Painting and drawing encourage failure on a daily basis - so much so that these setbacks can become part of the work itself. I see my paintings as records of their own creation - making art requires failure. Those failures stay with us, here as dots, stars, or a veil of paint that obscures our best intentions. The redactions in the paintings are manifestations of the imperfections inherent in making art but, larger than the concerns of the studio, they are metaphors for an examined life. I cannot overstate the importance of addiction and recovery that is manifest in my work. We try to be people without fault, we fail; we try to make a painting without fault, we fail. To me the portrait represents the hope that we must have to make art in the first place. It is the hope that we might make ourselves understood, that we might communicate fully through our work. Gabriel Garcia Marquez said “I think that writing is very difficult, but so is any job carefully executed. What is a privilege, however, is to do a job to your own satisfaction … It is a privilege to do anything to a perfect degree.” It is an honor to work in a medium that allows room for imperfection alongside our best intentions.
Tom Hembree (b. 1985, Springfield, MO) studied painting at the Kansas City Art Institute (‘09) and the New York Studio School (‘12). He lives in Crossroads, Kansas City, with his wife and two cats.
For freelance work, commissions, collaborations or inquiries, contact him.
Email
tom.hembree7@gmail.com
Phone
(417) 848-7701