Tommy Waddell
My Art!
Tommy is currently enrolled in a Graphic Design Specialization certificate program through CalArts.
Having been a self-taught artist for nearly two decades, Tommy is well versed in many different modes of visual art including photography, painting, illustrator, and model building. He has created art for friends and family, city exhibitions, and also freelances as a professional business designer.
Tommy is a heavy advocate for art as a means of expression, and loves to add a bit of personal whimsy in every project he works on.
Scissors Collage
One of the best things that you can do as an artist is try anything you can to interpret the world that you see.
Scissors are one of the most universally recognizable items in any household.
In this collage, I attempted to use a few different methods of visualizing scissors using pen, filters, tearing, illustrator, stains and pipe cleaners.
Original Paintings
Bob Ross had the right idea.
Creation can never fully be premeditated.
To that end, I have to say that I find the most joy and success when I let a piece that I'm working on come together how it wants to, rather than wanting desperately to stay within whatever guidelines I feel should be there.
Tommy's Album
If being a veteran Instagram-user has taught me anything, it's that sometimes the best moments that you can capture are the ones you don't seek out.
Original Graphic Design
Want to collaborate? Send a message!
In October of 2019, Apex Precision Contracting commissioned me to design a few essential materials for their grand opening.
The company name 'Apex,' by definition, means: the highest point. That, and the message of high quality that the company name implies inspired me to incorporate a sharp, mountain-like depiction within the banner and business cards.
This resulted in the stylized "A's" you see in the image.
2020 has definitely been a tumultuous year, to say the least.
In mid-August, I was inspired to create an original print centered around an ideal that I believe has been enormously taken for granted, gently lifting a popular aesthetic from political posters in the United States.
It actually began with a simple task: to recreate the Chicago skyline.
From there, I experimented with different levels, reflections and colors until the piece transformed into this statement.
Foxes are my favorite animals, but I have never seen one in real life!
For this project, I took a single free image and started by recreating it using illustrator.
From there, I experimented with different filters and distortions until the images became the three presented in this gallery.
My hope was that even with the alterations that the figure would still be recognizable, even through abstraction.
While touring in China this previous winter, I took the liberty of writing an original story on Wattpad, partially inspired by my time in Shanghai.
Eight months later, I spent an August afternoon working on an official book cover that I am excited to finally share!
Check out my book "Felix Wright" on Wattpad (it's a work in progress):
