Thom Duffy, Watercolors, William Way LGBTQ Community Center
Last year Thom Duffy won one of three opportunities to exhibit art in the lobby of the William Way LGBTQ Community Center. The paintings from the community art show last year, lush Philadelphia themed acrylics on paper, were very different than the collection of serene watercolor still life paintings Thom painted over the last year. This exhibition is not a retrospective, it is an exploration of the artist’s primary tool, watercolors, with an Autumn theme. Duffy keeps a set up of paints and subjects in his studio, his only concern is that the subject might deteriorate while he attends to other business. While oils kind of stink up the place, watercolors don’t have the toxicity of other mediums but can be refreshed with water.
Thom Duffy, Watercolors, William Way LGBTQ Community Center
“All of the fruit, the gourds and stuff, have a longer longevity than the pumpkins, too. The fresh fruit I wanted to paint before they started to perish. I did pretty well except the spaghetti squash started to get a black spot. That took me a good solid week to work on, probably five days in a row. I work about four to six hours working back and forth from my massage clients, reiki, and then going back into it. All of these, and that one specifically were painted during the day because I had my picture window open. I wanted the natural light to come in and be part of the work and you can see some of the light that is cast.”
Thom Duffy, Watercolors, William Way LGBTQ Community Center
“I can leave it set up for about a week but some of the single and smaller pieces took just a day or two. Because of my reiki and massage client practice I wanted to get away from oils and the cleansers, the fumes from turpentine. With watercolor my clients aren’t breathing it in.”
Do you miss painting with oils?
“I used to have a painting studio that I lost just because I moved and when I started to paint like that in my own home I just started working with water based paints. I was in 22 Alter Street from 2004 to 2007 and the I moved to Gerard Estates I started to move towards acrylics and watercolor.”
Thom Duffy, Watercolors, William Way LGBTQ Community Center
“I have always enjoyed color and specifically painting and looking at color.I find it is extremely calming and therapeutic studying objects and how color changes on the surface by sculpting the object’s planes with brush and color. For me still lifes are also a study of relationships and how objects relate to light, space, other objects and they surface on which they rest.” – Thom Duffy artist statement
The show will be on view in the gallery from September 12 – October 31, 2014. William Way LGBTQ Community Center 1315 Spruce St. Philadelphia, PA 19107, 1 (215)732-2220. Monday through Friday 11:00am – 10:00pm, Saturday and Sunday, 12:00pm – 5:00pm.
Written and photographed by DoN Brewer except where noted.
Read about Gina Giles, one of the three winning exhibiters at William Way LGBTQ Community Center on DoNArTNeWs
Read about Lance Pawling, one of the three winning exhibiters at William Way LGBTQ Community Center on DoNArTNeWs
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