(Fighting Joe, Golf Course," by Tommy Thompson, 12x16 Oil on Canvas)
The Huntsville, AL, Art League has invited painter, Tommy Thompson, to discuss his approach to plein air painting at their gallery on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 7 p.m. "Plein air" is a French term arising from the French Impressionist Movement of painting; it refers to painting in the open air. The League's gallery is located at 3005 L&N Drive, Suite 2 in Huntsville, telephone: 256-534-3860. The public is invited to attend.
Tommy Thompson was a technical and architectural illustrator for more than 30 years before moving on to painting oil landscapes in 2003. He now concentrates on painting pastoral landscapes that include horses. His paintings are impressionistic in style and evoke a sense of peace. He has studied under some of the nation's top painters including Kevin Macpherson, Ken Auster, Kenn Backhaus, Roger Dale Brown, John Budicin, Scott Christensen, Ned Mueller, Michael Shane Neal, Jason Saunders, and Dawn Whitelaw. During the past year, he has been invited to show his work in four solo exhibitions by various art associations and dealers in Birmingham, Guntersville, Memphis, and Nashville. Most recently, the Mountain Valley Arts Council of Guntersville has invited the artist to conduct a solo exhibition of his work at their gallery during June 2-30 at 300 Gunter Avenue. Thompson is a member of the Oil Painters of America, Portrait Society of America, Landscape Artists International, Alabama Plein Air Painters, Art for Patronage, and the Chestnut Group, a nonprofit alliance of landscape artists of Nashville, TN. The artist's childhood near Starkville, MS, instilled in him a love of nature. Now living near the banks of the Tennessee River in Florence, Alabama, Thompson receives inspiration for his plein-air landscape paintings from the natural surroundings. He is represented by Willis-Gray Gallery, Decatur, AL; Loblolly Interior Market, Columbia, TN; and the Heirloom Shop, Franklin, TN.
For more information about Thompson and his artwork, log onto http://www.tommythompsonart.com/
