"Lantern in Sunlight" by Tommy Thompson

Happy Valentine's Day

In celebration of Valentines Day, we are offering until February 29, 2012, a  selection of small unframed oil paintings priced at $99 each. Free shipping will be provided. This is a perfect opportunity to acquire a piece of original art for that special someone in your life or perhaps you would like a gift for yourself or a friend. To view this selection, please click here

"Daisy," 16x20 Oil on Canvas

When Tommy Thompson was just starting out in plein air painting on a professional scale in 2003, he and his wife had the opportunity to attend a slide presentation by the great British-born painter John Stobart, honorary member of the Plein Air Painters of America. Stobart’s presentation was a special highlight of a workshop conducted in Old Lyme, CT, by the Plein Air Painters of America and the Scottsdale Artists’ School.

Stobart told the group that when he was young his father discouraged him from a career in art; he wanted the young Stobart to pursue medicine. However, school work did not interest Stobart; he was more interested in creative pursuits. Because Stobart had exceptional drawing skills, he was enrolled in the Derby College of Art and later won a scholarship to London's prestigious Royal Academy School, being one of only four students accepted that year.

The famous painter entertained his audience with a story about one of his plein air painting experiences. One day Stobart was out painting a pastoral landscape, probably similar to the kind that Tommy Thompson enjoys capturing in oil. While talking with a passerby who stopped to visit with the artist, he did not realize what was happening to his painting. When he returned to his easel, he discovered that part of his painting was now on the face of a curious cow who had ventured too close to the painting and now wore part of his painting. The cow must have interpreted the painting as a delicious meal.

At that same workshop, Thompson was amused while watching the talented painter, Kevin Macpherson, demonstrating plein air painting at Ashlawn Farm near Old Lyme, CT.  Macpherson was unaware that the audience behind him included an equine member. A horse gradually moved closer and closer up behind the painter until his head was directly over the painter’s shoulder. The crowd behind Macpherson were as fascinated with the horse as they were with the magic of Macpherson’s painting.

Growing up on a farm, Tommy Thompson has many happy memories of adventures with his brother and neighborhood friends. The artist now tells his granddaughters funny stories such as the time he and his brother were left at home while their mother went shopping. She had told the boys to gather some corn in their garden. The two young boys soon tired of that job and decided to make a corn-cob pipe. When they could not find any "rabbit" tobacco (an herb characterized by its silvery green leaves) to smoke in their pipe, Tommy's brother came up with the bright idea of using coffee instead, as he said, coffee looked similar to tobacco. The boys became really nauseated and soon fell asleep on the grass. When Tommy woke up, he was lying on his back and he watched as the words,"Pepsi Cola," were drifting across the sky. The words were being written in smoke by a sky-writer airplane. Needless to say, the young boys wondered if they had died and gone to heaven. For many years afterwards, Tommy became sick at the thought of coffee and never tried smoking anything again.

"View of North Haven Island from Vinal Haven Island, ME," 48x60 Oil on Canvas, by Tommy Thompson

We recently received a request from a nonprofit organization in Maine to donate a Tommy Thompson painting or two to their fund-raising auction. Thankfully we still had a copy of Lori Woodward Simons' excellent article titled "Fund Raisers that do it Right," which all artists should read. This article was published by FASO's Clint Watson in his newsletter, Fine Art Views. In this article, Ms. Simons gives specific examples of how fund raisers can "do it right." She shows how these organizations get the best artists to participate because they partner with the artists to raise funds, not take advantage of them. In answering the request of the organization in Maine and to educate them, we forwarded to them a copy of Ms. Simons' article, which was subsequently forwarded to their respective Board.

Like Ms. Simons, we agree that many artists in this down economy are struggling to survive and prosper.  We agree that sometimes fund-raising organizations do the community of artists more harm than good. We agree that fund raisers who ask numerous artists for outright donations devalue the worth of the art in that community. When there is no minimum (reserve) price set for a work, it often sells for less than the cost for materials.; it cuts artists to the core when we realize that our paintings have been sold for ridiculously low prices. Even worse, the buyers return each year to pick up unbelievable bargains, and they rarely contact the artists to pay full retail price on additional paintings. This is the kind of "exposure" that actually hurts business for artists. In fact, we told our caller from Maine, requesting a full donation of a painting, that artists will starve to death on "exposure."

Another misunderstanding involves income tax deductions. Many people will tell you that you can deduct the value of the painting from your taxes since you are donating to a nonprofit organization. This is false; an artist can only deduct the cost of the materials that were used to create the painting.

We admire Ms. Simons for not only her artwork and writing but also the excellent advice and information on marketing that she provides to other artists. In fact, she will be teaching a 2-day art marketing workshop, "Outside the Box: Art Marketing," at Scottsdale Artists' School, Scottsdale, AZ, January 19-20, 2012. Hopefully, she will soon be publishing her own book on art marketing since she has a storehouse of knowledge on the subject and has been conducting research on the subject recently. Congratulations, Lori, and thanks for all that you do for artists.

I’d Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self Promotion by Alyson B. Stanfield is one of the most valuable books in any artist’s library. I consider it the most essential art marketing resource in my collection of books. A few years ago my wife, Marie, participated in one of Alyson’s online art marketing courses, from which this book emanated. The book includes a multitude of information on topics such as how to write an artist statement, how to create a portfolio, how to write informative and interesting newsletters, and how to connect with people through blogs. One of the most valuable sections of the book for us is the information on “cultivating collectors.” Alyson reminds us to follow up with anyone who expresses an interest in our artwork. This art marketing guru advises artists to stand out from the crowd by sending hand-written thank-you notes to everyone who favors you by attending an exhibition, introducing you to a potential collector, recommending you to a new gallery, or simply expressing an interest in your artwork. Whenever our artist daughter, Michelle Rideout, has a question regarding art marketing, she hears from her mother, “Alyson says . . .” She has learned to tap into this valuable storehouse of art marketing information.

Tommy Thompson painted "Rock of Ages," after trekking down into a treacherous gorge, located near the natural waterfall, Noccalula Falls near Gadsden, AL. After finishing his plein air painting, Thompson and his wife, Marie, heard stories from several natives in the area that other adventurers who had ventured into the gorge had fallen on the slippery rocks and disappeared into the rushing waters of the Falls below. The Thompsons felt they were lucky to escape with their lives and a beautiful painting.

"Burleson Mountain in Bloom," 10x12 inch Oil by Tommy Thompson

Tommy Thompson Art is offering a special 10% discount on selected paintings, plus free shipping, in time for stuffing those Christmas stockings on your list.

"Barn at Bell's Bend," 8x10 Inch Oil by Tommy Thompson

We have a a nice selection of paintings that can enhance any setting and provide pleasure for viewers for many years to come. Fine art is always a welcome gift for almost any recipient.

"Hidden Barn," 8x10 Oil by Tommy Thompson

If you don't see any painting here that satisfies your fancy, please check out the web site at tommythompsonart.com. We are sure that you will find a painting that will please your special someone.  Contact us via our web site if you have questions.

"Curious Cows," 9x12 Inch Oil, by Michelle Rideout

Artist Michelle Rideout Invited to Participate in the Fine Art in Brentwood (TN) Show and Sale

Brentwood, TN, November 7, 2011--Artist Michelle Rideout, daughter of Tommy Thompson, has been juried into the Fine Art in Brentwood Show and Sale, slated for December 2-4, 2011. Rideout creates works in a variety of mediums--oil, pastel, watercolor, and charcoal/conte. Brentwood Academy is located at 219 Granny White Pike, Brentwood, TN. Art show hours are Friday, December 2, 5:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.; Saturday, December 3, 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.; and Sunday, December 4 1 P.M. to 5 P.M.

“I am happiest when I am immersed in art,” Rideout says. “I hope that my paintings add serenity to the lives of all who view them.” She was once described by the late writer Alex Haley as having an "internal spirit that is just as genuine as her classic appearance is on the outside."  Her paintings reflect that genuineness of spirit and serenity. She was honored to have an exhibition of her paintings at Belle Meade Plantation Art Gallery in Nashville, TN, during February 2-28, 2010, and at the Brentwood Public Library during October 1-November 30, 2011.

The artist has been drawing since she was a small child with her artist father, Tommy Thompson, as her favorite teacher. During 15 years of experience as an illustrator with Village Prints, Florence, AL, she captured the essence of small town America in hundreds of composite pencil renderings (villageprints.com). Her prints have often been used for civic fundraisers, raising money around the country and receiving greater prominence through features in national magazines. She was commissioned to draw the boyhood homes of record producer Sam Phillips and writer, Alex Haley. 

Next, Rideout turned her attention to fine art. She has studied watercolor with Carolyn Wright of Chattanooga, TN; plein air oil with Nashville artists, Jason Saunders, Roger Dale Brown, and Kim Barrick, Atlanta artist Jeremy Doss, and Colorado artist Jeanne Mackenzie; pastel with Pat Thompson, Franklin, TN; oil portraits with Dawn Whitelaw, Franklin, TN, and Casey Baugh, Framingham, MA, and Chattanooga, TN.

“I cannot imagine life without art,” Rideout says. “I am inspired to create paintings that reflect God's wonderful creations in nature.” She graduated with a B.S. degree in graphic design in 1989 from the University of North Alabama, Florence, AL. 

The talented artist enjoys painting with a portrait painting group in Franklin, TN and with Nashville’s Chestnut Group, plein air painters for the land. She is also a member of the Portrait Society of America.

More examples of Rideout’s work can be seen at www.michellerideout.com. Check out www.brentwoodacademy.com for more information about the fine art show. Thirty percent of each sale at the art show is tax deductible; no sales tax is charged. 

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My daughter, Michelle Rideout, and I don't want our friends to miss our art exhibit at the Brentwood Public Library on Concord Road in Brentwood, TN. We hope that you will tell all of your friends and family about this special display of our paintings in oil, watercolor and pastel. There is only a little more than two weeks' time remaining for our exhibit. 

In case you missed seeing this, here is an article that appeared in the Tennesseean newspaper about our work:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111012/WILLIAMSON08/309280032/Father-daughter-artists-work-display-library

The Brentwood Home Page, an online newspaper, also covered our Library show, in this article:

http://www.brentwoodhomepage.com/new-library-exhibits-a-family-affair-cms-6546

A special thanks to both of these newspapers and their reporters for helping us to get the word out about this special exhibit.

Every now and then, we get a delightful message from one of our artist friends. The following note is one of the best; this one is from Linda Allen, a Chestnut Group member and a participant in one of my workshops: "The last week of July and the first week of August I had cataract surgery.Things didn't go well and my eyes became worse and worse.  The doctors discovered that I was allergic to the preservative in the drops that were used for my surgery; therefore, I had a chemical burn on both eyes. I was in a great deal of pain and could see very little. I had to keep the curtains drawn, the lights off, and rest most of the time. I couldn't watch television; I couldn't use the computer; I couldn't read; I was just stuck. What I could do was think and reflect and pray.

While reflecting one day, I remembered [Tommy's] workshop on a Leiper's Fork back porch. While we all watched Tommy in his demonstration, one student leaned closer and asked, 'How did you mix that color?' Tommy turned with a glint in his eye and sweet smile and said, 'A little bit of red, a little bit of blue, and a little bit of yellow.' Satisfied, we all returned intently to the matter of watching his demonstration.  A little while later, another student said, 'Tommy, now how did you get that color?' Without hesitation, Tommy turned and looked at all of us with that sweet smile and said, 'A little bit of red, a little bit of blue, and a little bit of yellow.'
 

Considering my options of not being able to do much, I decided to try painting. I reached into the jar of number 16 brushes, set a large size canvas board on one of the easels, and began painting with broad strokes. I painted from memory a farm scene with Tennessee hills. As I painted I used only colors mixed from a little bit of red, a little bit of blue, and a little bit of yellow. There were no fine details because I couldn't see that well, but it looked just like my beautiful state of Tennessee.
 

I stepped back and gave it a good look when I had finished.  'Not bad for someone having eyesight problems,' I said to myself. I decided right then and there that the experience was priceless for painting with only a little bit of red, a little bit of blue, and a little bit of yellow. Needless to say, I had forgotten all about the pain in my eyes while I was painting and the joy of the experience was lasting.
 
So, thank you, Tommy, for your bit of wisdom that a successful painting can be achieved with a little bit of red, a little bit of blue, and a little bit of yellow."---Linda Mashburn Allen