User:Thomas M Easley

Artist/Writer THOMAS. M EASLEY

Thomas Easley is a self-taught artist whose successful career spanning 30 years and three continents has taken him from the snowcapped Sierra Nevada Mountains of his childhood to the verdant hills of England, the canals of Venice, and the banks of the holy Ganges in India. Each location has provided Easley with insight for his inquisitive mind and inspiration for his painting styles and techniques. For Easley, living in Europe meant studying the techniques of the Old Masters. In England he refined his skill as a classical realist, specializing in miniature paintings along with illuminations and portraits. He was the first American to be admitted to the Royal Miniature Society in the early 1980’s, a testament to his passion and dedication to perfecting his craft. While studying Canaletto and Guardi in Italy, Easley used oil glazes to paint large-scale architectural landscapes, floral still life works and nudes, improvising a distinctive blend of pencil, chalk and watercolor techniques.

Subsequent travels to India, a country rich with mysticism, made him delve into autobiographic surrealism and allegorical works. It is the applied knowledge and the insights gained while studying abroad that give Easley the confidence to meld traditional styles with new, to create a blend that is uniquely his own. Rather than a signature image, Easley’s works are recognized by a signature style. Using layered and modeled acrylic paint on board, a rich vibrant image is created. It is bold and life affirming. Since his return to the United States in the late 1990s, Easley has focused his passion on creating wine still life paintings that are reminiscent of the warmly lit rich style of European masters, energetic roosters filled with attitude and elegance, mystical landscapes, skiers, nudes and dynamic sails boats defying the odds.

In his wine paintings modeled colors and texture build upon the historical romance celebrated by fine wines and food. The senses are encouraged to drink the wine and taste the fruit. His is a painting style that encompasses impressionism, realism, abstract, miniaturist detail and occasional passages of surrealism to create a bold, living image that is undeniably Easley.