe. His work includes a number of site-specific commissions. Tichenor continues to create art at a steady pace; his work inspiring and informing building and garden design projects throughout Southern California and New York. 

 

As a partner of Tichenor & Thorp Architects, a multi-disciplinary practice in architecture, landscape design and interior design, he has completed more than 400 projects world-wide. The firm gained an early reputation for sensitive, highly informed restorations of historically significant houses and landmark commercial structures by such noted California architects as Paul R. Williams, Gregory Ain, Roland Coate, John Byers, H. Roy Kelly, and Harwell Hamilton Harris. Memorable projects in this area of expertise include the Cecil B. DeMille residence (recently purchased by Angelina Jolie); the former William Powell Estate (now owned by decorator Kelly Wearstler and her husband, Brad Korzen); and Hollywood’s landmark Capitol Records building and grounds. Recent projects include the new headquarters, event center, and museum for the Los Angeles Times, a 10 acre soundstage complex in Culver City, and an eight building bio-tech campus in El Segundo. Tichenor & Thorp's work has been featured in such publications as The New York Times Magazine, Architectural Digest, Town & Country, The Los Angeles Sunday Times Magazine, and The World of Interiors, as well as on various television shows. Completed projects have also appeared in more than 20 books, including Artful Decoration, The California Casa, Paul R. Williams: Classic Hollywood Style, Houses by the Sea, and At Home.

 

In 2017, Vendome Press published the monograph, Outside In: The Gardens and Houses of Tichenor & Thorp, which features a wide selection of Tichenor's artworks.