Interview
Tom Blood
Tom Blood was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1957. Even in grade school, his artistic talent was often on display. He created the ComicCorner for his weekly grade school paper, featuring his rather off-the-wall drawings and captions. He also created a series of murals that were painted on his high school walls, which were displayed for more than 10 years after his graduation.
Tom pursued a journalism degree at the University of Missouri, Columbia, and became an award-winning writer and Creative Director. His love affair with art continued, but was more focused on design than actual painting.
In 1989, Tom began painting. In 1991, he had his first exhibition at the Creative Gallery in Clayton, Missouri.
Tom would paint by night and write by day. Eventually, he went into a 17 year hiatus. Tom was challenged by his oldest son, who surprised him with two small canvasses and two small tubes of paint, and got him painting again. Always aiming to become more skilled as a painter, Tom continues to pursue his own surrealistic path, heavily influenced by Magritte, while also developing a style that is all his own. Painting the impossible, or at least the highly improbable, continues to be the driving force behind most of his work.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I have a degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where I majored in journalism with an emphasis in advertising. I rose through the ranks, beginning my career as a junior copywriter and moving all the way up to Creative Director. I have always had a love of art. Though I was offered art scholarships out of high school, I decided to pursue my career as a writer. I have always been a writer who thinks visually, as well as an artist who paints pictures with words. That combination served me well throughout my advertising career, which continues to this day.
When I was in my late 20s, I was given an airbrush from a woman I was dating. We used to go to galleries and art shows and I would always irritate her by saying, "I could do that." Not knowing anything about how to use an airbrush, I bought a book on it and began to paint. I quickly discovered that I was no pro with an airbrush, so I began to combine airbrush and brushwork on my large scale canvasses.
After about two years, I decided to show my work and approached several local galleries. One gallery owner liked my work and gave me a co-show. I sold three paintings at my opening and she told me that as long as I kept painting, she would keep giving me shows. After a 17-year break from art, I slowly got back to painting, beginning a journey that now gets more interesting with each painting I do.”
“My work seems to fall into three categories - surrealist, fantasy and pop art. I'm not trying to change the world with my art. I simply want to make people think when they view my work.
With my paintings, you can always tell what's going on - you just don't necessarily know why. I like to create potential stories that evolve in the viewer's mind upon seeing my work. And if I can bring a smile to your face, that's all the better!”
What inspires you most?
“I love to paint the impossible, or at least the highly improbable. I am a huge fan of Rene Magritte, and many of my paintings feature a man in a bowler hat - part of my ongoing homage to the Belgian master. I am innately curious and love to combine images that seemingly don't go together. I love clouds, forest and the ocean - these all show up in a lot of my work. But perhaps the thing that inspires me most is the fact that I've been given a gift - a talent to paint - and it is entirely up to me to make the most of that gift, which is something I try to do with every new canvas.”
How would you describe your work?
“Many people use the word 'whimsy' or 'whimsical' when describing my work. There is no particular rhyme or reason to what I choose to paint, but you can be sure there will always be some core idea that is being explored. If anything, I would call it surprising because each painting is its own little surprise, with some sort of unexpected visual. I guess you could say you should expect the unexpected when viewing my work.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Rene Magritte is by far the most creative, imaginative and technically excellent painter that I have ever encountered. His imagination was amazing. His technique is stunning. I've never seen an artist who can paint clouds quite like Magritte did - and clouds are far more difficult to paint than one might imagine. Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol are favorites regarding pop art style. I love the audacity of Banksy and for that reason, I also like the work of Mark Kostabi. There are several modern day surrealists who I am big fans of as well, but they're almost too numerous to mention!”
What is your creative process like?
“Since I am an idea painter, all of my paintings begin as ideas. I have a sketchpad where I'll draw out 2" x 4" ideas, or whatever small size it may be. Sometimes I use word association to try and combine images. Other times, I'll come across a startling photo and I begin to look at how I can turn it around and make it mine, adding some twist or unexpected element to the visual that makes it unique. Once I have settled on the idea, I purchase the appropriate-sized canvas.
With my scaling ability, I can take a 2" x 4" sketch and turn it into a 2' x 4' painting, or larger. So when I have the initial sketch created, I will then scale that up onto the canvas. From there, I very methodically go about creating the painting. One thing that has crossed over from my airbrush days is that I mask off. So I will mask off each element of a painting - the sky, the ground, waves, etc. and work on that particular section until I feel it's roughly done. From there, I move on to the next section of the painting. My process is akin to building a puzzle. I generally fill in one piece at a time, building the painting as I go, and then doing overall touch-ups once all the elements are in place.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“We live in such a chaotic world. With the advent of social media, it's amazing how within minutes of it happening, one can learn about anything major going on in the world. So many things are distorted, and there is so much divisiveness amongst everyone. The world needs art and artists who keep creating, keep exploring and keep doing. It doesn't matter if you're an abstract painter, a landscape artist, a minimalist, realist, surrealist or any of the literally hundreds of avenues available for creativity. We need things to inspire, delight, amaze and entertain. Art is becoming more immersive and experiential. I want to figure out how to get on that bandwagon. But most importantly, I want to continue to create because the gift of creativity is of no use unless you share it with others.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I have had multiple solo shows of my work here in the St. Louis metro area for many years. I currently have work available at The Gallery. A few years ago, my paintings served as the visuals for a video created by London recording artist, Liz Cirelli.
I am also quite proud to be in the top 15% of all viewed artists on Singulart.
First Gallery Showing - Creative Gallery, Clayton, Missouri 1991 - featured with Stan Solomon
Solo Gallery Show - Creative Gallery, Clayton, Missouri, 1993
Solo Gallery Show - Creative Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri, 1994
MySLArt.org 33 Show - March, 2014 - Best of Show, People's Choice
MySLArt.org 33 Show - November, 2015, People's Choice
Soulard Art Gallery - Honorable Mention, 2016, 2017
1900 Park Creative Space and Gallery - solo show featuring 28 of my paintings, March, 2017
Private purchase of four paintings by Michael Staenberg, August, 2018
Featured Artist of the Month - Ladue News, September, 2018
Solo exhibition - Renaissance Airport Hotel - featured artist of the month, June, 2019
30 paintings featured in London recording artist Liz Cirelli video, July 2019
Cover art: Key To Success Painting and inside feature: Gesso Magazine, September, 2019
Cover art and feature story: Edwardsville Edge, November, 2020
Solo Gallery Show - Good Weather Gallery, Edwardsville, Illinois, 2020
Surrealist and Fantasy Art Show – Green Door Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO, 2021
Juried show – Art Saint Louis XXXVII – The Exhibition – finalist, St. Louis, MO 2021
Featured artist – The Gallery in the District – St. Louis, MO 2021”
