Saturday, April 07, 2007

"Hot Lunch"


Tommy Thompson painted "Hot Lunch" primarily in memory of his mother, Eugenia. Eugenia loved her cows and even gave them pet names. She enjoyed going out to the pasture and calling "Sooooo Cow" to her favorite cows. She would talk "baby talk" to her cows because they were like her pets.

Many people have considered what the name of the painting means. Some have conjured up ideas of a "Hot Lunch" of steak, but what Thompson was really referring to is the "Hot Lunch" that the young calf has just had.

"Leisure Morning"


Horses figure very prominently in the background of artist Tommy Thompson. When he was a child growing up in rural Mississippi, he had a favorite horse named Liz. Many of Thompson's collectors tell him that they like his paintings of horses.

"Flat Creek in Jackson Hole, Wyoming"


"Flat Creek at Jackson Hole, Wyoming" is a painting that Thompson created after participating in an intensive oil painting workshop conducted by Scott Christensen. Thompson and his wife treasure their visit to this beautiful area of our country. This painting was selected by an interior designer from Washington, DC, for the new wing of St. Mary's Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

"Pansies Forgotten"


Tommy Thompson painted this still life primarily because his wife and daughters encouraged him to. But he does remember the tiny flowers that his mother always planted in large beds to bloom early in the spring.

"Summer Daze"


Tommy Thompson painted "Summer Daze" after studying daylilies in his garden. The landscape artist rarely ever does still life, but he had fun painting "with a broad brush" on this particular one. He felt that he was freer and more relaxed in doing this painting. After years as an illustrator where the artist must follow rigid guidelines to portray his subject with exacting details, it is a relief for the artist/painter to adapt a freer style.

"Atlantic at Narragansett"


Tommy and Marie Thompson have a very good friend, Mimi Sammis, of Narragansett, Rhode Island. One autumn Mimi invited artists Tommy Thompson and George Walker, another artist friend to paint seascapes near her home on the Atlantic. This small oil original was painted "en plein air" by Thompson during that visit to Narragansett.

"Heron Retreat"


Tommy Thompson painted "Heron Retreat" during a Chestnut Group paintout at Radnor Lake in Nashville, TN. Thompson and his wife arrived at the lake early one morning and were welcomed by several blue herons, deer, rabbits, and other wildlife. This original is now in a private collection in Nashville, TN.

"Radnor Deer"


Tommy Thompson painted "Radnor Deer" during a Chestnut Group paintout at Radnor Lake in Nashville. The artist and his wife were surprised to find deer so close to the walking trail around the lake. The couple were amazed at how tame the deer were; several fawns walked the trail facing them and were not afraid. This painting is now in a private collection in Nashville, TN.

"Golfing on the Trail"


Tommy Thompson painted "Golfing on the Trail," using a plein air field study and digital photos taken at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in the Shoals, Alabama. This is the 18th hole on the "Fighting Joe" golf course. This painting has been accepted to the Arts Alive Gallery Show at the Kennedy Douglass Center for the Arts, Florence, AL, during May 19-June 19, 2007.

"Fighting Joe"


Tommy Thompson painted "Fighting Joe," a golf course named for Fighting Joe Wheeler, who was a Confederate General known for his unshakable courage during the Civil War. Wheeler Dam across the Tennessee River was also named for the fightingest general. This golf course is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in the Shoals, Alabama. Thompson's impressionistic style painting was done "en plein air." This artwork is now available through Savage Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee.

"Morning Fog"


Tommy Thompson painted "Morning Fog" early one morning after his wife noticed a very moody, mystical landscape on Wilson Dam Road in Florence, Alabama. The couple were traveling to their daughter's home in Hartselle, Alabama, for a paint-out with their granddaughter, Shellie and daughter, Melanie. This particular landscape reminded Marie of the kinds of landscapes that the renowned artist, the late Lanford Monroe painted. This painting was selected by an interior designer from Washington, DC, for the new wing of St. Mary's Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.