The Historic Odessa Foundation is pleased to announce Time Elemental; An Exploration of the Visual Expression of Thomas Del Porte, a temporary loan exhibition, opening on Tuesday, October 9 and continuing through December 30, 2018.
Visit the wonderfully lit galleries of the Historic Odessa Foundation’s Visitor Center in the National Historic Register Bank Building to view the vibrant paintings of Thomas Del Porte. Thomas paints from direct observation of still life, figures, and “en plein air” from landscapes. His paintings are made with thousands of little jeweled and curled paint strokes that document the unique combinations of light, line, color, and space. These four tenants of painting are synthesized from the Loper School of painting. Thomas had the privilege of studying and painting with the Wilmington master painter, Edward L. Loper, Sr. One of their goals was to communicate a visual quality that reveals something new within the movement and drama of the images they translate.
Thomas has recently received a prestigious 2018 Delaware Division of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship as an Established Professional in Painting, after receiving a Fellowship in 2014 as an Emerging Artist in Painting. His paintings have won numerous awards while exhibited in the Mid-Atlantic states. His artwork can be found in private collections in the United States and Europe. Thomas has been an adjunct faculty of the Delaware College of Art and Design and maintains an art studio in Wilmington.
Artist Statement
"The reason for Time Elemental is basically how I paint. The “Loper Method” is color next to color, but what I have discovered is that it is really a moment next to a moment. Each paint stroke captures a particular moment in time and becomes a small snap-shot of that particular spot in that particular moment of time.
When I paint people, their color is fluid and ever changing partly because they are constantly moving, breathing, blinking, and or fighting to keep their pose, but also partly because their color is influenced by the surrounding colors and the ever changing light. In addition the color is affected by their moods, thoughts, and physical states from things such as hunger, the cold, and the warmth. So as each color is laid down on the canvas, the color has usually changed from the elements so I have to capture that fleeting moment.
Landscape painting is similar to figure painting, except that it is the location that changes because of the constantly changing light, wind, and moisture. The landscape is also effected by individuals cutting and pruning nature. Still life appears to be the most controlled subject in painting, but then its biggest change factor, and I did not mention it with the other subjects, is me. Am I happy, sad, hungry, in the wrong position, hot, cold, angry, and etc.?"
- Thomas Del Porte, 2018