Artist Reception
Thomas Dunford

Thursday, June 4 | 5-7 PM
2nd Floor Art Gallery
Free and Open to the Public

Join us for a reception for Artist Thomas Dunford. His work will be for sale and on display for the month of June.

Artist Statement

I have been drawing, painting, and building since childhood. Can’t stop. 

I’ve often struggled to communicate why I make art. It feels good. I enjoy the challenge of trying to make pencils and paint do what I want them to do. I’m not always successful. In the same way that fishing is satisfying because you don’t always catch fish, art is satisfying because you don’t always create what you intended. The satisfaction comes through the difficulty.

I want others to feel free to create art. From a very young age, I was labeled as “talented” or as “a good artist.” I’m confident that is a big reason why I still create. I believe all children are artists but somewhere along the line, their excitement gets squashed out of them by fear. I hope to rekindle that joyful spark in as many people as possible. I want for people to swipe the fear aside and just make stuff. Let them feel the joy and satisfaction of creation. I feel it makes a connection with the Divine.

“One of life’s quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself and watch yourself softly becoming the author of something beautiful…”

            -Norman Maclean

Artist Bio

A Utah native, Thomas is a professional artist working mostly in watercolor, acrylic, and ink. His formal education is in landscape architecture, having earned that degree from Utah State University. Thomas creates his art mostly at night after his four boys are in bed. He can speak enthusiastically about fly fishing, bonsai cultivation, birding, outdoor cooking, and recreational prospecting.