Born in High Point NC, Tom Barnes grew up in the pine forests and coastal plains of South Georgia. In the early fifties, raised amongst the gators, mosquitoes, and bourbon of South Georgia, Tom was dutifully packed off each summer, traveling by train to Savannah where he spent two weeks with the twins, Lila and Bess… may they rest in peace...

The two sisters insisted on taking the bus downtown every Thursday to shop, dine out, and maybe see a movie. Early in the morning, a lengthy discussion ensued as to what to wear. Completely coordinated in salmons, pinks, baby blues, mint greens, or lemon yellow, the two ladies set out toting bus tokens in their purses, and sporting hats with flowers (always with flowers), gloves, costume jewelry, and pumps matching their outfits. The fragrances exuded were thick with magnolia, lilac, and oleander.

Stores like Adler's, Fine's, and Levy's preceded lunch at Morrison’s, always topped off with steaming hot coffee and coconut custard pie from Anton's. Roaming around the "city of parks," the three often ended up in Telfair Academy, the only art museum Tom ever saw until he was 16.

The combination of femininity expressed by the two grand dames, the heady paintings and statues of the museum, and a gift from God for things artistic, all came together in the "long neck ladies" which have become Barnes' signatures. The attitudes and poses of the subjects express the widest range of feminine emotion. The layers upon layers of brilliant transparent watercolor in gambouge, prussian, sap green, azrilian crimson, ochre and vermillion build to rich luscious color… and the touch of 14K gold gives these decorative art pieces a sparkle that warms the heart and reminds us of an era long gone…may it rest in peace…

Graduating from the University of Georgia in 1972 with degrees in Experimental Psychology and Philosophy and Religion, Tom met and married Gail Thompson of Guyton, Georgia. In Athens, Tom worked for Morris Communications as the Creative Services Director and Gail taught ballet.

Moving to Columbia, South Carolina, where their son Tyler was born, the couple worked for Community Newspapers, Inc. until they moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia where for thirteen years, Tom served Landmark Communications as a marketing executive. They continued their work with children in dance theatre, producing twelve original ballets and theatre pieces for Tidewater audiences.

In 1990, Tom retired from the corporate business world and began to paint. After a brief “vacation” of six years in Denver CO, Tom, Gail and Tyler moved back to the east coast and bought a small horse farm in Chesapeake, VA where he maintains a studio and continues his travels around the United States.

Self-taught, he works primarily in watercolors. His florals almost always are abstracted forms with the same intense color rendering of his figures…but the added motion of a passing breeze adds yet another element of excitement. Likewise, his landscapes capture the techniques of the Fauvists and are stylized with mountains, hills, plains and lush foliage. His still life subject matter usually captures a chair, a table, a window, a jar and simple pieces of fruit…they always capture a moment of repose and reflection, interrupted by something unknown. He works on Crescent Board or Arches 140# Rough with Da Vinci pigments. His recent experiments on canvas can be seen under the page called “Wet Paint.”

Over the past fifteen years, his works have found their way into collections in Mexico, Bolivia, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, England, Nigeria, and Spain as well as many east coast and mountain states’ cities.

Five years ago, Tom and Gail traveled to Abuja, Nigeria for a two-month mission trip where they taught painting techniques and interior faux finishing to twenty-four Nigerian artists as they designed and painted some 36,000 square feet of sanctuary and day care walls. They continue to travel there to work with orphans through Tattercoats, Ltd. a nonprofit, tax-exempt foundation established in 1975 to promote arts and well-being of children around the globe. They recently began work with HLIA School for the Deaf Tegucigalpa Honduras. Please contact Tom for more information on this effort.

2023 Shillelagh Road	PHONE 757.549.8704
Chesapeake, Virginia 23323	E-Mail: info@tombarnesfineart.com