Biography
An artist and a teacher for over thirty years, Thomas J. Owen is a
nationally recognized painter in watercolor, acrylic and oil. His work ranges from landscapes
to figurative and he enjoys developing designs from subjects such as steam locomotives, fishing boats,
rustic architecture and intimate scenes from nature. His perspective on art is to paint his subjects
in a manner that exhibits the best qualities of the media.
Tom grew up in a small town in central Pennsylvania where he developed his love of art,
the natural world and sport. He was an all-state fullback in football and attended college on a
football scholarship. An education graduate of Northwest Missouri State University, he became
interested in art after college and studied with Robert E. Wood, Ed Whitney and Rex Brandt.
A signature member of both the American Watercolor Society and the National Watercolor Society, Owen has established himself as one of the Southwest's premier landscape painters
and has won over 60 awards in National and International exhibitions including the Mario
Cooper & Dale Myers Medal from the American Watercolor Society, the Rouse Gold Medallion in
the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolor, the Jurors Choice in the San
Diego International Watermedia exhibition, and Best of Shows from the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Society, the Colorado Watercolor
Society and the Society of Watercolor Artists.
Tom currently teaches painting to all levels of students at the Pikes Peak Community Collage
and the Cottonwood Center for the Arts in Colorado Springs. He also conducts workshops across
the United States in watercolor and plein air painting. To see all of his currently scheduled
workshops, go to Workshops.
Artist Statement
"I like water-based media because of the possibilities of the flow of the pigment and the subtle interplay and blending of colors. This fluidity creates wonderful atmospheric effects and gives the elements of landscape a quality which can be captured no other way. I think watercolors should be juicy and flowing with explosions of color. When painting with oils, I start them very much like watercolors, with thin translucent washes of color, and then move the paint towards heavier pigments to create a rich variation of surface textures. "
"My gallery work leans toward more traditional landscapes. For my competition paintings, I seek subjects that might often be overlooked: textures and patterns in vintage objects such as machinery, or the juxtaposition of functional shapes superimposed on an abstract underpainting. I like marrying the real and unreal into one composition."