Tom French

Tom French

By Arden de Raaij

UK based artist Tom French has been responsible for some of the most jaw-dropping art works I’ve seen in a while! His skulls, at first look, are beautiful oil paintings. Give them a second look and you’ll disocover that there’s a whole new level to these skulls which are  actually made up out of people. I think it’s this combination of skill, cleverness and emotions that defines the artist Tom French. A combination you’ll also find in his other series of artworks; It’s all so skillful, smart and touching!  That’s why it was about time we’d introduce you to the amazing Tom French:

” I much prefer to spend my time painting, to indulge in creating exactly what interests me, and the freedom to risk making a complete mess in the process.”

“I’m a 30 year old artist, currently living in Newcastle (UK). I’ve been making pictures all my life, as far back as I can remember – cliched i know, but true all the same. So my current work is the product of a lifetime of doodling, scribbling, sketching, mess making, mark making, drawing, painting and progressing into the form it now takes.

Tom French's studio space
Tom French’s studio space

I took a bit of a detour from this path a (good) few years ago now, packing myself off to study design at university, under the impression that this would be best possible way to make a living without having to leave the world of visual art. And this was partly the case – I spent a couple of years at a computer, successfully making other peoples products look most appealing. Don’t get me wrong, as far as jobs go it was a great one, just not quite for me. I much prefer to spend my time painting, to indulge in creating exactly what interests me, and the freedom to risk making a complete mess in the process.

I paint mostly in Oils now, and create a lot of charcoal work too, often as finished pieces, or as working drawings towards larger paintings. There’s currently 3 series’ of images being worked on, I prefer to have a few different projects on the go at the same time, partly because this gives me time to reflect on the work as it’s developing, and partly just because I’m plain impatient – as I work on one piece it sparks off a load of new ideas I cant wait to get down.

This week the new website has just gone up, so for the first time you can peruse my images and find out more, in one orderly and easy to use format!”

About Tom French

Born in 1982, Tom French grew up in Newcastle Upon Tyne, North East England. French began his studies at the Newcastle School of Art and Design and went on to graduate from the Sheffield Institute of ...View profile