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"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.