TOM GAVITT

Born in New York's Catskill Mountains and having been a resident of New Mexico for 25 years, Tom Gavitt now lives in the woods of Maine.  His self-taught watercolor painting technique began during a European trip in 1983.  Tom works in two distinctly different styles relying on sensitive interpretation of realistically rendered subjects in his Eastern painting series and boldly colored, high-key, light filled and loosely rendered interpretations of Native American villages and landscape in his Southwestern series of paintings.  In juxtaposition, the two styles are startlingly different and Tom frequently does shows in which both styles are fully represented.

Tom has produced over 4,000 watercolor paintings, which paintings are represented in private collections all over the world.  Though he has painted in settings throughout the United States, the primary thrust of his work has been color studies of Taos Pueblo in New Mexico and of small saltwater boats on the New England coast.  He has shown in many galleries throughout the country, but presently depends on personal contact for the placement of his work.

Tom has been the featured artist in shows in:  A. Albert Allen Gallery and Eagle Gallery in Palm Desert, California; The Olson Gallery, Gavitt Gallery and Night Sky Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bird's Nest Gallery in Bar Harbor, Maine; and Casa d'Art in La Bisbal, Spain.  He has also participated in juried group shows in: Beverly Hills, La Quinta, Sausalito, San Francisco, Boulder City, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Austin, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, Detroit, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Greenwich, Philadelphia, Gaithersburg, Atlanta, Boca Raton, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, W. Palm Beach, and many others.  Tom has also participated in two other notable Santa Fe shows: a contemporary landscape show sponsored by the Museum of New Mexico and a group show in the Governor's Gallery in the Capitol Building in Santa Fe.

Tom is a past-president of the Santa Fe Society of Artists and has served as show chairman for the same group.  He has also been a board member of the Santa Fe Society of Artists and Santa Fe Artists League.  He has won awards in several art shows, including first place, 2-dimensional in the Western Impressions show in Indio, California, and both Artists' Choice Awards and three Awards of Excellence in the well-known La Quinta Art Festival.  He recently won his second award in Connecticut's SoNo Art Festival, his first awards in the Glastonbury and Armonk art festivals and his fifth award in the prestigious Bruce Museum show in Greenwich.