Art Gallery showcases new wildlife painter

Local wildlife and landscape paintings are the specialty of Tom Seward, a Coulee City resident who brought his artwork to the Ritzville Art Gallery on July 27.

Seward focuses on acrylic paintings but also has experience with sketching and etching. An avid fisherman, Seward’s work is typically based on the animals and landscape native to the waterways of Eastern Washington.

Originally from Southern Illinois, Seward relocated to the area in 1978 because of a job opportunity in Hood River, Ore. Aside from his artwork; Seward had taken a great pride and interest in designing fishing lures.

“For the past 30 years, I have been in the fishing lure industry and gave up art to design lures for bass, walleye and salmon,” Seward stated. “Many are still on the market today. In the industry, they are called ‘crankbaits.’”

Seward’s interest in designing crankbait lures also led him discover his fascination for the predatory instincts of animals. Crankbait lures can be used to cast fish and also for trolling lures, but the fast movement of the lure creates the fish to become aggressive and attack the perceived prey.

The majority of Seward’s artwork is based on the predator, prey relationship and he attempts to capture these natural moments through art. One of the most recent pieces of art for Seward is a hawk capturing a rattlesnake, a scene he witnessed when out fishing on a local lake.

Seward relocated to Coulee City because of the close proximity of lakes in the area. Initially, he was not fond of the desert area, finding it hard to see the natural beauty of his surroundings, as he was accustomed to the fertile landscape of Illinois.

After observing other local artists work and attending art shows, Seward began to see the beauty of the Eastern Washington landscape through their art. He began to focus on the colors of the landscape and the change in color depending on the lighting.

“I enjoy this scenery and I have learned to paint it and the particular desert in natural, local landscapes,” he explained. “I like textures and details so this shows up in much of my work. I research anything I do to be accurate but I adjust paintings with the consideration of basic art principles and the freedom to change things in a composition that artists enjoy.”

When Seward decides to paint a certain animal, he researches it in every way possible, including examining certain animals that met their demise on the side of the road. He explained the road kill provides him the best opportunity to closely examine the animal’s color and detail without the threat of injury.

The animal’s Seward prefers to paint are fish and birds, as those are the animals he knows the most about. He is also a fish taxidermist and has been involved and interested with taxidermy since his grade school years.

Along with his 11 pieces of artwork that he delivered to the gallery last Friday, Seward also brought a stuffed 10-pound walleye. Seward uses his expertise as a fish taxidermist to accurately portray the fish in his artwork and also use his artistic talent to bring the stuffed fish to life.

After catching the fish, he freezes them before beginning the taxidermy process. The fish’s color begins to fade and Seward brings it to the original beauty by airbrushing accurate coloring back on the scales and uses foam to stuff the animal.

“It takes at least eight to 10 hours to complete,” Seward said, holding up the walleye. “And with an airbrush, you can’t start and stop.”

Seward stopped painting for nearly 30 years and picked up a paintbrush again in 2010. In those two years, he has perfected texture and lighting in his art, two things he finds critical to a spectacular piece.

He explains that has an artist, sometimes he can miss certain details in his work that other people might think he should change. Because of this, he takes his artwork to a local art club in Coulee City and the group gives him positive feedback to help him enhance his artwork.

The average amount of time it takes Seward to complete a painting is around two to five weeks of work. The detail and texture of each painting makes the process take longer and Seward enjoys completing a piece, walking away, and coming back a week later to have fresh eyes.

The landscapes Seward paints are areas that he has photographed, passed on a daily basis or aspects of the land he remembers are a trip to the lake. He slightly modifies all of the landscapes to fit his artistic preference, but keeps the landscape original enough that onlookers can recognize the area or landmark.

For cost purposes for both himself and the customer, Seward now builds his own frames. His first artwork is on watercolor paper, framed and in glass, but Seward quickly realized the expense of this process.

Seward’s artwork has allowed him to experiment with his painting to reach as many customers as possible. He showcases his artwork in local art galleries and hopes to find a strong customer base in the Ritzville area.

He plans to venture away from his typical wildlife scenes on his next piece as he hopes to paint a storm on the horizon, complete with lightning.

The Ritzville Art Gallery is located at 109 West Main Avenue. For the Art Gallery’s hours of operation, contact the Ritzville Visitor’s Center at 659-1936.