by Gayle Picken 

 It was standing room only at the Nov.15th meeting of the Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild where Tom Jensen had been invited to give a talk. The excitement could be felt in the crowd. Just days before the event, the December issue of International Artists Magazine came out featuring one of Tom’s paintings on the front cover! He won Grand Prize in the People & Figures competition, gaining world-wide recognition for the talent we’ve known about here in the Northwest for years.  

Tom lives and works in the Lowell area of Everett, Washington. His home confirms his commitment to art … paints and brushes, canvases in progress, and shelves full of art and history books fill his living and dining rooms. In the kitchen, a large etching press (built by Tom himself) sits where you’d normally find a table and chairs. Snapshots of his models in various stages of undress cover the fridge and any empty spots on the wall. The TV is almost always on and the floor is usually covered with various auto parts—evidence of his other business manufacturing and designing parts for hot rods.

At the gallery, we have the pleasure of watching collectors and artists admire Tom’s work on a daily basis. Impressed by his unique use of color, imaginative composition, and exceptional drawing ability, artists and art teachers have come to study his work, and collectors from across the United States, Canada and as far away as Israel, have purchased his artwork for their collections.
 
With all of his accomplishments, Tom remains a modest and quiet man. Those who attended the talk on Nov. 15th were treated to stories about his childhood, his successes and failures throughout his art career, and a candid openness about his determination to grow in his art.  

So what’s next in Tom’s career? We’re happy to present this exclusive interview.

Tom, how did it begin….your interest in drawing and art? I did art in grade school but I didn’t think much about it until high school when I noticed that the guy sitting next to me in Math class could out draw me. I began creating goals and expectations for myself based on my assumption that master artists like Da Vinci and Michelangelo were born perfect. I’m not sure where this assumption came from, but it was paramount to me that I have perfect and immaculate technical disciplines. I also drew to escape. Low esteem, droning teachers, boring classes, I saw parents, school and teachers as a threat so I tuned them out by drawing.

You are known for paintings of people. What draws you to figurative art?  In my experience as a technical illustrator there is nothing more demanding than figurative art. The subtleties of drawing the human body can be very engaging and rewarding. Each turn of the hand, twist of the arm, lift of a foot. Every turn of the head and eye says something different and it takes skill and confidence to render. I love history, and art connects me, through the ages, to the great figure painters of the past and at the same time I constantly feel the fluid momentum of the present.  

Which artists have influenced you most? That’s a tough question. Being self taught I’d have to say that I was drawn to a relatively small circle of artistic influences that mirrored my own early talents. The great draftsmen like Rembrandt, Frank Lloyd Wright, maybe Whistler. Edgar Degas convinced me I could use color. While looking at the standards like Klimpt and Sargent made me want to burn my paintings. A mentor? Well that would be my friend Lyle Silver. He is my idea of an artist. Clear eyed, passionate, experienced and in gear. Always seeking something just out of reach.   

You continuously attend life drawing sessions. Tell us why.  Life drawing is like artist therapy. For three hours, it’s just me, a pencil, a blank sheet of paper and all of my experiences and anxieties about art. When I leave, I walk away a bit shaken. I’ve drawn with as many as 50 other artists and as few as only myself and the model in the studio. I always have butterflies when I walk into the studio.

Do you have a favorite piece you’ve painted? Sure, the next one! (but I like “Beth Scott” best)

From technical illustration and design to art and hot rods, you’re using both sides of your brain. Are these diverse interests related?  Well, I do well in art and mechanical design because I “see” what I think about. I don’t mean abstractly or intellectually, I mean quite realistically. It all started when I was in the 2nd grade. My teacher was trying to explain how to visualize whatever it was we wanted to draw. To capture that and place it on paper. She said. “to draw a picture of yourself, imagine seeing yourself from the outside. Close your eyes and look down upon yourself, say pushing a wagon, then open your eyes and draw what you recall”. My experience with her suggestion was that I did not merely see myself. I could see myself as though I were a dragonfly or swallow. I could fly about myself at will, any direction I chose and I could successfully freeze an image and draw it. To this day that simple skill is the basis of most everything I do.   

Your daughter is included in a few of your paintings…  Aside from being my beautiful daughter, Ashland happens to be a terrific model. It isn’t just a Dad thing. Like a dancer she really is extraordinarily sensitive and expressive. 

What was your first hot rod?  That would be a 1956 Ford F-100 pickup. Bright Yellow. I chopped it 3 inches. Put in a 283 and a Nova clip. Nice truck but it lost it’s glow when I saw a sleek black Ford Coupe at a car show. I sold the truck and for 9 years hand built a 1933 Ford, three window coupe. Nowadays I drive a ‘54 Ford F-100 pickup. It’s the only vehicle I own and it gets better mileage than I got out of my Nissan.

Where do you see your artwork going in the future?  I’m not very good at doing the commercial thing. When I try, I get myself cornered and dull. I try to let the interesting and fun paintings lead me wherever they are going. Oh sure I go down dead end roads but I can do a u-turn pretty quick. These days it’s landscapes but they seem to be evolving into simple abstract compositions of line and form. They are intriguing. I’m going “plein air” painting soon because I’d like to see what happens outdoors. 

Join us at the gallery in February for a show of Tom Jensen’s New Works.