Tom Fawkes
Portland artist, Tom Fawkes paints gorgeous scenes inspired by the landscapes of Italy, Portugal, and the Mediterranean. He combines architectural elements with the imagery of gardens to depict light, space, and atmosphere. Layering rich passages of acrylic paint, Fawkes paints on canvas or wood panel. He adds architectural elements by building 3-dimensional wood constructs of windows and doorways. This combination of painting and construction heightens the trompe l’oeil effect of the work, and their life-size scale brings the sensory experience even closer. Here, the artist’s intensity of illusion and artifice guides the viewer on a seductive excursion of sensuously mannered, man-made destinations.
A MFA graduate of Cranbrook Academy of Art, Tom Fawkes taught at the University of Oregon and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 1960s. Since 1972 Fawkes has taught drawing and painting at the Pacific Northwest College of Art and has received several awards including an OAC fellowship, an NEA fellowship, and a Rockefeller Foundation grant. His works are in numerous collections including Safeco, Microsoft, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Portland Art Museum.