Nantucket Paintings

Nantucket's Pacific House

Ms Defiant Scrimshaw

    Tom painted on the Island of Nantucket from 1985 to 1989. In the first two years he worked for James Hunt Barker. In the later years he could be seen painted five different scenes on Main Street all summer long. He was painting a canvas a day trying to learn his craft. He has painted more than 800 Nantucket paintings. Heretofore he was classically trained in portraiture from Ralph Wolfe Cowan, the world's greatest portrait painter who has painted more royalty than any other living artist.  

        It took two seasons for Tom to master a en plein air manner. The greatest canvases were done in the year 1987.  

        Tom married Irene Moore in 1994 and only returned for several years sailing in from East Hampton. When his daughter was born the sails stopped. He hopes to return.  

Painting done in New England

Surf Fishing in Nantucket, 20" x 16", oil on canvas, 1995

Painted on location at the schallop shack in Nantucket Harbor. Tom used the men that gathered during the day to pose. The boat came from a yard nearby. The idea came from an image Tom found showing the old tradional fishing method of launching a surfboat from the beach then paying out net in front of a school of Sea Bass. Next the boat was rowed ashore and the net gathered and hauled up on the beach. The shack was a regular meeting ground for the local men. This painting was done in the fall but in the winter is when it gets hairy. The warden watches the bay and monitors the men out on the cold frozen water. If there is any trouble, he can get help out there quickly.

Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard
July 10 1994, Oil on canvas, 20" x 16"
Painted on location during a sailing vacation. Oak Bluffs is one of the few places where you can see both black & white people vacationing together. Tom set up his easel in view of the congregation tent. In the old days, people would come to worship. Today, people still come for the religious services. The homes surrounding the main commons are a combination of tent and home. In the painting, Tom painted Whoppie Goldberg and Melanie Griffith out of a picture in a magazine.

Zero Main Street, Nantucket
July 2 1994, Oil on canvas, 20" x 16"
One of two paintings Tom did while on vacation in Nantucket. In the past he had painted this same scene over and over again but he had sold all of them. This one he did for himself. It is one of the four different views he painted of the famous fountain. The view is of a large building that used to be a counting house for the ships that came into port but today houses shops below and offices above. During the summer, they hang a large model of a whaling ship above the door.

Pacific Club, Nantucket
July 1 1994, Oil on canvas, 20" x 16"
Painted during a vacation trip to Nantucket. In previous years, Tom would paint on the street everyday. Now, while on a sailing trip he has to return to his learning roots. He would paint five different scenes of the famous fountain. This view was one of them. The other five were Zero Main Street, Pacific National Bank & The Looms. Today there are no large trees for they got too old and died.

Zero Main St. Nantucket, 20" x 16", Oil on canvas, August 1993

Pacific Club. Nantucket, 20" x 16", Oil on canvas, August 1993

Main Street Nantucket

Oil on cedar shingle,16" x 9"

On a return visit to Nantucket Tom painted this. He spent four summers there painting on the street everyday. This was one of the scenes he painted often. The view is looking up Main street past the fountain in the middle of the road and the Pacific Bank at the top.

Nantucket, Main Street II, 24" x 20”, Oil on canvas, August 1987

This larger version of the one above is the crowning achievement in Tom's Nantucket paintings. He liked the 20" x 16" enough to make a larger version of it.

Tom painted on the Island of Nantucket from 1985 to 1989. In the first two years he worked for James Hunt Barker. In the later years he could be seen painted five different scenes on Main Street all summer long. He was painting a canvas a day trying to learn his craft. He has painted more than 800 Nantucket paintings. Heretofore he was classically trained in portraiture from Ralph Wolfe Cowan, the world's greatest portrait painter who has painted more royalty than any other living artist.  

It took two seasons for Tom to master a en plein air manner. The greatest canvases were done in the

Sheep Farm, Nantucket

Oil on canvas, June 1988, 10" x 8", available

Painted from life in the beginning of the season at the home of Kathleen Knight. This painting shows impressionistic impasto technique that Tom used until 1989.

Nantucket Cliff Girl
July 1 1986 Oil on canvas 20" x 16"
Painted in the studio during Tom's second season on the island. Tom would search through art books looking for a scene that he could replace the elements with Nantucket scenes. Then after assembling the drawing in the studio, he would go into the field. This view is high upon the Northern cliffs of the island. You look down upon the beach club where you can rent wind surfers and sunfish. The Jetties extend northward to make a break for the channel to the main harbor.