Visual Art
Event Name:	"Art at the Gardens: A Solo Exhibition by Tommy Thompson"
Description:	A Fine Art Exhibition and Sale with a portion of the proceeds going to the B'ham Botanical Gardens
Date:	March 1, 2008 – April 26, 2008
Full Description:	News Release Contact: Marie K. Thompson--256-767-0422 E-Mail: tmt11@comcast.net Birmingham Botanical Gardens To Be Blooming With Fine Art in March and April 2008 Florence, Alabama, February 25, 2008--Springtime usually brings blooming flowers to gardens, but in March and April the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (BBG) will also be "blooming" with beautiful oil originals by plein air painter, Tommy Thompson. "Art at the Gardens: A Solo Exhibition by Tommy Thompson" promises to be the highlight of the art gallery of the BBG for 2 months during March 1 through April 26, 2008. Glistening new oil originals of peaceful, pastoral landscapes depicting various scenes across America, garden scenes, seascapes, mountain scapes, horses--these are just a few of the "feast for the eye" artwork that await all lovers of fine art at the Birmingham facility. Thompson is a traditional oil artist specializing in landscapes and portraits. He has enhanced his skills in landscape and portrait painting through study with master painters, Kevin Macpherson, Kenn Backhaus, Ken Auster, Roger Dale Brown, John Budicin, Scott Christensen, Paula Frizbe, Ned Mueller, Michael Shane, Neal, Jason Saunders, and Dawn Whitelaw. Travels to Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Wyoming, as well as Canada and Europe, have afforded the artist a wide array of subject matter. Thompson was honored to have his work featured in the May/June 2007 issue of Greater Nashville, House, Home, and Garden magazine. A Washington, DC, interior designer selected two of his paintings for the Board Room of St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville, TN. The Brentwood, TN Art Association sponsored a solo exhibition of Thompson's work in October 2007. The Huntsville Art League has requested that Thompson teach an oil painting workshop during 2008. Art associations and civic clubs across North Alabama and Tennessee have asked the artist to present art talks and painting demonstrations during 2008. Thompson's work is now in collections throughout the United States. He is represented by Local Color Gallery, Nashville, TN; Loblolly Interior Market, Columbia, TN; and Willis-Gray Gallery, Decatur, AL. He is a member of the Oil Painters of America; the Portrait Society of America; Landscape Artists International; the Alabama Plein Air Painters; and the Chestnut Group, a nonprofit alliance of landscape artists, Nashville, TN. The Gardens are located at 2612 Lane Park Road, Birmingham, AL. Admission and parking are free. The hours of operation are as follows: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Twenty percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Gardens. For more information regarding Thompson's work, check out his web site at http://www.tommythompsonart.com ***
Phone Number:	205-414-3931
Location:	Birmingham Botanical Gardens 2612 Lane Park Road Birmingham, AL
Geographic Area:	Birmingham Metro
Time:	All-day event
Event Website:	http://www.bbgardens.org
Price:	free admission
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Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham
1731 First Avenue North, Suite 190 · Birmingham, AL  35203
Phone: 205-458-1393 · Fax: 205-458-1396

 

 

News Release

Contact: Marie K. Thompson

                  256-767-0422

                  E-Mail: tmt11@comcast.net

Birmingham Botanical Gardens To Be Blooming With Fine Art in March and April 2008

       Florence, Alabama, March 1, 2008--Springtime usually brings blooming flowers to gardens, but in March and April the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (BBG) will also be "blooming" with beautiful oil originals by plein air painter, Tommy Thompson. "Art at the Gardens: A Solo Exhibition by Tommy Thompson" promises to be the highlight of the art gallery of the BBG for 2 months during March 1 through April 26, 2008. Glistening new oil originals of peaceful, pastoral landscapes depicting various scenes across America, garden scenes, seascapes, mountain scapes, horses--these are just a few of the "feast for the eye" artwork that await all lovers of fine art at the Birmingham facility.

Thompson is a traditional oil artist specializing in landscapes and portraits. He has enhanced his skills in landscape and portrait painting through study with master painters, Kevin Macpherson, Kenn Backhaus, Ken Auster, Roger Dale Brown, John Budicin, Scott Christensen, Paula Frizbe, Ned Mueller, Michael Shane, Neal, Jason Saunders, and Dawn Whitelaw. Travels to Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Wyoming, as well as Canada and Europe, have afforded the artist a wide array of subject matter. Thompson was honored to have his work featured in the May/June 2007 issue of Greater Nashville, House, Home, and Garden magazine. A Washington, DC, interior designer selected two of his paintings for the Board Room of St. Mary's Hospital in Knoxville, TN. The Brentwood, TN Art Association sponsored a solo exhibition of Thompson's work in October 2007. The Huntsville Art League has requested that Thompson teach an oil painting workshop during 2008. Art associations and civic clubs across North Alabama and Tennessee have asked the artist to present art talks and painting demonstrations during 2008. Thompson's work is now in collections throughout the United States. He is represented by Local Color Gallery, Nashville, TN; Loblolly Interior Market, Columbia, TN; and Willis-Gray Gallery, Decatur, AL. He is a member of the Oil Painters of America; the Portrait Society of America; Landscape Artists International; the Alabama Plein Air Painters; and the Chestnut Group, a nonprofit alliance of landscape artists, Nashville, TN.

The Gardens are located at 2612 Lane Park Road, Birmingham, AL. Admission and parking are free. The hours of operation are as follows: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Twenty percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Gardens.

For more information regarding Thompson's work, check out his web site at http://www.tommythompsonart.com  

Tommy Thompson's February 2008 Fine Art Newsletter "Horses of the Tetons" 24" X 36" Oil on Canvas By Tommy Thompson

I invite everyone to visit my web site to view some of the oil paintings that I have produced recently. You will undoubtedly notice my recent attention to one of my favorite subjects--horses. I grew up riding a horse named "Liz," on my family's farm, and this love of horses shows through in many of my oil paintings today. As I travel through the countryside with my wife Marie, my van often screeches to a halt at the sight of beautiful horses. Out from the van come my paints, easel, and digital camera as I set about capturing the pastoral scene on canvas. All of my paintings today are done using a limited palette of cadmium red light, cadmium yellow light, ultramarine blue, transparent oxide red, alizarin crimson, and titanium white. Using a palette knife and brushes, I paint wet-into-wet. My artwork is primarily influenced through instruction from master painters such as Kevin Macpherson and Richard Schmid. Be sure to check out these new paintings on my web site, "Horses of the Tetons," "Morning at Foggy Bottom," "Grazing at Dawn," "Sunday at Grandpa's," "Cold Ride," "Grazing with a View" and "In Training." There are many more paintings to entice your attention. Stay a while and enjoy the view!

The top 100 is calculated based on a mathematical formula that FASO calls focal point rank. Focal point rank calculates the total number of points for an artist based on his or her web site's popularity, traffic, content, recency of updates, and a variety of factors. We are pleased that we received a ranking of 33 in the Top 100 out of more than 2,000 artists on Fine Art Studio Online (see http://canvoo.com/top100.asp).  FASO's internet guru, Clint Watson, is promoting the Top 100 list into a resource that collectors will check often.

We recently made a new friend who breeds and raises beautiful, high-quality award-winning Arabian horses. Our new friend is Lisa Littrell of Hartselle, Alabama. To see Lisa's amazing Arabian beauties, go to the ANSA Arabian web site. We plan to make many more visits to Lisa's Arabian horse farm in the future to paint scenes "en plein air" and to make many more digital photos. It is amazing how many great new friends we have made since we entered the world of plein air painting. A whole new world of interesting places and people have been afforded us.

On New Year's Day, we were treated to an unusual experience in Pulaski, Tennessee, when our good friends, George and Beverly Greenup, invited us to their farm. A large group of "horse lovers" gather at their farm each year for a trail ride followed by a bountiful feast of every kind of gourmet morsel you can imagine. I was particularly interested because of my love of horses, and this gave me an excellent opportunity to photograph the horses and the riders for future paintings.

During the New Year's Day party at the Greenup farm, we met Arnold and Lisa Warmels, who live on a farm in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee. After taking several digital photographs of Arnold and his horse, I was inspired to paint an oil on canvas, "Cold Ride." The landscape that I incorporated in my painting has elements of the trees and terrain that is behind the barn on the Greenup farm. To add depth to the composition, I included an imaginary distant landscape.

Arnold Warmels, a native of the Netherlands, is a horse trainer and clinician, who operates his business, Fryslan Valley Sport Horses, at a farm in Leiper's Fork, TN. Warmels' brand of horse training is dubbed "Riding Light" or "Horsemanship for Life." Although the European trainer grew up as a student of dressage in his homeland, his wide expertise cuts across several disciplines and includes experience with a variety of horse breeds that he has worked with since his arrival in the United States. To learn more about Arnold and his special training style, visit http://www.fryslanvalley.com.  I look forward to doing plein air painting on the beautiful farm where the Warmels live.

"It is amazing how Tommy caught the feel of 'Cold Ride' and the crisp winter calmness of a lonesome get-together with a horse. I am honored that both my horse Rambler and myself could inspire Tommy for this beautiful painting!"--Arnold Warmels, http://www.fryslanvalley.com  

Solo Exhibition of Tommy Thompson's Art, Birmingham Botanical Gardens Art Gallery, March 1-April 26, 2008

I invite everyone to visit my solo art exhibition and sale at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens (Art Gallery) during March 1-April 26. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Gardens. Admission and parking are free. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The address is 2612 Lane Park Road, Birmingham, Alabama. Telephone: 205-414-3931. Some of my latest paintings will be featured in this 2-month exhibition.

On February 9, we were pleased to participate in the Riverchase Women's Club art show at Riverchase Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama. A portion of the proceeds was contributed to three worthwhile causes--Alzheimer's of Central Alabama, the Amelia Center, and the Exceptional Children's Foundation. We enjoyed seeing old friends and making several new ones. This successful show was held in a beautiful section of the Hoover area.

We recently received our copy of Alyson B. Stanfield's new book, I'd Rather Be in the Studio: The Artist's No Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion. We were pleased that Alyson included a notation for Tommy Thompson Art in her book. Marie participated in two of Alyson's online art business classes last year. Anyone interested in purchasing a copy of Alyson's new book can do so at http://www.amazon.com.  This art marketing expert's new book offers practical approaches that help artists sell more art and build an art career that lasts. This art marketing guru behind http://www.ArtBizCoach.com shares self-promotion tools that have enhanced the careers of thousands of artists. Artists will learn how to introduce themselves as artists so people want to know more; focus their artist statements to discover the right words for all of their marketing messages; expand their mailing lists and use them to cultivate collectors; create marketing materials that outshine the competition; become media magnets so buyers come to them; take advantage of their web sites and blog to build a bigger audience; and much more. I'd Rather Be in the Studio! provides easy-to-follow self-promotional practices that help artists find their way at any point in their careers.

One of my favorite Christmas presents was the new Richard Schmid DVD, "White Pine." In this video the master painter creates a beautiful painting of a white pine using digital photographs while he views them on his computer screen. Richard emphasizes that he is able to create this exceptional work of art using digital photographs since he has painted the same scene "en plein air" many times in the past. It is interesting to watch how the famous painter borrows various elements from more than one photograph to create a very pleasing painting.

We have added several new posts to our blog at <a href="http://ww