#tomdown

'facade', Tom Down

My work revolves around romanticized landscapes, filtered through those familiar Images to all of us - film, TV, Illustration, advertising, and other paintings. I'm fascinated by such cliched scenes of alpine vistas, desert valleys, snowbound landscapes and forest scenes. I'm interested the the gap between our perception and the reality of these archetypal places. My paintings start life with a physical model, which are built out of low-fi stuff such as cardboard and polystyrene found around the studio, built deliberately quickly so they look like they might fall apart at any second. A bit of exposed blue-tack here, visible spots of glue, These are all references to the artifice of the thing, a constant reminder you are looking at a poor facsimile of a place rather than the place itself. They are understated and quiet. Like the models, I see them as more backdrops, sets and props in the story. They are always alluding to something but never reveal quite what that is. This painting is on a plywood panel mounted on wooden support, the edges are left as bare wood, with a planed edge as the paint meets the wooden panel. There is a layer of acrylic size to prevent moisture ingress. Slight imperfections in the wood and paint bleed through from the upper surface are to be expected. It has a fairly flat surface, which is varnished with a satin varnish for an understated look. Hanging Hardware is not included, d-rings or mirror plates screwed into the wooden support are recommended for hanging.

'guardian', Tom Down

My work revolves around romanticized landscapes, filtered through those familiar Images to all of us - film, TV, Illustration, advertising, and other paintings. I'm fascinated by such cliched scenes of alpine vistas, desert valleys, snowbound landscapes and forest scenes. I'm interested the the gap between our perception and the reality of these archetypal places. My paintings start life with a physical model, which are built out of low-fi stuff such as cardboard and polystyrene found around the studio, built deliberately quickly so they look like they might fall apart at any second. A bit of exposed blue-tack here, visible spots of glue, These are all references to the artifice of the thing, a constant reminder you are looking at a poor facsimile of a place rather than the place itself. They are understated and quiet. Like the models, I see them as more backdrops, sets and props in the story. They are always alluding to something but never reveal quite what that is. This painting is on a plywood panel mounted on wooden support, the edges are left as bare wood, with a planed edge as the paint meets the wooden panel. There is a layer of acrylic size to prevent moisture ingress. Slight imperfections in the wood and paint bleed through from the upper surface are to be expected. It has a fairly flat surface, which is varnished with a satin varnish for an understated look. Hanging Hardware is not included, d-rings or mirror plates screwed into the wooden support are recommended for hanging.