Tom Minor - A Major in art! - Tempe Artists Guild

Summary

Tom Minor's art large, vibrant paintings have drawn the attention of critics throughout the world.

Tom Minor is one of Tempe Artist Guild’s most distinguished painters. He favors large motifs, sometimes signs or buildings, always with striking shapes. He is juried into many art shows, and for good reason. His work is striking and sends a powerful message.

Tom started painting at age seven, with lessons in charcoal, pencil, oils and silver jewelry. He took every art class that his high school offered. His college major was Architecture with an art emphasis; during those years he operated his own business in graphic design and won at a national design competition. But other responsibilities took over after graduation when he became a corporate architect and senior executive for forty years. But during those years, art kept calling, and he took art classes and did some watercolor and tempura painting when he could find time: “Business careers tend to separate one from what they enjoy most.”

Finally the call to make art became irresistible: “In 2015 I converted my home office into an art studio. Until 2020 my art projects focused on graphite and pencil drawings, although I was experienced in pastels, watercolor, oils, and tempera painting. In 2020 I pursued acrylic painting, learning new techniques, including mixed medium acrylic and pastels. I experimented with various techniques, for example, treating the canvas so acrylic was compatible with watercolor and pastels, both soft and oil. Subject matter is always an issue because we tend to continue with the same subject rather than try something different. My early paintings were almost all animals. While I still enjoy painting animals, I now paint landscapes, still life, graphic designs, and the human figure.

As part of my learning process and during the pandemic, I started responding to calls for artist competitions. Over the next three years I entered 15 art competitions, and in each of them, I was selected as a finalist and received four honors of excellence. I exhibited online and at galleries. My entry into the art world exposed me to different techniques and ways to express artistic vision. I was able to receive access all entries and websites of other finalists. They came from all over — The talent in this world is amazing. I learned not be afraid to try something different and experiment. And I found that critiques improve your work. Competitions, where your work is evaluated by top professionals in their field, can provide excellent critiques.

Tom’s exhibition experience is broad, including China, Florida, California, and other parts of the Western US. His Catalina Motel piece is on exhibit until Jan 31 at the Tempe History Museum. We are very fortunate to have Tom as a member of the Tempe Artists Guild.