Tom Wanless Sen ROI
Statement
Tom Wanless has never understood why so many artists and critics feel the need to separate abstract art from representational art as if they must be regarded as essentially opposite ways of working. Probably because he is comfortable with both forms of expression, he usually pay as much attention to the structural qualities of a chosen subject as he does to the realistic appearance of things. There is a fascinating zone between abstraction and representation where exciting things can happen.
Bio
1996 Elected to the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
1998 Elected to the Royal Society of British Artists
1946-1948 Studied at Bede College, Durham University
1948-1950 National Service with RAEC in Kenya
1952-1957 Studied at Sunderland College of Art
1970-1971 Studied at S. Glamorgan Institute/University of Wales (post-graduate)
1971-1974 Studied at Bristol University (post-graduate)
Qualified as a teacher in 1948 and, following National Service, worked full-time in art education for forty years until retirement in 1989. Experience was gained in senior posts in a variety of schools and colleges. The final post was as Principal Lecturer in Art and Co-ordinator for the Creative Arts at Leeds Polytechnic. In the later stages of this career, opportunities were taken to act as visiting tutor and external examiner for other colleges and universities. Additionally, and importantly, considerable tutoring of painting and drawing courses in adult education centres also featured in the flow of career events.