Thomas Wells Schaller: The Language of Painting
Rooted in classical drawing and Beaux-Arts style watercolor technique, Thomas Wells Schaller’s artwork has evolved over time to embrace more romantic expressions with an emphasis on personal experience and the power of the imagination. It is his goal to establish an unspoken connection with the viewer – creating the opportunity for others to see new reflections of their own perceptions of the world within his own.
How did your creative journey begin?
Like many I expect, my exploration of the visual arts began when I was a child. Introverted and quiet, I found it easiest to express myself by drawing. If I was nervous, afraid, or unhappy, I would take to my sketchbook and draw. And when I was exited and happy, I would do the same.
Around this time, my grandmother gave me a book from her shelf that featured American artists whose work was displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I was transfixed. I loved the images of the paintings of course, but I was more taken by the idea of the lives these artists must live. And so I decided - at age 7 - that was the life for me. One day soon after, I marched into the kitchen of our rural Ohio farmhouse and announced to my stunned parents, “When I grow up, I am going to be an artist and live in New York City.” Disliking much of anything “urban”, they were both horrified and amused.
But all these years later, little has changed. Amazingly, I was able to fulfill my childhood dream. And the non-verbal language of painting and drawing remains the best way for me to find some order in the chaos of the world that I find around me still. .
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
It would be too easy to say simply “everywhere”, but that’s about the truth. But to be more specific, it is not always a result of something I may be “looking” at. Rather it has to do with how I have trained myself to “see”. By that I mean the ways in which I interpret my experiences of the world. All I see, hear, think, remember, or imagine are reinterpreted into a visual language for expression in my work. I try very hard never to paint “scenes” - just things I am looking at. But rather, I try to paint “experiences” - my unique personal emotional and creative take on anything that affects me.
This could be something I remember from childhood, or something I overheard on the subway. It could be a piece of music or a headline from the news. For me the trick is to keep my ears and my heart open and to always have a sketchbook nearby. Rather than think too much about what I am experiencing, I try to begin doodling in my sketchbook. So much painting material is developed from these chaotic scribbles. In fact, I also have a sketchbook by my bed and I doodle in it as soon as I wake up. This is an amazing way to capture a glimpse of the subconscious and the dream-state worlds. Will all this ebecome paintings? Of course not - most are nonsense. But once in a while, something unexpected and wondrous emerges.
How has your work evolved over the last few years?
Especially since the years of the Covid shutdowns, I have cut back severely on my traveling and teaching schedule. This has afforded me far more time to think, to write, and to paint. I have been in deep exploration of the terrain of individual perception. I have come to understand that how each of us “sees” the world is unique to us all. We all bring our own very personal points of view to the creative table and that inner voice we all have can be trained to speak louder and more clearly. In my case this has helped me to see that what I most want to paint is a fluid combination of real-world observation along with dreams, memories, and pure imagination.
I have rediscovered that playful and joyful sense of invention I had as a child. I have become far more motivated by my own creative instincts and far less concerned with the opinions or professional concerns of others. And as such my work has taken on a decidedly more personal and authentic burnish
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I love to paint. I am a painter - an artist. This is how I describe and define myself. And so any day in which I cannot paint is usually not a happy one for me. Typically, after I walk my little dog Otis and make coffee, I will head to my studio. I have a workspace at home as well for “emergencies”, but I prefer to go to my studio here in downtown NYC. It’s a bright and joyful space dedicated to nothing but the making of art. And so there is very little that can happen there to distract me from painting.
Sometimes I will listen to music or an audiobook, but usually I prefer to paint without any extraneous sounds. And even a day of bad painting is still a good day!
Usually I will work until about 6 PM when I must take Otis to Central Park to visit our friends - and then we are home for dinner. However, there are those days where I will paint until 1 or 2 in the morning. But I have to admit that I may not be doing my best work when I am that run down. Nevertheless, sometimes you just have to.
Which experiences have impacted your work as an artist?
This is a very broad question. I expect like most artists, artwork is what I do to filter the experiences of the world - to express or to make some sense of them. So much has happened to all of us that has impacted how we feel about our worlds and how we therefore make the art we make. Lately I have been focussed on “origin stories” - images that are analogs to the formative experiences - cultural, emotional, political - of youth and middle age that have formed me and my colleagues
How has social media impacted your work?
I came of age as a painter during the nascent Social Media explosion. Like so many others, initially I had little other outlet for my work and so I took to Social Media to gain exposure, notice, and hopefully a community of like-minded creative souls.
Despite its drawbacks and the many criticisms that can be leveled, in honesty, I have to say that Social Media was the making of me as an artist. I gained a substantial following, many collectors, notice from institutions, art societies, galleries, grants, exhibitions, and teaching opportunities that have taken me around the world several times. I cannot think how much of any of this would have been possible were it not for Social Media
It does have a dark side. It can be addictive, it can expose you to some very unpleasant people, and worse, if you are not careful, it can begin to form the very work you do - in an attempt to find acceptance and approval. I am not wholly immune, but I believe I have kept a pretty level head about my experiences with Social Media. I understand it is not always “real life”. But it can be a very effective thread that connects you to the possibility of a life that is larger and more authentic to any you might have dreamed.
What do you enjoy most about working in watercolor?
All mediums have their advantages and drawbacks. But after years of experimentation, I have consistently come back to watercolor as the best fit for me. I never tire of its versatility of expression. No other medium can speak in a whisper as well as a shout as poetically as watercolor. Its luminosity and transparency are endlessly compelling. And as an artist who most enjoys exploring the idea of various forms of contrast - light/dark , warm/cool, the real/the imagined, positive/negative shapes, and elements of time, past/present/future - no medium is as beautifully eloquent . Only in watercolor can one thing, one shape, one expression so gracefully and fluidly morph into another. The potential for poetic expression in the field of watercolor is limitless.
IG: @thomaswschaller
Website: https://www.thomaswschaller.com/