Voyage Austin : Meet Thomas Flynn II

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Flynn II.

Hi Thomas, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Thank you for asking. I am a classically trained painter who graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2016. Immediately after, I moved to Dallas with my then girlfriend, now wife, and lived and worked there for 5 years. During that time, I worked for multiple contemporary art galleries, publication houses, and luxury interior design firms – the “real jobs” of the art world. While I learned a lot from those jobs, I couldn’t shake the unfulfilled feeling at the end of the day. I would still paint, but in more of a weekend warrior kind of way, and when weeks went by without me painting, due to everyday life and a full time job, I would get so down with myself. About a year and a half ago, a job opportunity came up for my wife in Austin, and though there were a lot of unknowns, we moved and I took the leap to build a business for myself, doing what I love. Now, over a year in, There have been so many lessons and struggles, but overall it has been such a rewarding experience building a clientele for my work and a life for myself that prioritizes a balance between creative work and family.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say it has not been a smooth road, but is any road truly smooth? There have been many brand redesigns, and painting series that have bombed, but with each day, I learn more about who I am as an artist, and who I want to be as a business person. Over the last year especially, my painting process has changed dramatically due to simply being in the studio most days. I used to work very slowly and methodically – a product of having a lot of time to think about which color is next during the week or so between studio time. Now, however, I am constantly finding ways to become more efficient in my process, and it certainly has picked up the pace. Color selection is more intuitive and to keep painting efficiently, I’m not as bogged down by the design process as I was in the past. In my latest series titled “To catch the sun Dreaming”, which was further developed on a recent artist residency in the forests of Georgia, I have drawn heavy inspiration from the landscape and the light and shadows cast from trees onto the canvas. I even use the sun as a projector to capture an imprint of the plants onto the canvas – this current work is on view at Vaughn Art Gallery in Austin.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m an acrylic painter who takes heavy inspiration from the environment around me. A native Houstonian, I have lived and worked in cities across the state, as well as spent a large amount of my boyhood exploring the forests and state parks that dot the entire region. Forests and nature represent a place of eternal play and exploration in my work. I constantly look to plants as teachers to understand the cycles of growth and decay as well as endless inspiration into the effects of light and shadow on any given environment. Layered into this sense of light is my unique understanding of color. I perceive color as a measure of time, where some colors are “closer” in time and others are “further away”. Combining color and time with the shadows and transparent qualities of light have pushed my current painting process deeper into a connection with nature. The paintings are begun outside in the environment in response to the shifting light, rusting of animals, leaves that fall on the canvas – often recording these happenings in real time with color and shape. I am also using the sun as a projector to gather cast shadows on the plants and botanicals as they exist in that environment. The result is a hyper-specific intuitive response to the environment. This method of creating is a very human response, one guided by whimsy and joy of exploration and a return to a synesthesia childlike wonder – where sounds, touch, smell all merge into a visual plane. I believe that the beauty of the world, specifically the environment I walk and live in is worthy of being recorded. I offer limited edition prints of my artwork as well as my original paintings directly from my website, and my work has been seen and featured in galleries and art publications nationwide. My current work can be seen at Vaughn Art Gallery in Austin.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My biggest advice is to learn how to replace fear with gratitude. It can be very frightening being in business for yourself, and especially in a creative business where you are sharing your vision with the world. There are days when fear creeps up and tells you that no one is interested in what you are doing, or that what you are doing isn’t enough, but I have found that if you reframe those thoughts to be points of gratitude, then you can change the outlook of your whole day. Instead of “no one is interested in what I’m doing” reframing into I’m thankful to have the opportunity to explore something that deeply interests me. Instead of “what you are doing isn’t enough”, I am grateful for the opportunity to slowly improve and build myself better each day. Success is not a destination, it’s a process and one that in no way shape or form is built by one day of hard work. It’s slowly built up, brick by brick, each day.

Pricing:

  • Limited Edition Prints $40 +

  • Small – Mid Sized Paintings: $195 +

  • Large Paintings: $1,000 – $5,000

Contact Info:

Thomas Flynn