Tom Carter Painting Vancouver with a fine brush for historical detail

http://tomcartergallery.com/

1952 Trilogy - Granville Bridges

"I love the urban environment - a fascinating cross section of society where people in very different situations must interact. Cities may also be where loneliness is felt more acutely. My art explores themes of isolation versus inclusion – how we fit into the world and society. I tend to set my subjects in other eras which, besides satisfying my historical interest, reveals elements that are timeless – truths do not change. Although there might be cold and turbulence in my work, all of my settings have a sanctuary, a place of warmth and respite. We, as the viewer, have the option of going inside but we choose not to; we stand outside observing." Tom Carter

After the Storm

The city usually featured is Carter’s hometown Vancouver, but typically set in the period around 1950. This is not retro chic or certainly not “nostalgia” – but to provide a stage that’s familiar yet just out of reach to set the drama that is the actual subject. His painting is also a nod to his work in Vancouver heritage and research – most notably in the entertainment field. Carter serves on the boards of Vancouver Historical Society, Friends of the City of Vancouver Archives, BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and the BC Performing Arts Museum & Archive.

Maple Leaf in Winter

His work can be found in corporate collections including BMO Harris Private Banking, TD Waterhouse, Sorrel Financial, Worthy Capital, Carlyle Capital, B.C. College of Physicians & Surgeons, Harper Grey LLC, Rositch Hemphill Architects and Cambie-Malone’s Group as well as private collections in Canada, the US, Mexico and Bahrain.

"Hans Stamer Band"

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Interesting Vancouver

Vancouver artist Tom Carter paints and studies a Vancouver that is both long gone and eternally under the surface. He paints rain soaked urban landscapes in acrylic that evoke the smell of coal smoke on the salt air of False Creek, the rattle of streetcars against the rumble of the sawmills. Even though this particular city is gone, its spirit is unchanged and recognizable. In the realm of BC Entertainment preservation, Tom has worked ceaselessly to preserve Vancouver theatre and nightclub history in a very “hands-on” and practical way – buying, preserving and warehousing much of the original Pantages theatre (1908), as well as significant artifacts and ephemera of many other venues. As well, Tom has recorded interviews with pioneers from all these venues and acquired their papers and personal archives where possible. He has contributed a chapter as well as the cover painting for the recently released Vancouver Confidential, a collection that has topped the bestsellers list.

 Eve Lazarus   Meet Tom Carter 

I visited Tom Carter in his heritage loft a couple of weeks ago. It was the same afternoon that we climbed up to the top of the Sun Tower, in what was in 1912, the tallest building in the British Empire. Tom lives next door in a 100-year-old converted warehouse designed for Storey & Campbell Limited by William Tuff Whiteway, the same architect who designed the Sun Tower for Mayor L.D. Taylor.
 
His loft looks out onto Pender Street and its floor to ceiling windows give a great view of Victory Square and some of the building stock we’ve managed to hang onto such as the Dominion and the Standard Buildings. The brick walls of the loft make a fitting background for Tom’s paintings of Vancouver’s street scenes and heritage buildings—many now long gone.  Snip

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