Marina Petro ~ Fine Art: International Artist Day-Honoring Tom Vincent

Andrea's Lillies

16x20 Oil on canvas, painted by Marina Petro, under the tutelage of Tom Vincent

Purchased by Saratoga Hospital for their permanent collection.

Honoring Tom Vincent, Master Painter and Teacher

on International Artist Day

October 25 has been designated International Artist Day. I am participating with two of the website/blogs I am a member of in this event, Daily Painters International Art Gallery and Artists International Gallery. Our member artists were asked to choose an artist who has had significant influence for us. I chose my recently deceased teacher, Tom Vincent.

I'd considered myself a self-taught artist until life brought me to Tom Vincent. It's been said "When the student is ready, the teacher or master appears." I was ready in my 60's...quite a long wait for the master, considering I'd been painting since I was 14. But...life is what it is... has its own timing and reasons. I am in deepest gratitude for the three years I had under the direction of my beloved teacher, Tom Vincent. He passed away 2 months ago, in September 2010. I chose to honor him on International Artist Day not only for helping me develop greater skill and encourage me toward excellence, but for the palpable love he had for all his students and the love he invoked in us for him. He touched all our hearts and you can say we all had a love affair with him.

I drove home after my first class with him with tears of gratitude streaming down my face, thankful for being guided to this remarkable teacher. I can hear his voice now daily whispering to be patient...and very very careful when I was in the throes of a difficult passage in any given painting and just wanting to finish and be done with it. That was his strongest message to me and one I sorely needed...and will continue to employ, admittedly, not without resistance, but realizing the benefit and doing it regardless. I promise Tom...I will...

He didn't teach a technique or insist we paint as he does. That would be close to impossible anyway, because he painted masterfully in a variety of styles and subjects, from realistic portraits and landscapes in classical oil, to spontaneous intuitive automatic paintings, abstracts, and much more. He met each of us at our individual levels and taught us what we needed to progress and unfold.

I'd taken pictures of some of his paintings but unfortunately, did not record the titles. Here they are below. I've also included his obituary which contains the highlights of his life. I hope you can read it. I did the best I could to enlarge it for viewing. If you can't read it, click on it and it should open to a larger version. I hope I've done due justice to you with this, dear Tom...