When viewing one of Tom Perkinson’s landscape paintings, you will catch yourself thinking, “Where did he see this?” The answer is simple: in his mind’s eye.
“I’m an intuitive painter,” Perkinson says. “I’m a painter of fiction.” He’s not a plein air painter, and he doesn’t work from photographs, unless it’s a landmark structure. He simply looks inward, using his imagination to create—and then paint—whatever comes to him.
And what comes to Perkinson are stunning landscapes filled with light and brilliant colors. “I want viewers to see the world in a different way,” he says. “I want them to have a feeling of balance and peace. I try to make my work attract viewers from a distance. I try to get them to visually walk around in the painting and discover different elements. I want to capture the viewer as long as I can without telling them everything in the painting. I want to keep the painting loose and evocative.”
Read the full article in the May/June 2026 issue.
Winter at Rancho de las Golondrinas
mixed media
12″ by 16″
Freight Train at Sunset
pastel
20″ by 10″
