Tom Cartmill is based in Reading, working from a studio unit on a farm just outside the town. Now settled in Berkshire, Tom has spent much of his adult life overseas, particularly in New Zealand, Southern Spain and Sicily. His work is exhibited widely and can be found in numerous private collections around the world, and also in a growing number of public and corporate collections.

Artist Statement: “Change through time and the inevitable accumulation of experience are themes that have underpinned my practice from early on. The way that buildings and much used objects age, weathering and transforming with the passage of time, is a constant source of inspiration. I work at evoking a ‘patina of experience' in my pictures. This directly relates to the methods used to make my work, where I combine conventional painting techniques with more innovative processes: Layers of media are built up, to be abraded, worn through and overlaid yet again, mirroring the passage of time and giving glimpses of the unfolding story of the making of the work itself.

As well as an abiding interested in visual perception, I am interested in the function of memory, in particular, the fact that our understanding of the world around us (people, places, concepts) is filtered or conditioned through our memories. There also seems to be a connection that, however much we toil to comprehend and to broaden our knowledge, our understanding will never be whole.”

Tom exhibited in REVERBERATIONS, a joint show with Michele Bianco, from 24th April to 28th May 2021.