Instructor, Painter, Illustrator
By Melissa Pingeton

The famous 17th century Dutch artist Rembrandt is quoted as saying, “Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know.” As an artist and admirer of Rembrandt’s works, Tom Grady can relate to this quote.

An art teacher at the Worcester Art Museum, the 29-year-old Worcester resident has been teaching classes at the Salisbury Street museum since 2000. More recently, he also became a visiting assistant professor at Assumption College’s Art Department.

“Teaching helps the whole artistic process,” explains Grady. “It’s an influence and an inspiration for my studio work.”

Growing up, drawing was “…something I did for as long I can remember” says Grady. His grandfather was an illustrator, so drawing “…just seemed normal.” At Auburn High School, he took art classes and began to realize, thanks to the guidance of art teacher Mr. Reis, that he could make a career out of art.

After graduating from Auburn High School, Reese attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration. During his undergraduate study, Grady painted a large-scale mural that was displayed in Providence. Also during his undergraduate study, Grady has the opportunity to study abroad in Italy in 1998. “It was great… I did an art history class and, you know it was just traveling around looking at all the great architecture and art,” he recalls. In 2005, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Visual Arts from the Art Institute at Lesley University in Boston.

Grady admires the classics ~ 16th and 17th century European painters ~ is because they “come back to narrative.” He says that he studies the paintings for narrative content and likes the “dramatic lighting.” His influences are not limited to the classics, though, and he cites others such as Odd Nerdrum, Vincent Desiderio, and Edward Hopper as artists whom he admires. Grady had the opportunity to briefly met Desiderio through a mentor while in New York. Nerdrum is a figurative painter whose work is strikingly different from classics. Grady describes Nerdrum’s work as “…frightening, scary, kind of a dream work.”

“I think that’s what attracted me… a sort of edge in his work that I’d like to get into my own,” he explains. He also says that he likes Nerdrum for the same reason he likes Rembrandt, “…the light texture of his painting.”

When Grady paints he mostly uses oil on canvas, preferring that medium over others like acrylic or watercolor. “I’ll paint with acrylics usually if it’s a freelance illustration job or even watercolor,” he says. “Oil paints just give you more flexibility with what you can do with it,” he continues. “It’s drying time is so slow so you can take your time. With acrylic it dries really quick and watercolor, it’s not really permanent. Oil paints are tough, durable, and fairly archival.”

One course that Grady taught at the museum is “…where I teach my technique, painting sketch to finish.” The process is making a drawing, photocopying it, and pasting the photocopy on to a board. A color study is done, and from that it is enlarged into a larger canvas. “It’s always been a process in painting where you do studies first, then color studies, and take them and combine them into the painting,” he says. Grady says this process is easy because “…if it doesn’t work out, I just make another photocopy, paste it down, and try it again.”

Another course that Grady enjoys teaching is Portrait Drawing. “It’s great because we get a model every week and the students just focus on one subject ~ just the face,” he explains. “You see a lot of progress…plus it’s so much better drawing a person than a box which is kind of boring.”

In addition to being an instructor, Grady is also a member of the Undercover Fish Club. Comprised of art teachers ~ including many from the Worcester Art Museum ~ the group publishes anthologies of art work. He also won the Juror’s Choice for his exhibition at a recent Copley Society of Art exhibition and his artwork was on exhibit at the Arts Worcester Quinsigamond Community College Hallway Gallery.

To view Grady’s work visit, www.tomgradystudio.com. For more information about the Worcester Art Museum visit, www.worcesterart.org.

Pic #1: Venice, acrylic on canvas, 48×72”

Pic #2: Shark Attack, pen and ink illustration