Whatcom Museum’s Lightcatcher building in downtown Bellingham is currently featuring Under the Inspiration Tree: Celebrating the Work of Thomas Wood — an exhibition of more than 300 artworks by the late Bellingham artist.
Wood’s etchings, oils, pastels, and sculptural works are all on display. The comprehensive retrospective includes pieces from dozens of private collectors across the region. The museum worked closely with Wood’s widow, Pam Brownell, and his studio assistant, Mandy Turner, to amass the collection.
“I don’t know of another exhibition that has showcased the breadth and variety of his work at this level,” says Whatcom Museum Executive Director Patricia Leach. “I hope he would be pleased and proud to be featured in this way.”
Wood died on January 5, 2022, at the age of 70.
Under the Inspiration Tree
“When I walked into the museum’s huge gallery space for this exhibition, I literally stopped in my tracks,” says retired Bellingham Public Librarian Margaret Ziegler, who owns several of the artist’s pieces. “I could hardly believe a lifetime of Tom’s work, beautifully curated, was there in front of me. Anyone seeing this retrospective is not only seeing a master’s work, but his heart and soul.”
Whatcom County artist Anita Boyle concurs. “There are so many artworks, and inside each of them is a universe filled with an enormous amount of details. I can’t believe how many drawings are inside just one artwork. Incredible.”
Indeed, it takes at least two hours to appreciate the artistic details of Wood’s complexity, his humor, and his playful imagination.
Firstly, there are all the rabbits: rabbits with cigars, rabbits with cigarettes, rabbits with wine. The same with dinosaurs.
And boats!
Boats on the shore, waiting; boats being rowed to a distant island; boats with bears; boats with humans.
Trees, as well. Trees in every distinct season of the Pacific Northwest, where Tom made his home on Bellingham’s South Hill. Trees in shadow, trees in sunlight, trees naked in autumn, fallen trees, and trees with floral arrangements instead of leaves.
There’s a wall of stars. There are landscapes with real and unreal creatures. Also, flowers that cannot be found in any plant-identification book.
If you aren’t familiar with Wood’s artwork, you may be surprised to know that he created the large murals at Boulevard Park’s bandstand, “The Porch,” in 2009.
A Merging of Mediums
On South Hill, where Wood and his wife Pam Brownell lived, they were surrounded by a small enclave of artists.
Joy Olney recalls that when Tom and Pam moved in next door, she was excited to learn they were artists.
“I had told my husband that I wanted to be surrounded by artists when we moved to Bellingham,” she says. “Tom showed me his beautiful pastel paintings of our Northwest landscapes and seascapes. I saw some of his amazing and creative prints, as well. I was inspired to go out and do landscapes after seeing his artwork.”
Olney and her husband thought about how different Tom’s prints were from his paintings.
Then, on Tom and Pam’s return from a stay in Holland, Olney says, “Tom’s paintings resembled his prints. The flying figures, fish, birds, and creatures in the clouds that had been in his prints were now in his paintings. That was so exciting for us to see. The merging of mediums.”
The merging of mediums is one of the highlights of the exhibit.
Artists in Collaboration
Randy “Fishboy” Clark, a contemporary folk artist who lives and works in the Sunnyland neighborhood, deeply appreciates his friendship with Wood. He not only taught Clark the printmaking process, the two collaborated on a number of projects, including the “Woodfish” show at the former Lucia Douglas Gallery in 2013, as well as two prints and two paintings they did together in the last year of Wood’s life.
“Our artwork was so very different from each other’s that collaboration was a fascinating process” says Clark. “I think we inspired each other to be looser than we normally were in our approach both to our lives and our work.”
Clark remembers Wood as terribly funny. “We laughed a lot when we worked together,” For a look at their collaboration process, the works, and the exhibit, see this video by artist and videographer Lanny Little.
One of the coolest things about the exhibit is a recreation of the artist’s studio in the gallery, which includes his press and the layout of the tools he used to create his art.
Wood’s alley-neighbor, artist Susan Bennerstrom, met Wood in 1981 or 1982, when her then-partner Rod Burton introduced her to British-born American painter John Cole, who made his home in Bellingham for more than 30 years.
“Tom and I were both working in chalk pastels at the time, drawing landscapes. Tom — always braver than me — went to George Thomas, then-director of Whatcom Museum, and asked if we could have a show,” she recalls. “George gave us one of the upstairs rooms in the old (City Hall) museum, and that was the first of several shows we had either together or with other artists in group shows.”
Bennerstrom says Wood and Cole formed a special bond and that Wood grew frustrated with pastels long before she did, and learned how to paint with oils from Cole.
Wood and Cole took many plein-air (creating artwork in the outdoors) trips together.
“I joined them on one,” Bennerstrom says, “and as bugs landed in my paint and the wind blew my canvas away, I realized this form of art-making was not for me.”
Tom persisted, and she says that with Bellingham artist Tom Sherwood and John Cole as his mentors, Wood’s mastery of paint grew.
“Along with a mischievous sense of humor, boundless curiosity, and endless energy,” she adds. “Tom’s almost childlike imagination spurred him into becoming one of our most loved and revered artists.”
A Legacy for All to Treasure
That imagination presents itself in Wood’s works of surreal worlds, old storytelling masterworks in the European tradition, still life, and Pacific Northwest landscapes.
Anita Boyle says that Wood set a high standard of reaching out to others.
“In the last bunch of years,” Boyle says, “I’ve run into quite a number of people who knew Tom, either as an acquaintance or a friend, who have been assisted or supported by him artistically in some way.” Some took a class from Wood or were inspired when they saw his work. “But a surprising number had been invited to Tom’s studio where he generously shared his knowledge — both verbally and with hands-on participation, about printmaking and painting.”
Randy “Fishboy” Clark says he could look at a Tom Wood print all night and still see and feel new things. He hopes the exhibit will open people’s eyes to the magic and profound experience of Tom’s unique vision.
“Tom’s artistry is amazing, brilliant, and precise in detail. Each piece he created told a special story. What joy those stories have brought over the years and what joy those stories will continue to bring,” says Margaret Ziegler. “Tom’s incredible work is his legacy, a legacy for us all to treasure.”
More Information
Under the Inspiration Tree: Celebrating the Work of Thomas Wood
September 28, 2024–March 2, 2025
Whatcom Museum Lightcatcher Building
250 Flora Street in downtown Bellingham
360.778.8930
www.whatcommuseum.org/exhibition/thomas-wood
