about the artist

San Francisco native Thomas Wood grew up in a house filled with paintings and sculpture, and art was a frequent topic of conversation. He was inspired by his artist parents Mireille and Phil Wood, his grandfather Gottardo Piazzoni, his cousin Russ Chatham and great-uncle Maurice del Mué. All painted the landscape on location.

He began painting when he was around eight at the family's ranch in Carmel Valley, when his parents provided him with easel, sketch box, brushes and oil paints. 

As teenagers, during summers, he and his cousin Russ would paint their surroundings: oaks and hills, brushy canyons, barns and fences – and tack their paintings up on the wall of the ranch house porch, an impromptu rural art gallery. 

Earning a B.A. (University of California Berkeley) and an M.A. (San Francisco State University) in English, he taught college composition and literature for several years in New York and California. He also worked in educational media and photography, and was active in theater and music. 

In the 1980s he decided to make art his vocation, and has since exhibited professionally in numerous successful one-man and group shows. His paintings hang in many private collections.

He lives in Marin County, California.

"I complete smaller paintings directly from nature, and use outdoor work as a basis for larger studio canvases. 

"I try to convey an honest interpretation and feeling by closely observing light and shadow, the variations in color, the sense of space.

"The landscape is suggestive of past and future, evoking memory and time, history and dreams. The landscape can be quiet, dramatic, awe-inspiring, beautiful. Through painting, I hope to capture some of these qualities."