Since earliest childhood,
Tom Tuchel has made pictures. Throughout high school he concentrated
on a study of art, and continued to paint and draw even during
his four years in the Navy.
In 1968, Tom enrolled at the California College of Arts and
Crafts in Oakland where he met a teacher and mentor who influenced
him strongly. Victure Ries was a master craftsman from the old
European school, nationally known as a sculptor, jeweler, and
the metalsmith of the Pond Farm workshops in the late 1940's.
Because Tom was drawn to Victor, he took up jewelry making and
silversmithing as his major. Victor's lessons went far beyond
the realm of jewelry making. He instilled life lessons and taught
Tom perseverance and dedication to his art. Tom credits him
with being the single greatest influence in his life as an artist.
Tom spent his mid-life decades as a family man in Sonoma County.
He and his wife had four children whom he supported with a "day
job." These years afforded him scant time for painting
and he developed a yearning to devote more time to it.
In 1997 Tom could no longer deny the call of his soul, and returned
to painting. He exhibited his work in west county cafes and
at one-man shows at Blackstone Winery, Taft Street Winery, and
Hop Kiln Winery. He has also been represented by Christopher
Queen Galleries.
As Cam Parry of the Forestville Gazette writes, Tom "revels
in preserving...not all-encompassing, earth-changing moments,
but the small miracles of light that are created a thousand
times a day. Perhaps it's the ethereal ray of morning sun as
it reflects off a foggy Sonoma coast, or the last redwood-filtered
light of day's end that casts a warm glow on a quiet pond.
Major historical influences in Tom's work include the painters
Corot and Millet from Europe, and the Americans George Inness,
Arthur F. Mathews, Winslow Homer, and Edward Hopper.
Tom lives with his wife Laurie in the rural area of Sebastopol,
California where he keeps his studio amid lovely gardens.
Tom's future plans include a show at the Sebastopol Center for
the Arts and participation in "Art at the Source"
next spring. |
|