Have you ever wondered about the origin of life? Abiogenesis, the scientific study of the origin of life, explores the natural process by which life has arisen from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds. This painting reminded me of living molecules and strands of DNA under a microscope.
I love the way the strands and clusters of shapes seem to undulate with life against the atmospheric background colors.
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Street Gang
The urban jungle is a dangerous place at night. Nocturnal predators come out to hunt in packs on the mean streets and their unwary prey may not make it back to the herd. Every big city has its high crime neighborhoods that are best avoided after dark. Besides the ominous mood, I like the strong verticals and design graphics of the long shadows against the intense colors in this piece.
Tags; city streets, street gang, urban landscape, bad neighborhood, Tom Shropshire paintings, night city scene, city lights
East Wisconsin Avenue
This view is looking west with your back to Lake Michigan at the very end of Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Milwaukee.
Most Milwaukee natives still refer to the building at 626 E. Wisconsin Ave. as "The Wisconsin Gas Building." Designed in the Art Deco style and completed in 1930, the building is 250 ft. tall and has 20 floors. In 1956, a weather beacon shaped as a natural gas flame was added to the top building. The neon flame is 21 ft. tall and adds a unique splash of color to the Milwaukee skyline. Known as the "weather flame," the light changes color along with the weather forecast for the following day. Here's a poem that explains the colors;
"When the flame is red, warm weather is ahead.
When the flame is gold, watch out for cold.
When the flame is blue, there's no change in view.
Where there's agitation, expect precipitation."
Singing In The Rain
This began as a typical rainy city street scene until my subconscious mind took over and I felt compelled to add the “Gene Kelley – like” character in the foreground. That memorable scene from the movie exactly depicts how a downpour of rain makes me feel inside. I guess I have also been thinking about Debbie Reynolds (who also starred in the movie), and her recent passing shortly after the death of her daughter, Carrie Fisher.
Maybe I can’t sing or dance but I sure can hum and whistle while I make my brush dance.
Mayflower At Sea
This painting was created for my own private collection and as a Thanksgiving legacy to my family. My late father, Robert Standish Shropshire, would have loved this painting. He knew the entire history of the voyage and the struggle of the pilgrims and loved to tell stories that brought their history to life. Every Thanksgiving he would quiz his children and grandchildren about the first Thanksgiving and award prizes to the winners.
I am a descendant of Miles Standish, the soldier that sailed with the pilgrims on their voyage and protected them after their arrival in the new world. I thought about their brave journey across the ocean on the tiny ship. 102 pilgrims and an estimated 30 crew members sailing in a wooden ship for 66 days through storms and treacherous seas to an unknown land. The passage was miserable, with huge waves constantly crashing against the ship's topside deck. I wanted to capture the frightening immensity of the Atlantic Ocean …the danger as well as the emptiness and loneliness of the open sea. Although I am not offering the painting for sale, Art Prints are available through my site at Fine Art America in two formats, full size horizontal or a detailed vertical format.
Holiday Shoppers
It’s Christmas time in the city or a least the day after Thanksgiving. Shoppers huddle together on the corner waiting for the traffic light to change. The lighted store windows draw them like moths to a flame as they look for that perfect gift for people on their list. It’s a yearly ritual so sing along “…and on every street corner you’ll hear; Silver Bells, Silver Bells …”
Space Debris
My inspiration for this painting is space exploration and man-made space stations and satellites orbiting the Earth. I wanted to express the technological clutter that we first create and then depend on. I also think about our stewardship of this tiny planet we call home.
This October marked the anniversary of the launch of Sputnik in 1957, 59 years ago. It got me to thinking about all the satellites that have been launched into space and are still orbiting our planet. There are about 1,100 active satellites, both government and private. Plus there are about 2,600 others that no longer work, for a total of 3700. That’s a lot of space junk circling around us at 17,000 miles per hour.
City Park
I love to create scenes of the city juxtaposed with natural elements such as trees, atmosphere, or skies. My goal for this piece was to create the feeling of a cold and wet autumn evening, broken here and there by the warm contrast of electric lights, as the bare trees arch against the overcast sky and the dark looming buildings. It’s the kind of gloomy night where your breath hangs in the frigid air and rain drips from the trees onto the sodden leaves of the deserted park. Pedestrians with umbrellas hurry along seeking shelter from the cold rain.
Artist to the Stars ...well not Quite, but my painting (shown here) did make it into a movie released this year. I was contacted by the set decorator on the feature film "Back In The Day" about the use of my painting in an iconic boxing film set in Brooklyn in the 80's. The cast includes William DeMeo, Danny Glover, Alec Baldwin, Shannen Doherty, and a cameo by Mike Tyson. We agreed on compensation and I provided a high res file of the painting and a signed release.
I don't think paintings are eligible for an Oscar, But back in the day (see what I did there?) it did win an award in the international BoldBrush competition. Read More
When I was a kid all I wanted to be when I grew up was an artist. My mom encouraged me and sometimes I could get her to buy me a Walter Foster "How-To" artist book (They were a dollar back then). How to Draw Horses, How to Sketch People, and even How to Paint Landscapes, I would pore over them all and practice drawing the lessons. I even dreamed that someday, if I got good enough, my paintings could be in a book like those (I think I still have about 30 of them). Dreams do come true.
AT LAST!
I am thrilled to announce the launch of my first book September 1st, Acrylic Painting - Landscapes, part of the Walter Foster "How to Draw and Paint" series, a 90 year legacy of self-help art instruction books for artists.
Since February 2014 when I was first contacted by a Senior Editor of Walter Foster Publishing after she discovered my work online, and a publishing agreement signed May of 2015, my book project became a labor of love. I was fortunate to have the expertise of several Editors during the development stages and especially Associate Editor and artist, Julie Chappa.
Book Description;
" ...comprehensive instruction and artist tips and tricks, Landscapes is the perfect resource for beginning acrylic artists."
Talented artist Tom Shropshire guides readers through an exploration of painting classic landscapes in acrylic ..."
(WOW! All this for under $10 bucks?)
My book is now available from book vendors everywhere. If you would like to learn more about painting with acrylics or you know of a beginning artist that could use some guidance, please order my book. I'm including a link to my favorite online bookseller, Amazon. If you do order my book, please rate it and review it (This means a lot to me and other online shoppers).
I Love Rain
Drops and trickles of rain splatter the window and the lights of the city glitter and sparkle on the wet glass. Someone’s finger wrote a love message to the storm on the fogged window pane …probably me.
An early childhood memory of a car ride with my parents during a cold night thunderstorm has been indelibly etched into my mind. Huddled in the back seat under a wool car blanket with my brothers and sister, I was warm and safe as the rain pounded the metal roof and the tires swished and hissed through the flooded streets. Surrounded by warmth and hearing the murmur of my parent’s voices I drifted in and out of sleep and watched the wavering reflections of colored lights reflected by the streams and droplets on the steamy window glass.
I have never felt as safe and loved as I did that night. Lulled by the rhythm of the windshield wipers and the sound of distant thunder, I fell asleep. Even today stormy weather soothes me, but I also do some of my best painting when working on rainy days.
Nocturne In Lavender
I like the nostalgic feel of this atmospheric painting. The moody night sky with a huge full moon, silhouettes of the gnarly branches, utility poles and a vintage automobile set the stage for a turn-of-the-century drama. The figures that populate this alternate universe are intentionally ambiguous and left with little detail.
I have wondered what Victorian artist, John Atkinson Grimshaw, would be painting if he were still alive. His wonderful nocturnes have always inspired me.
Hoan Bridge
I have tried to paint this bridge several times in the past but was never satisfied with my results until now. My motivation and inspiration has been to capture the silhouette of the bridge against the sky and convey the industrial starkness of the manmade structure against a moody background just as night begins to fall. I think the smokestack adds some drama to the piece. I read recently that most of the people who jump to their deaths in Milwaukee County do so from the Hoan Bridge, according to the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office. A somber painting now seems somehow appropriate.
Angel of the Lake
It was a time of mystery and magic as the mists parted and the crescent moon shone down on the ruins of the old abbey. The gnarled branches of the ancient oak trees claw at the luminous sky as night descends on the silent deserted lake. The stone statue of an angel is reflected above the stygian depths of the stagnant water.
This painting was completed for a collector on a commission basis
Cairo Egypt
My goal in this painting was to convey the hazy oppressive heat of the city with the towers silhouetted against the hot sky. I used a monochromatic palette of red and yellow oxide, plus white and Burnt Umber. A tint of Quinacridone Red followed by a wash of Naples Yellow was also brushed over the entire canvas.
The land composing the present-day city was the site of ancient national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life, and is nicknamed "the city of a thousand minarets".
Milwaukee Fog
Just the other day Milwaukee was under a “Dense Fog Advisory”, with visibility low and driving conditions dangerous. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, this is not an unusual occurrence. But there is something about the city on a foggy night that is mysterious and compelling. Ordinary landmarks ominously loom out of the fog and every light has a halo, sounds are distorted and muffled under the swirling cold gray blanket. The warm lights seem more welcoming than usual as you escape the damp and lonely night for the noise and companionship of the local nightlife in the downtown bars and restaurants.
Inside the Oriental Theater Chicago
They were called movie palaces and palaces they were. Anyone with the price of admission could get lost in the magic of Hollywood in surroundings suitable for royalty. Turbaned ushers led patrons from the lobby, through an inner foyer with elephant-throne chairs and glazed Buddhas, to the auditorium’s “hasheesh-dream décor.”
I love the ornate awe-inspiring drama of the architectural details. I thoroughly enjoyed this challenging subject and plan to paint more of these historic landmarks.
As one of the first motion picture palaces whose décor was inspired by the Far East, Chicago’s Oriental Theatre opened to much fanfare on May 8, 1926. The theater eventually fell into disrepair and was closed to the public in 1981. Rescued in 1996, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that the Oriental would be restored to its original grandeur for the presentation of live stage musicals. It was renamed the Ford
Center for the Performing Arts in 1997.
Atlantis the Lost Continent
My taste in art is as varied as my taste in books. I read everything from spy thrillers to sword and sorcery and historic novels. Although night city scenes are my usual subject, I find that from time to time I am also compelled to paint an abstract, a subject inspired by pulp novels, or a fantasy scene such as this, just to keep things fresh.
Caption; A hazy sun shone down through the hot ash in the air. The City of Atlantis waited as the sacred mountain above grumbled and spewed smoke and volcanic ash into the sky. Birds and animals migrated out of season and the earth trembled and shook as the final countdown to destruction began.
In December my wife, Nancy and I, with our close friends, fellow artist Walt Maes and his wife Toby, attended a musical at this beautiful theater. Instead of the usual winter snow, it was a rainy day in Chicago, and this is how I portrayed it.
As one of the first motion picture palaces whose décor was inspired by the Far East, Chicago’s Oriental Theatre opened to much fanfare on May 8, 1926. The theater eventually fell into disrepair and was closed to the public in 1981. Rescued in 1996, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that the Oriental would be restored to its original grandeur for the presentation of live stage musicals. It was renamed the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in 1997.
(I have also painted the Chicago Theater and Milwaukee’s Oriental movie theater)
Moon Over Cathedral Square
Cathedral Square is a small urban County Park in Milwaukee located to the west of the Cathedral of St. John. During the Christmas season it's decorated with lights and holiday displays. One of downtown's most beautiful parks, Cathedral Square is home to Jazz in the Park, Bastille Days, East Town Farmers Market, Holiday Lights Festival and much more.
