“I just paint”, says Tom. Unpretentious, in fact, anti-pretentious, Tom Gardner is an artist full of both feeling and thought who believes that art should be accessible to everyone without explanation.
Like many artists, Tom Gardner paints because he must. He is compelled, and finds that some part of him seems broken when he cannot create daily. He began painting as a child and stayed with it “because I like to succeed.” His talent was recognized early on, and he has continually developed it. Gardner describes himself as largely self-taught, and he is an avid learner. After college he continued to seek opportunities to grow, and he painted regularly for many years with Thomas Buechner and Martin Poole in Corning, New York. He also found workshops and classes elsewhere on specific techniques to be helpful. But largely he visits galleries and museums, reads, and listens to the voices within him, more and more finding his own voice and vision.