Southern Paintings

The Beach, Oil pastel on aluminum, July 17, 2013, 16” x 12”
The painting used Cincinnati’s Beach Water Park as the catalyst. His daughter had an event there so Tom brought his paints. His new technique using hot wax melted on heated metal needed an electric outlet, a spot above the main pool near the entrance where the baby pool was where he set up
Tom worked the view as a scalloped sandy jetty with another jetty farther away. The tree stand on the other side of the concrete beach took the place of palm trees. Tiny spots of color peopled the beach. Tom ran into friends and they later purchased the work.

The best example of Tom's large scale watercolor. He painted it for his wife's birthday. They had just been there on vacation and this was the view out their front porch. The town is Hopetown. They were staying next to Toad Hall. All the homes have names. You can see Irene and Tom on the front pouch. The manner was led by WInslow Homer. There is a watercolor by him that is quite similar but more stormy.

A little video about the painting, posted on YouTube in Google Earth at Hope Town.

Beach Dancers, 12" x 16", Oil on board, July 26, 2011
The culmination of a life of study, this dancer motif is universal. Stuck in a rut for years painting what was in front of him as if he could make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. This painting may look simple but it took his painting robot to teach me to simplify. The steps are complex but the painting is easy. Working up the grace of the figures is what takes the longest. Woman needs to be more than a shapely figure. The shape has to have strong confirmation like a horse. Tom can run with this. He developed this motif while finishing the last fountain painting. Where did he step off from, he stepped completely off the fountain motif, halleluiah.

Searching for the perfect summer motif, this painting is the culmination of his study, a universal theme experienced by everyone. In the past he would paint the ocean beating against the shore, the inland estuary with labyrinths of emerald sea grass and beach goers hiding under their umbrellas. This new motif is a joy of summer exuberance. Using a limited palette of high keyed colors to push the vibrations to the level experienced on-shore with the breaking waves after a long travel getting there.

Every year, when the family was young and the little ones were happy to just swim in the concrete pool next to the fire ants living in the grass on the way to the beach with off limit dunes bordered with picket fence barriers. They went for a week just after Moore Family Reunion in Kinston, North Carolina, 45 minutes from the beach. Emerald Isle Beach, a working man’s spot slowly being taken over by large beachfront rentals pushing out the roadside cinder block two story motels, they stayed at, the same hotel of her childhood complete with carny rides, water slides, trailer park, fishing pier and souvenir shops. This view on the second floor balcony of the hotel Tom painted was our times. Later he would seek out other locations in the surrounding area. The eternal draw of the view of the dunes, stairs and beach Tom learned was something to experience and not so much paint. Here he is painting sheltered from the sun and wind from the upper deck around the second floor rooms. In the beginning he would paint on the red hot sand under a skimpy umbrella then under the stairs going down to the beach. The marginal spread of beach goers along the waterfront with colorful umbrellas, beach towels and kites is the essence of vacation not easily squeezed into a painting.

Slater Road, Morrisville NC, February 9 1999, Oil on canvas, 16" x 12"

Tom tells the story, "Jesse Marsch grew up here. He is up in ages now and still has a very handsome distinguish look about him. Blond hair what is left not turn gray with blue eyes. One of his eyes has a drip in it like an infection. His size was huge bulk with soft large hands that turn every which way. I met him while I was painting a smoke house that was the only thing left from a farmhouse that set near the road. "There's a well right there also where the satellite dish is now.", he said. The road used to turn off and snake over to where the Sheraton is now. You can clearly see where the road turned off. Right there was a number of barns and out buildings. "All this land is good farm land.", Jesse said.

It used to be back in 1948 when he settled here that you could buy a acre of land for $250 dollars now an acre goes for $150,000. He knows a man that sold six acres just up the road for $125,000 an acre. Of course the fewer the acres the higher the price. I said that if you sold a few acres you would be set for retirement. But Jesse said, "These days you can't get no where with a half a million dollars." He knows a young man that came into some money and went to Florida. Last time he talked to him he was up to $6,000 and was coming back when he had spent $11,000 and he had only been gone for a few weeks.

There's hardly any empty land left anymore. I saw that there was still some sparsely lived on land below Sanibel Island in Florida but that was all swamp. I also added that there is some shoreline in South Carolina and maybe a little in North Carolina.

On up the road there is a old pack house. Jesse was really interested in suggesting that I paint some of the old hot houses they used to use for curing tobacco. They are a vanishing breed he said. His garage where he stays out of trouble is nearby where I was painting. He lives on down the road a bit and stays away from his wife as much as possible. He wanted to sell it all and move to one place but when he said his wife could not bring all her cats she said, "I reckon I'll just stay put." "My wife comes here every year for a Alzheimer's meeting at the Sheraton.", I said and he said "He didn't understand since they called it Old Timers around here." I said I would be glad to send him a photo of the paintings when I could done and he was glad to have it. He couldn't remember his telephone number and I said well he never probably called himself but his address was no problem. Slater Road was the oldest road in this territory.

I worked on the painting for two days. The spot I choose was paved but I painted it with a dirt road. Only about mile has not been paved because it does not belong to the State. Somebody dragged the road the morning I started working. What with many cars using it as a short cut the traffic has grown over the last several years. As I sat there painting you would see wide variety of cars and speeds as they approached the dirt. Some just turned around and others just took it at 50 mile per hour while others still slowed down and carefully moved onto the dirt. A lot of dust settled on my car and the painting has a fine patina of red dust. One guy driving a dump truck asked where the road went. I told him it went to the next exit on I-40.

After painting all day the first day I took a break and went looking around where Jesse had said there were a look of out buildings. I found what looked like the foundation of small home. Jars were strewn all around and rusting metal was all that was left of the stove, truck, refrigerator and furniture. I found a flowering tree that had been crushed by a fallen dead pine tree and clipped off a bit to bring home. I used one of the old mason jars still with the top rusted to it as a water container. I poked a hole in it and dribbled some water into what looked like had been squash. The hole acted as a holder and the tree had thorns.

I came back the next day and finished the painting. I removed all of the junk around the smoke house and made it look like someone was living there which there were some people living in the the two trailers flanking the smoke house. A mail box on the road and a old plow rusting in front of the collar patch that was in front of a stand of the rusted color tall grass that is everywhere. The small cabin looked like it was made with logs or wide boards. It had a tin red rusting roof and was about ten by 8 feet. A full size door was on the right front and a small window about 2 by 2 feet was to the left of it. The rest of the walls looked solid. There was a bench along the side of the home and a huge stump in front. Just to the right was a huge gnarled oak tree that towered over all the pine trees. The stand of pine trees flowed the whole length of the canvas. Starting far away on the left and moving up to the back of the home and then drifting far away with the road. The clouds were all over those two days. They seemed to swoop up on the left and taper down on the right. The blue peeked through in various palace and I left the sky quite rough.

During painting many joggers jogged by. They all looked like they ran to the end and then back. It must have been five miles altogether. I guess I should have put some people into the painting but just missed my chance. They are such a extra effort you have to hunt and peck them in as you go because you need to study them as they develope. "

Tom painting on the beach at Palm Beach, 1988. Always thinking of new ways to paint, this was the only time he tried painting multible paintings at the same time. From his many years painting the beach he discovered that the beach is something to experience and not so much painted. His best work was of simple groups of beach goers in the blazing sun.

Palm Beach Garage Apartment

8" x 10", oil on canvas, winter 1986

Painted from life, as a remembrance of the years Tom stayed in the apartment above the garage at 617 Brazilian Ave, home of Kenneth Douglas and James Barker. Tom was the artist in residence there for several years. The painting shows the deck off the back with a palm tree to the right and sliver of moon above. The colors are of the sunset, a gold band along the horizon and deep blue sky above. The frame is a very gaudy, heavy frame suitable for the decor of Palm Beach. Painted with a spider palette that Tom developed that winter. The device was made from a caulking gun and using angles and tubes was completely adjustable so that when you triggered the handle paint would come out in exact quantities to make any color using four oil colors, magenta, yellow, blue and white.

Palm Beach Moon

Carlos bought this painting on E-Bay calling to see what it is worth, his daughter liked it. He sent two images from his cell phone. Framed handsomely it is worth about $175 at auction about one fifth of the market value. Tom painted from life in Palm Beach from 1980 to 1987 during the winter season. He signed his name in block letters in 1987.

Sally Brown Honored at James Hunt Barker Luncheon, 10" x 8", oil on canvas, 1987

A number of years ago while visiting Key West, I purchased a painting of “Sloppy Joe’s”. Over the years, I have enjoyed this painting immensely. Today, I decided to research the artist and as a result I have concluded that it is probably your work. To be sure I have included a picture of the painting. I would be appreciative if you would inspect and confirm that it is in fact your work.

Thanks so much for getting back to me so quickly. My husband and I were visiting Key West in March of 1987 and bought the painting right on the street, possibly from you! I don’t recall how much we paid for it, although I think it was between $100-200.

In doing this research I enjoyed looking at the variety of your artwork and especially intrigued by the melted crayon pieces; saw your video on you tube.

I’m happy for the information you have provided me and look forward to seeing more of your work.