The main influences on Tom’s work are the sky, land and water and how light interacts with each, whether breaking through clouds, highlighting the countryside or reflecting on water.

 

Tom’s love of painting the western  countryside comes from his rural upbringing in Co. Clare and this has been further enhanced from making Sligo his home for the past 25 years.  It’s natural, then, for him to use the west coast as inspiration for his oil paintings, mostly capturing the effects of the rising and setting sun on this varied background of sea shore, lakeside and captivating, diverse land.

 

The moments he values most are when rays of sunlight glance through overcast skies, with the subsequent interplay of color, light and space on the clouds and landscape. This shifting light and variety of moods gives him no end of possibilities and motivation to interpret something new from what he sees around him every day, to turn paint into images that constantly challenges him and to convey how it feels to be there at that time.

 

Tom uses brush and knife to provide the contrasts in texture which help give a three dimensional emphasis to his paintings, with the intention of finding the right balance of colour, scale, atmosphere and movement.
 
His work is mostly held in private collections, mainly in Ireland and the UK, including that of the Polish Ambassador to Ireland and Mark Feehily from Westlife. His recent exhibitions were as part of a group show of Sligo Artists titled Art, Land of Heart’s Desire at Gallery Zozimus, Dublin (September 2008), as part of a group show at Lissadell House, Sligo (January 2009), with Sol Art Gallery's Sligo Show (April 2010) and at Lahinch Gallery (December 2011).

 

Tom is a proud member of the North West Artists Group, created with the intention of highlighting and promoting the visual arts movement within the North West region, from both an individual artistic perspective, as well as encompassing the broader regional cultural agenda.