THE ORI G I N AL WORKS
OF
THOMA S COLV I N S INCE
2015
Impressions of Life
I M P R E S S I O N S
The Return of
The Toothbrush Guy!
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L I F E
Thomas Colvin is in the midst of his own second coming. Having been away from painting for a number of years, his passion to create in that medium has returned. He is in the process of regaining his canvas voice. His thought-provoking imagery once left viewers in awe. He returns to the art world committed to explore the human being. “This has never been about merely reproducing life. It is, for me, about expressing the journey through this life that i live. A product of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, he has seen many things in his world. Some things have changed while many more things merely wear a different veil. “As I’ve become more comfortable with my responsibilities as a human and as an artist, I have become less willing to see nothing and call it something. It means that I tend to be on the outside more often than not, but I’ve accepted the fact that maybe that’s where I’m supposed to be.” Thomas has continued to develop his own unique style of painting; one that is a perfect match for his personality and that gives him the opportunity to produce some exquite images.
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“I firmly believe that the use of a non-traditional tool is either by accident, by exploration, or in my case, having to find a tool that will give me the outcome that I desired. The toothbrush fits me on so many different fronts.” Still referred to by many as “the toothbrush guy”, Thomas is still very happy exploring the limits of his chosen tool; however, he is quick to point out that his journey will not be limited to that. “I certainly haven’t exhausted the flexibility of the toothbrush as a tool yet. There are still so many avenues that await me with this. While I don’t see myself putting it down anytime in the near future, I don’t ever want to limit myself by becoming one dimensional.” A product of the Dothan City School system in Dothan, Ala., Thomas earned a Bachelor of Science degree in commercial art/graphic design with a minor in visual art from Alabama A&M University.
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I M P R E S S I O N S
DANCER IN THE LIGHT
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16” x 20”acrylic (paintbrush) on stretched canvas - $400. I have always been a fan of movement, expressive movement, as a means of conveying a feeling or a expressing an idea. A natural progression for me has been to capture the movement of dance, more specifically, ballet, in an attempt to give a softer more elegant feel to some of my images. This painting was borne out of a rekindled interest to pass the time while recovering from surgery. I had not painted in years although I had bought a pack of 4 16”x 20” stretched canvases over a year ago with the intent of doing some small images to get a feeling back. I was lost for a day or so as to what to do and how to do. I spent a ridiculous amount of time on the background because I was unsure of what I wanted the foreground to look like. After working on the figure for a day or two, something finally clicked. I honestly mean that I remember the point at which the fear subsided that every part of me remembered having done this before. It was such a powerful moment that I’m sure I went on to finish this that same day. Dancer in the Light gave me a chance to “feel” the light being on, my expressive side smiling once again.
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20� x 16�acrylic (paintbrush) on stretched canvas - $250. In high school, my drawings and paintings reflected a naive quality that showed up in this, Study of a Dancer in Blue. The elongated musculature, maybe a bit overdone, reminds me of those figures. The features of this image, long and strong, made me smile as I worked on this. The difference between then and now is, without a doubt, my improved use of color and the optical mix that layering provides. With this image, I wanted to work more with the pose and the use of dramatic light to highlight the dancer, her pose, and the solitary pursuit that dancing provides. Those moments that give personal achievement usually happen when no one is watching and are then refined and executed many times before anyone else sees them.
STUDY OF A DANCER IN BLUE
I M P R E S S I O N S
RAINDROPS AND A BUTTERFLY
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L I F E
16” x 20”acrylic (paintbrush) on stretched canvas - SOLD I have always been a fan of movement, expressive movement, as a means of conveying a feeling or a expressing an idea. A natural progression for me has been to capture the movement of dance, more specifically, ballet, in an attempt to give a softer more elegant feel to some of my images. This painting was borne out of a rekindled interest to pass the time while recovering from surgery. I had not painted in years although I had bought a pack of 4 16”x 20” stretched canvases over a year ago with the intent of doing some small images to get a feeling back. I was lost for a day or so as to what to do and how to do. I spent a ridiculous amount of time on the background because I was unsure of what I wanted the foreground to look like. After working on the figure for a day or two, something finally clicked. I honestly mean that I remember the point at which the fear subsided that every part of me remembered having done this before. It was such a powerful moment that I’m sure I went on to finish this that same day. Dancer in the Light gave me a chance to “feel” the light being on, my expressive side smiling once again.
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52” x 36”acrylic (toothbrush) on stretched canvas - SOLD
RHYTHMIC EXPRESSIONS
Rhythmic Expressions gave me the opportunity to revisit my soft, pointillistic technique. I really appreciated the image but because of the process, I could not see what was going on until it was finished. My first feeling is always one of surprise since i have a general direction of the image, but that’s about it. This natural collaboration of dance and music allowed the entire canvas to come alive. I can almost hear the mellow tones of the bass as the dancer softly seems to glide through the air. The expression of artists... the bassist and the dancer...an interpretation by each.
I M P R E S S I O N S
DANCER IN BLUE
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30” x 40”acrylic (paintbrush) on stretched canvas - $1100. This painting has made me feel so much. The process took me back to the days of having to go to the back door of the hospital to the ‘negro’ waiting room; it took me back to being on stage at predominately white elementary schools to show those teachers that little black school kids could read and comprehend; it took me back to getting new books in school and seeing that they had already been used; it took me back to the many times i was called the “n” word by people I thought were my friends; it took me back to the elitist treatment that my tennis players got when we played a majority university in Chattanooga; it took me back to being pushed against a police car in my own neighborhood and frisked; it took me back. “We People Who Are Darker Than Blue” What I do, I do. It is my interpretation of events, of situations, of conditions. This painting took a bit longer to complete because I had to accept the position that i am in as an artist, as a creative, as a human being. The lights are on…
As an artist, I have to create those moments of peace if they don’t exist for me. Rarely is my work spontaneous; rather, it is the expression of an internalized, interpreted thought, idea or response.
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30” x 40”acrylic (paintbrush) on stretched canvas - $1100. This painting has made me feel so much. The process took me back to the days of having to go to the back door of the hospital to the ‘negro’ waiting room; it took me back to being on stage at predominately white elementary schools to show those teachers that little black school kids could read and comprehend; it took me back to getting new books in school and seeing that they had already been used; it took me back to the many times i was called the “n” word by people I thought were my friends; it took me back to the elitist treatment that my tennis players got when we played a majority university in Chattanooga; it took me back to being pushed against a police car in my own neighborhood and frisked; it took me back. “We People Who Are Darker Than Blue” What I do, I do. It is my interpretation of events, of situations, of conditions. This painting took a bit longer to complete because I had to accept the position that i am in as an artist, as a creative, as a human being. The lights are on…
THE PASSION AND THE FURY
I M P R E S S I O N S
WE PEOPLE WHO ARE DARKER THAN BLUE
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30” x 40”acrylic (toothbrush) on stretched canvas - $3500. This painting has made me feel so much. The process took me back to the days of having to go to the back door of the hospital to the ‘negro’ waiting room; it took me back to being on stage at predominately white elementary schools to show those teachers that little black school kids could read and comprehend; it took me back to getting new books in school and seeing that they had already been used; it took me back to the many times i was called the “n” word by people I thought were my friends; it took me back to the elitist treatment that my tennis players got when we played a majority university in Chattanooga; it took me back to being pushed against a police car in my own neighborhood and frisked; it took me back. “We People Who Are Darker Than Blue” What I do, I do. It is my interpretation of events, of situations, of conditions. This painting took a bit longer to complete because I had to accept the position that i am in as an artist, as a creative, as a human being. The lights are on…
As an artist, I have to create those moments of peace if they don’t exist for me. Rarely is my work spontaneous; rather, it is the expression of an internalized, interpreted thought, idea or response.
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36” x 48”acrylic (painthbrush) on stretched canvas - $1600. As I got closer to finishing this, I realized that while I had a direction, I didn’t have a title. For some reason, the children’s story of “The Ugly Duckling” came to mind while discussing with a friend the purpose of this image. I think my words were, “it’s very similar to the Ugly Duckling children’s story.” We have to remember that each of us has gifts that have to be nurtured based on how we view our path. Those who attempt to define a path for us are often upset that we are not complicit in their designs. Often, the goals that we have for ourselves are far more reaching, therefore, give us greater loft in our pursuit of them, than can be imagined by those around us. We are not the ugliest of ducklings. We are not ducklings at all. So do not be surprised when we no longer waddle, we no longer quack, we no longer work to be what we are not destined to be.
As an artist, I have to create those moments of peace if they don’t exist for me. Rarely is my work spontaneous; rather, it is the expression of an internalized, interpreted thought, idea or response.
THE UGLY DUCKLING
I M P R E S S I O N S
THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
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72” x 54”acrylic (Toothbrush) on stretched canvas - $18,000. Back in my hometown, surrounded by things that are a constant reminder of why I never wanted to come back to live. I’d always felt like an outsider any time that I ventured out beyond the neighborhood. It wasn’t until I left to go to college that I began to find my voice, the voice that didn’t have to try to fit in, the voice that didn’t have to be supressed because it was different or opposite, the voice that was no longer caged. Some of those same ideologies are still present here, but I no longer feel driven to silence my voice. The bird sings because it is what he does. He does not do so to bring delight, nor does he sing to bring opposition. He sings differently when he must; however, he can’t silence his voice because singing is what he does.
I am still growing in who i am as a person of color living in America. That, in itself, can be a psychological thesis on the turmoil of the black man’s spirit...
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48” x 60”acrylic (palate knife) on stretched canvas - $3,800. As I got closer to finishing this, I realized that while I had a direction, I didn’t have a title. For some reason, the children’s story of “The Ugly Duckling” came to mind while discussing with a friend the purpose of this image. I think my words were, “it’s very similar to the Ugly Duckling children’s story.” We have to remember that each of us has gifts that have to be nurtured based on how we view our path. Those who attempt to define a path for us are often upset that we are not complicit in their designs. Often, the goals that we have for ourselves are far more reaching, therefore, give us greater loft in our pursuit of them, than can be imagined by those around us. We are not the ugliest of ducklings. We are not ducklings at all. So do not be surprised when we no longer waddle, we no longer quack, we no longer work to be what we are not destined to be.
MAGIC IN THE MOVEMENT
I M P R E S S I O N S
THE MESSENGER
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20� x 30�charcoal on black foam board - SOLD We are not yet at a place where we are able to simply accept someone based on, as Dr. King said, the content of ones character. We are still a people who tend to accept a person or not, first on their appearance. We can sometimes miss so much by being judegemental of people because of their outward appearance. As people of thought, we should be discerning when a message is presented to us; however, more often than not, we never get to the point of hearing the message because we qualify the messenger. Is the messenger what we imagined he or she would be? If not, why then does that matter. If a theater caught on fire, would it matter the outward appearance of the person who alerted everyone to the fire? There are messengers and messages all around us. An intelligent person will listen to them, regardless of their source, and then decide on whether it should be taken, at all or in part. Those who have been given something to deliver will come as they are.
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36” x 48”acrylic (palate knife) on stretched canvas - $2,600. In continuing with my Movement and Music series, I chose to work with a sax player and jumped in with both feet while still not sure about the technical approach that I wanted to use. I went through the entire piece doing one thing, knowing that it wasn’t what i wanted. When I got to the point of being mostly complete, I made a choice to go back into it rather than signing it, realizing it wasn’t what i wanted, and moving forward on to the next one. I really don’t believe that I would have found peace with it had I done that. I went back in with the smaller point of a palate knife and began to find the technique that I had hoped I would find. While the technique has a quality that I like, I plan to find a method to make it less stiff looking. The Movement and Music series is one of the first series that I’m doing as a learning experience. I hope that the successes and failures in this one will make the next image that much better and more complete. As I’m typing this, I’m listening to some sax jazz and can almost hear it coming from this painting.
As an artist, I have to create those moments of peace if they don’t exist for me. Rarely is my work spontaneous; rather, it is the expression of an internalized, interpreted thought, idea or response.
JAZZ RENDERING IN BLUE
Impressions of Life Dothan, AL 36303 (678) 670-6834 colvinphoto@gmail.com www.thomascolvinstudios.net