We recently had the chance to connect with Tom Blood and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Tom, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
In addition to my art, I’ve always been an avid golfer. More important, though, for the past four years, I’ve been president of a not-for-profit, all-volunteer organization called Caritas Connections. Basically, we connect those who have with those who need – and we do that by getting food, clothing and essential items donated to us and then distribute those items to other organizations throughout the metro St. Louis area that help the poor and underserved. With the money that is donated to our organization, we have dedicated shoppers that can purchase the key items their constituents need – like diapers and wipes for newborns. Ensure and incontinence products for senior citizens. In the past four years, our organization has added more than 50 new volunteers and eight new client organizations. Last year, we purchased almost $300,000 worth of food and other essential items that were distributed to our client organizations. I have helped up our social media profile and overall awareness and it makes me happy that I am using my talents to help those in need.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’d love to tell your readers about Tom Blood Art and invite each one to discover my unique style of art. I call myself “The Idea Painter” – because that’s what I do – I paint ideas.
I like to say that I paint the impossible, or at least, the highly improbable. With my paintings, you can always tell what’s going on – you just don’t necessarily know why.
I primarily create surrealistic paintings but also love to create pop art.
My all-time painting hero is Rene Magritte – the Belgian surrealist – and you can see his influence with virtually all of my work. Magritte created many paintings featuring a man in a bowler hat – as have I – it is my ongoing homage to Magritte though done with my own distinctive spin. My paintings are colorful. Many people say they are whimsical. They’re definitely not dark or twisted. Unlike Magritte, the titles of my paintings often give clues as to what I was thinking – or upon reading the title, you immediately understand the thought behind the painting.
My pop art work is often compared to Andy Warhol’s. Single objects on a bright colored background, on large canvases are definitely Warhol-like though mine aren’t silk screened – they’re painted acrylic on canvas. Again, those works are fun – including a series that uses an ampersand to take common expressions like Fish & Chips or Salt & Pepper and give them a visual twist.
I’ve been painting since 1989 – but had almost a 17-year layoff when our third child was born and we converted my painting room into a downstairs bedroom. I resumed painting in 2012 when my oldest son gave me two small canvases and said, “You’re too good not to paint. Paint again.”
So I did.
Since I resumed, I’ve sold paintings in 14 different countries and 21 different states here in the U.S. and amassed more than 1.5 million views of my work online.
The fun thing is, I believe my best work is still ahead of me and I truly enjoy creating ideas that start as a sketch on my notepad and take off from there!
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who taught you the most about work?
I had a college professor from the J-school at the University of Missouri-Columbia tell me one time, “Don’t ever ask for more money. Always ask for more responsibility.”
If they give you more responsibility, the money will come, he said.
And it did.
That same teacher told me, “Always look for the unexpected.” That served me well in my advertising career and I continue to look for the unexpected with my art and have always believed, “In order to do the extraordinary, you must resist the ordinary.”
Is there something you miss that no one else knows about?
My first job at an ad agency was my best. It was like a grownup kindergarten where we got paid to create great things on behalf of the clients we served and had a blast doing it.
During that time, I got to create a wide range of TV commercials and won quite a few awards doing so. Creating TV commercials was always my favorite thing to work on in advertising. But the older I got, the fewer commercials I got to do which always bummed me out.
My job path took me from a broadcast heavy agency to one that was more B2B focused – which meant not as many TV commercials. It seemed the older I got, the less opportunities I had to create TV commercials. Two years ago, I accepted a freelance assignment to create a new broadcast campaign for a local tire and auto center. I eagerly accepted and was quite happy to see eight new commercials eventually run on TV here in St. Louis. That brought back the fun of watching TV when all of a sudden, something that originated from my brain suddenly comes on TV. Yep, I still miss that feeling!
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
To get better as an artist – in concept, and in execution.
To me, art is a journey – and my journey, old that I am, is still in its infancy.
I truly believe I can develop a worldwide following of my art and the only way to do that is to keep creating and always, keep trying to get better.
Time will tell just how long it will take!
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
For the past five years, my goal has been to create 24 paintings each year. I have yet to meet that yearly goal – but have managed to create between 17-21 paintings each of those years. My process is time-consuming and I don’t paint full-time – even though I am retired. I do lots of other things – as you should when you’re retired. In theory, 10 years from now, I will have created another 200 or so paintings – to go along with about the 230+ I’ve already done.
That should be quite a portfolio of work – more than enough for a book, I hope and an opportunity to reach literally millions of more people. That’s fun!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tombloodart.com/shop-art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomblood_art/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thblood/
- Twitter: [email protected]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TBloodman
- Other: https://www.singulart.com/en/artist/tom-blood-20543?ref=ts
https://tom-blood.pixels.com/
https://www.artfullywalls.com/art-prints?query=Tom%20Blood
Image Credits
Tom Blood Art
