SOLO SHOW - To Catch the Sun Dreaming Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“To Catch the Sun Dreaming”
the first major solo exhibition for fine artist Thomas Flynn II
VIP Preview: Thursday June 8, 5 pm
Opening Reception: Thursday June 8, 6-9 pm
What/Who: The first major solo exhibition of original artworks by Austin, Texas based artist, Thomas Flynn II, presented by Vaughn Art Agency + Gallery.
When: Opening Thursday June 8, 2023 from 6-8 pm. VIP Preview reception from 5-6pm
Where: Vaughn Gallery, 2307 Thornton Road #112, Austin, TX 78704
Why: Flynn is bringing a fresh perspective on plein air painting by using an intuitive method and thoughtful color to create environmental and thought provoking paintings on raw canvas that resonate with contemporary collectors.
How: Attend the Opening Reception at 5pm or the public reception or make an appointment to view until July 22, 2023.
Contact: Ashley Nussbaum, ashley@vaughn-art.com, (760) 222-0799
VAUGHN ART PRESENT THOMAS FLYNN II: To Catch the Sun Dreaming
Currently working in Austin, Thomas is bringing a fresh perspective on plein air painting by using an intuitive method and thoughtful color to create environmental and thought provoking paintings on raw canvas that resonate with contemporary collectors.
Flynn’s mixed media works on canvas, experimental raw edge flat canvas floated on wood mounts and more will be on display June 8 - July 22 at Vaughn Art Agency + Gallery at 2307 Thornton Road, #112, 78704.
Thomas Flynn II will be in attendance for the opening reception at Vaughn Art this June 8th, along with music and refreshments.
[AUSTIN, TEXAS – May 23, 2023; source: Thomas Flynn II on the exhibit: To Catch the Sun Dreaming] – These acrylic paintings are created in reverence to the sun, to sleepless dreams, and to the changing forest. There is something fantastical about how a sunlit forest can swallow you up and change the way you define yourself to the world, even if just for a moment. Like how a dream can immerse you in a different world where your old life seems very far away. Once through the threshold of the forest, you are no longer defined by your old titles– you are now a traveler, an explorer, an adventurer walking among others also marked with this transience. It is as if the whole of society is but a daydream beyond this path. These paintings were created in between walking forest paths on opposite sides of the country that are as similar as they are different. Each of these paintings is a dream, each brushstroke a step, and each color chosen to hold the journey in a sacred and special place for those who walk this path after us.
My paintings aren’t a strict depiction of nature, but rather a meditation on the ever-changing environment of the forest traveler. Each painting captures the whole of the surroundings, soaking them up like a sponge or a colored net fluttering through the trees. The leaf that scrapes the canvas as it drops, the bugs that land in the wet paint, the sounds of frogs and crickets drowning out thoughts – all this dissolves the artist and the environment down and into the canvas. Ultimately, I invite the viewer to walk down the path of each brushstroke deeper into the thicket of this collective dream.
Much of this work was created between my home studio in Austin and in the forests of rural Georgia. Creating nomadically has led me to meditate heavily on a sense of place and the circumstance of my own “in between” existence. I created these paintings directly in nature in response to the wild environment. Many of the paintings seen here were created underneath an ancient pine tree in a dense rural forest in Georgia at the height of Fall and then again in the same place in the awakening of Spring. The different seasonal light falling through the trees influenced color choices, and compositions. Acting as a quasi-archivist, the shadows of trees and leaves were captured in the painting by tracing the shadows into the canvas marked with gradients and brushstrokes. Some of the work was painted using leaves and branches foraged from the surrounding forest. This work is a merging of painter and environment and the visual result of our interaction.
These paintings may seem to depict landscapes, but they are more so a portrait of the artist actively perceiving the environment in which he walks. The places painted are neither true to life nor far from it. They are paintings of the landscape being perceived, of the mind being aware of oneself, of the sun catching itself dreaming within the golden leaves of forest.
(Image Information listed in Clockwise order)
1. Magnolia against blue sky, 2023 Acrylic on flat canvas mounted on wood 10.25 x 14 ″
2. Ophelia's Vista 1, 2022 acrylic on canvas mounted on shaped panel with metal leaf accents 15.5 x 11.5 x 0.75 ″
3. Harbor of the Sun (right eye), 2023 Acrylic on flat canvas mounted on wood 13.25 x 10 ″
4. Warmth of the Winter Sun, 2023 Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 40 x 70 ″
5. Your hearts know in silence, the secrets of the days and nights, 2023 Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30″)
Thomas Flynn II
Thomas Flynn II is an Austin-based painter with a BFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Flynn's work has been seen in notable art publications, selected collections, exhibitions and galleries across the country. His work focuses on the exploration of forests and nature as a place of perpetual play and inspiration. Flynn's unique approach to color and light seeks to capture the beauty of his surroundings, which he believes is worthy of being recorded. Through his paintings, he merges the inner world with the outer world to preserve specific but universal moments of wonder, such as the changing of leaves, sounds of water, and shifting colors between shadow and light. The viewer can experience these fleeting moments by following Flynn's mark-making and being drawn into the painting as one would walk down a forest path.
VAUGHN GALLERY
https://vaughn-art.com | @_vaughn_art_
Vaughn Art Gallery + Agency is the brainchild of Rachel Drake and Ashley Nussbaum, founded to support emerging and mid-career artists and connect collectors with museum-quality work. Vaughn is excited to offer something different to Austin, by hosting regular happy hour events, collaborating with pop-up galleries, artists and local Austin companies. Vaughn has really immersed themselves into the culture and art community in Austin and is proud to be an approachable gallery showcasing diverse works from artists across the country.
Exhibition Statement:
These acrylic paintings are created in reverence to the sun, to sleepless dreams, and to the changing forest. There is something fantastical about how a sunlit forest can swallow you up and change the way you define yourself to the world, even if just for a moment. Like how a dream can immerse you in a different world where your old life seems very far away. Once through the threshold of the forest, you are no longer defined by your old titles– you are now a traveler, an explorer, an adventurer walking among others also marked with this transience. It is as if the whole of society is but a daydream beyond this path. These paintings were created in between walking forest paths on opposite sides of the country that are as similar as they are different. Each of these paintings is a dream, each brushstroke a step, and each color chosen to hold the journey in a sacred and special place for those who walk this path after us.
My paintings aren’t a strict depiction of nature, but rather a meditation on the ever-changing environment of the forest traveler. Each painting captures the whole of the surroundings, soaking them up like a sponge or a colored net fluttering through the trees. The leaf that scrapes the canvas as it drops, the bugs that land in the wet paint, the sounds of frogs and crickets drowning out thoughts – all this dissolves the artist and the environment down and into the canvas. Ultimately, I invite the viewer to walk down the path of each brushstroke deeper into the thicket of this collective dream.
Much of this work was created between my home studio in Austin and in the forests of rural Georgia. Creating nomadically has led me to mediate heavily on a sense of place and the circumstance of my own “in-between” existence. I created these paintings directly in nature in response to the wild environment. Many of the paintings seen here were created underneath an ancient pine tree in a dense rural forest in Georgia at the height of Fall and then again in the same place in the awakening of Spring. The different seasonal light falling through the trees influenced color choices, and compositions. Acting as a quasi-archivist, the shadows of trees and leaves were captured in the painting by tracing the shadows into the canvas marked with gradients and brushstrokes. Some of the work was painted using leaves and branches foraged from the surrounding forest. This work is a merging of painter and environment and the visual result of our interaction.
These paintings may seem to depict landscapes, but they are more so a portrait of the artist actively perceiving the environment in which he walks. The places painted are neither true to life nor far from it. They are paintings of the landscape being perceived, of the mind being aware of oneself, of the sun catching itself dreaming within the golden leaves of a forest.