About Thomas Wharton
I work in the tradition of Western representational art, but from the viewpoint of a contemporary life. I don’t aim to have a message in any philosophical or narrative sense. Instead, I think of my paintings as objects of contemplation, providing the viewer a door into their own world of feeling and intuition. I imagine this kind of aesthetic experience to be more circular, something like a conversation between two close friends, where there is as much listening as speaking.
I think that wonder is at the heart of any experience with art, and I want my art to activate a sense of wonder in people. That experience can transform the everyday world into something poetic and remind people that life is more than it appears on the surface.
Wonder – is not precisely knowing
And, not precisely knowing not –
A beautiful but bleak condition
He has not lived who has not felt –
— Emily Dickinson
Biography
I am primarily and oil painter, and studied at The Art Student’s League of New York, The New York Studio School, The New York Academy of Art, The Grand Central Academy, Parsons, School of Visual Arts, and The National Academy of Design.My paintings have been shown at the National Arts Club in New York, The Salmagundi Club, the Dacia Gallery, the West Virginia University Museum of Art, The West Virginia Cultural Center, Tamatack, Stifel Fine Arts, ETC., the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, the RJD Gallery, Ille Arts Gallery, the Christine Frechard Gallery, and the Nutting Gallery. In addition, In addition to being in collections throughout the United States, I have work included in the Cultural Archives of the state of West Virginia, and my children’s book art is part of the permanent collection the the Mazza Museum of International Children’s Book Art. My paintings have been included many publications, including American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, International Artist, and Poets and Artists magazines, as well as the book, 21st Century Figurative Art: The Resurrection of Art.My work has received many rewards, including The West Virginia Governor’s Award, The Georgie Read Barton Award, The Katlin Seascape Award (twice), the Windsor Newton Award, and the Richard C. Pionk Memorial Prize for Painting. I have also been included in the Art Renewal Center’s Annual Salon, and my portrait work has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence by The Portrait Society of America, where I have been given Signature Status.In addition to my work as a fine artist, I had a long and successful career as a designer, illustrator, art director and creative director. My clients included Cambridge University Press, Citibank, MasterCard, the New York Stock Exchange, Lifetime Television, Starwood Hotels, Clarins, Shiseido, Simon & Schuster, and New York University.Earlier in life, I was a pianist, and hold a Bachelor’s and Masters degree in piano from West Virginia University.
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Other Creative Skills
Drawing
Photography
