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Tom
Barnes was born High Point NC. He grew up in the
pine forest and coastal plains of South Georgia. In the early fifties,
raised amongst the gators, mosquitoes, and bourbon of South Georgia,
Tom was dutifully packed off each summer, traveling by train to Savannah
where he spent two weeks with the twins, Lila and Bess… may
they rest in peace...
The two
sisters insisted on taking the bus downtown every Thursday to shop,
dine out, and maybe see a movie. Early in the morning, a lengthy
discussion ensued as to what to wear. Completely coordinated in salmons,
pinks, baby blues, mint greens, or lemon yellow, the two ladies set
out toting bus tokens in their purses, and sporting hats with flowers
(always with flowers), gloves, costume jewelry, and pumps matching
their outfits. The fragrances exuded were thick with magnolia, lilac,
and oleander.
The combination
of femininity expressed by the two grand dames, the heady paintings
and statues of the museum, and a gift
from God for
things artistic, all came together in the "long neck ladies" which
have become Barnes' signatures. The attitudes and poses of the subjects
express the widest range of feminine emotion. The layers upon layers
of brilliant transparent watercolor in gambouge, prussian, sap green,
azrilian crimson, ochre and vermillion build to rich luscious color… and
the touch of 14K gold gives these decorative art pieces a sparkle that
warms the heart and reminds us of an era long gone…may it rest
in peace…
Graduating
from the University of Georgia in 1972 with degrees in Experimental Psychology
and Philosophy and Religion, Tom met and married Gail Thompson of
Guyton, Georgia. In Athens, Tom worked for Morris
Communications as the Creative Services Director and Gail taught ballet.
Moving to Columbia, South Carolina, where their son Tyler was born,
the couple worked for Community Newspapers, Inc. until they moved to
Virginia Beach, Virginia where for thirteen years, Tom served Landmark
Communications as a marketing executive. They continued their work
with children in dance theatre, producing twelve original ballets and
theatre pieces for Tidewater audiences.
In 1990, Tom retired from the corporate business world and began to
paint. Recently, the family moved to the Denver area to help plant
a church.
Self-taught,
he works primarily in watercolors. Recently, the genre has changed
to
reflect his abiding passion with the Renaissance and
his newfound love of the Pre-Raphaelitism. His florals almost always
are abstracted forms with the same intense color rendering of his figures…but
the added motion of a passing breeze adds yet another element of excitement.
Likewise, his landscapes capture the techniques of the Fauvists and
are stylized with mountains, hills, plains and lush foliage. His still
life subject matter usually captures a chair, a table, a window, a
jar and simple pieces of fruit…they always capture a moment of
repose and reflection, interrupted by something unknown. Most all his
work is on 140# Arches rough-press paper with Grumbacher Academy paints.
His recent experiments on canvas debuted this June at Smith-Klein Gallery
in Boulder.
Over the past ten years, his works have found their way into collections
in Mexico, Bolivia, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, England, Nigeria and
Spain as well as many east coast and mountain states cities.
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