Today we’d like to introduce you to Tom Sadler.
Hi Tom, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I have always loved to draw even at an early age and did so through Elementary School and on into High School. My High School art teacher encouraged me to major in art in college. I went on to receive a BFA from Auburn University with further study at the School of Visual Arts in New York City and at the University of Huntsville in Alabama. A professor there named Jack Dempsey was inspirational in his teaching and I felt as if a light bulb turned on and I was anxious to begin a painting career.
With a stint in Huntsville doing paintings of the space shuttle for NASA I moved to Orlando and began painting for the galleries. I worked in frame shop and painted at night and on the weekends and began teaching. I would receive portrait commissions and while working on them I would also pursue my landscape painting. I was drawn to the tropical allure of palms along the many springs and waterways of Florida and began to sell paintings of them in local galleries.
Teaching has also been a part of my artists life trying to pass on what I gained from Jack Dempsey and hopefully more. I’ve taught painting at Crealde School of Art for over 25 years and also have keep busy doing art restoration. I also teach painting worshops from time to time recently at the Artists’ Workshop in New Smyrna Beach.
I have enjoyed participating in various Paint Outs where you are invited to paint from life for a week or more and then have a selling party at weeks end. Next year will be the Wekiva Paint Outs 20th year and I’ve been in every one. I’ve also been in most Winter Park Paint Outs at the Polasek Museum and I’ll be at both again next year. My wife and I who is also an artist, Sally Evans met at the Forgotten Coast Paint Out and were married there and that has been extraordinary! To share and understand what each other is pursuing I can’t imagine anything better .
I tell students to paint what they love because that is when you put your heart and soul into the work. When you do that someone out there will connect with it. I like selling through galleries because I think oil paintings look their best under track lighting in a gallery setting and I would rather have someone else sell my work. That being said I have had many repeat patrons that buy direct. One couple has purchased 60 of my painting and others are nearing that mark so I feel very blessed!
I also tell students to not let the ups get you too up or the downs get you too down because there will be both in your journey as an artist. I love what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else! Except maybe sailing 😆!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
People that are used to a regular paycheck think of what we do as very risky. In some ways it is as you never know exactly what your next paycheck will be? So at times it can be like a roller coaster and you have to ride out the lean times having faith that a windfall is around the corner. I’m optimistic and feel like as long as I keep painting and doing my best work that it will be smooth sailing. But that also means juggling painting time, teaching and restoration. So using your time efficiently is important and when you do that the returns smooth out the roller coaster.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am most known for oil painting and making a painting “come to life’” through the use of light. The paint qualities I use vary from very transparent ( which represents shadow) to very opaque (which represents light) and using these as a language to bring about a sense of light and shadow and 3 dimension on a two dimensional surface. This is accomplished through glazing and scumbling and involves sometimes painting over a dry monochromatic underpainting. This is overpainted in full color using various consistencies of paint for different effects.
I am most known for my landscape paintings of pristine Florida with its springs and overhanging palms and beautiful reflections. Also known for my portraits of both children and adults sometimes casual at other times more formal. Boats, houses, restaurants and sometimes still life’s have all fallen prey to my brushes. Whatever excites the eye. I am proud of winning an Award of Excellence at an Oil Painters of America Exhibition. I’m also proud of painting the President of the Senate a few years ago that hangs in the Senate Chambers of Tallahassee.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I don’t follow trends or try to paint what might be deemed to be in fashion. I paint what I love and when I take a painting to a point where I don’t want it to leave my studio that’s when I know it’s ready for a gallery.
Pricing:
- 8 x 10 inch for $720
- So $9 a square inch or more for smaller work
- Less than $9 for very large work
- $12,000 for a 36 x 48 inch
- And comparable pricing for sizes in between
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tomsadler.com
- Instagram: tom_sadler_fine_art
- Facebook: Tom Sadler Fine Art
Image Credits
Tom Sadler
