Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Maingot.
Thomas, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Well, I was born into a big family full of personalities. Me and my three siblings (along with my copious cousins) are first generation Americans. We emigrated from Trinidad before I was born, but the traditions and lifestyles of my family are still very strong. Love, food, conversation, and celebration.
Because of my upbringing, I was allowed time with a curious and explorative mind. My father’s side of the family is stoic and left brained, and my mothers boisterous and right brained. I guess, when you combine both, you get me – an obsessive observer.
I nurtured a love of spaces, art, and creating things both real and imagined. My mom would call me a ‘moonbeam child’ which I ruefully thought was pretty apt.
I played in the yard, developed anxieties and relationships, then studied landscape architecture at the University of Florida before emerging, more or less, into the real world as I knew it. That’s the short of my story.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, but that’s probably true of everyone.
I am disabled, due to an accident which was my fault. Because of this, when I was 23, I developed an escalation in the sensitivity of the nerves in my eyes. I began to experience eye strain many times stronger than the average person.
When my friends wanted to watch a movie, I had to wear sunglasses. When I had to drive to school, I would have a headache by the time I arrived. Things worsened as I ignored the symptoms, falling into the trap of the young which is to believe we are invincible.
When I joined the workforce and had to use a screen every day, things got worse. I experienced visual and auditory hallucinations, had constant eye pain, and simple tasks like reading caused too much strain to attempt. It reached a head and I took medical leave. I could scarcely leave my room for 2 years.
Eventually, I found the right medicine to combat my symptoms and keep me living a normal life, but that took time, and the damage was done. I lost relationships, job security. I lost the ability to drive for more than 15 minutes, or look at any screen for more than 5. There are other things I cannot do, but I wont go dive into a list of my troubles.
Anyways, my disability is basically severe chronic eye pain, and it though it has made the road rough, I think it has come with sleeper benefits. Like any person working through a trauma, there comes a stage where we can justify it through that lens of purpose. Because of what happened, I am more appreciative and aware of the joie de vivre. My loved ones, my experiences, my passions were all pushed to the front of my awareness, and now I would look back at my abled self and be saddened by his view of the world.
Or so I think. I wont ever know if that’s really true, but it is what I believe in, and that is enough for now.
Also, I see fine. 20/20 vision actually.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have always made things and have rarely ever stayed in one place, creatively speaking. I enjoy working with cartography and world building, woodwork and fashion, dance and music. Basically, anything I can get my hands on. I have always believed that if you love to learn, then good is just a side effect, and I love to learn.
I’m good at a handful of things, but what I am known for is my 2D visual art. Mainly my drawings, and lately, my paintings. I focus on human anatomy, full body and portraiture and often with some abstraction in the mix.
I like to draw people wherever I go, at the coffee shop or the airport. I do that constantly and quickly, trying to capture a physical moment of a person’s experience. When I paint, however, I go quite slowly, working with a reference. I like to find or take my own photos of people lost in their mind and try to sum up their inner empires with odd colors and breaks in proportion or perspective.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I think something surprising about me is perhaps my background in landscape architecture. I create because I am passionate about it, but it is not my only passion. My career is in the built environment and it has always meant a great deal to me.
I can identify most any florida plant, and love the fauna of the state as well. I can be insufferable on a walk through nature or a pass through an architectural moment.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomas_maingot/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-maingot-580b77203/
