"I have always enjoyed construction work and while living in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina I built my own home. I cut
the timber from the land, trucked it to the local saw-mill, and had it cut to provide the lumber from which to build a fine three-story
house. So, building is a part of my life experience that I bring to painting. I look upon the canvas or wood panels as my foundation.
Gesso, acrylics and other selected matter act as the framing that gives my work extraordinary texture and impact. Much of the
creation takes place long before color is even considered. The addition of color is where painting, craftsmanship, inspiration and
emotion collide. Color is the place where the story is told. But, as in construction, the final product can never be any better than the
details that preceded the finish. All elements of my work are “built” with care. However, I rarely plan a painting. I prefer to let each
painting be influenced by the tools and materials I choose to use, so that the work can grow organically into a truly original work
of art.”
Born in Syracuse, New York in 1932, Gardner served in the Navy during the Korean conflict. While in Europe he spent his free
time visiting museums and studying the masters. It was then that he decided to make art his life work. Gardner graduated from
the prestigious art department of RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) in 1958. At that time the abstract expressionist movement
was booming and Gardner was strongly influenced by the work of Willem deKooning, Franz Kline and especially Mark Rothko.
Gardner began his art career as a commercial artist, and over time has received over fifty American Advertising Association
awards for his creative outdoor advertising designs. In 1988 he was selected as National Creative Director of the Year by the
Morris Communications Group, and in 1999 he received the Jane Wyman Arthritis Foundation Humanitarian Award. Upon turning
his talents to fine art, his paintings now hang in museums, personal residences, corporate offices, and art galleries across the
United States, Canada, England, Ireland and Japan. Gardner’s career as an artist has taken him from New York, to Florida, to
California, to North and South Carolina, to and Alabama.
the timber from the land, trucked it to the local saw-mill, and had it cut to provide the lumber from which to build a fine three-story
house. So, building is a part of my life experience that I bring to painting. I look upon the canvas or wood panels as my foundation.
Gesso, acrylics and other selected matter act as the framing that gives my work extraordinary texture and impact. Much of the
creation takes place long before color is even considered. The addition of color is where painting, craftsmanship, inspiration and
emotion collide. Color is the place where the story is told. But, as in construction, the final product can never be any better than the
details that preceded the finish. All elements of my work are “built” with care. However, I rarely plan a painting. I prefer to let each
painting be influenced by the tools and materials I choose to use, so that the work can grow organically into a truly original work
of art.”
Born in Syracuse, New York in 1932, Gardner served in the Navy during the Korean conflict. While in Europe he spent his free
time visiting museums and studying the masters. It was then that he decided to make art his life work. Gardner graduated from
the prestigious art department of RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) in 1958. At that time the abstract expressionist movement
was booming and Gardner was strongly influenced by the work of Willem deKooning, Franz Kline and especially Mark Rothko.
Gardner began his art career as a commercial artist, and over time has received over fifty American Advertising Association
awards for his creative outdoor advertising designs. In 1988 he was selected as National Creative Director of the Year by the
Morris Communications Group, and in 1999 he received the Jane Wyman Arthritis Foundation Humanitarian Award. Upon turning
his talents to fine art, his paintings now hang in museums, personal residences, corporate offices, and art galleries across the
United States, Canada, England, Ireland and Japan. Gardner’s career as an artist has taken him from New York, to Florida, to
California, to North and South Carolina, to and Alabama.
| “I think that creativity is merely bringing out of yourself that which God has already put into you. It is a very personal thing; I have never felt an overwhelming urge to use my paintings as a social or political soap-box. I am more content creating paintings that invite the viewer to discover a smaller, more intimate world within a single work of art. I don’t really paint works of art; so much as I “build” them." |
| '08 #40 |
| Acrylic Mixed Media on Canvas 12" x 12" - $350 each |
| '08 #41 |
| '08 #42 |
| #749 |
| #751 |
| #754 |
| #755 |
| #756 |
| #775 |
| #758 |
| #750 |
| T O M G A R D N E R |
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RTG, Sedona: 928-282-7130 . Vue Gallery, Sedona: 928-282-1575 . RT Jewelry, Sedona: 928-282-1506 . RTG, Tubac: 520-398-9510