"My career as an artist began in 1983, but my love of painting started years earlier. My father was a photographer for Dupont. I learned good composition and the importance of contrast by studying his black and white photographs,. He encouraged my interest at an early age, bringing home stacks of white paper for me to draw on. I would go through 350 sheets in a week--it kept me from drawing on the walls. As a teenager my love of the outdoors and interest in art helped form my identity. My self-image revolved around being able to depict nature in my drawings and paintings. At Glassboro State College in New Jersey, I learned the traditional approach to drawing and painting from three gifted professors and artists. Daniel Chard taught me how to “see” thing as they really are and how to be precise. Gerry Monroe taught me how to be a fearless painter and attack the canvas. Herbert Appleson stressed drawing skills above all else: “One must have a strong foundation from which to build upon.” All three professors left upon me a lasting impression from which I continue to draw from to this day. My love of nature and the peace it can bring has led me to paint landscapes, especially those of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. To locate such places, I hike where most people do not. I travel the extra two or three miles downstream to find my subject matter. A large part of being a landscapes painter in Bucks County is the journey--the adventure of finding places that few others have found. This is at the heart of why I paint.

by Dean F. Thomas

Click a thumbnail to see an enlarged version of that artwork.

For additional information and an updated biography, contact
Sherry French, Director of Sherry French Gallery at 212-647-8867.


Click here for artist's biography Dean F. Thomas