A Discussion about Radford Thomas
By Mary Hickman

On January 13, the Radford art gallery located in Russell Hall celebrated the opening of a new exhibition that displayed faculty artwork. Students and faculty waited outside the doors of the gallery in anticipation and were served punch and fruit by Radford’s catering service. Talking and laughter ensued among the guests as they waited but when the gallery opened, a hush fell over the guests as they silently perused the artwork.
The media ranged from photography, watercolor, and oil, to sculptures that included parts of a broken hairdryer. French impressionists inspired some artists: bright colors loosely dotted canvas to outline figures and shapes. Others seemed to lean towards Dadaism: a single door stood in the center of the room, slightly ajar.


Radford Thomas, an art history teacher at Radford University, explained that mostly the beauty he sees around him rather than art movements inspire him. One of his works at

the gallery presented the image of a young woman’s face in close detail. “I like to see beauty in the world: natural beauty, the beauty of your face, the beauty of her face,” said Thomas.
Thomas admits that portraits are one of his favorite subjects, but the medium he used for the piece hanging at Radford’s gallery was not his preference. “This is kind of a fluke in a way. Usually I work in oil, but the oil painting I had for the show was not finished. Laughing It wasn’t dry, so I couldn’t bring it.”
Having grown up in Texas and New Mexico, Thomas derives inspiration from Western landscapes, which is another of his favorite subjects. Thomas is fond of mountain landscapes in particular. Said Thomas, “I like the distance in the mountains over there.”
Thomas paints in his personal studio. He said he enjoys going outdoors to draw inspiration, but that he finds he does not need to look at a subject to paint it. Instead, he is capable of remembering the details of the subject.
In addition to being inspired by natural beauty, Thomas has been influenced by impressionist and post-impressionist painters. He listed a few of his favorite painters: Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Manet, and Seurat. Typically, Thomas’ work includes bright colors and contrast.
Thomas said he knew he always wanted to paint he even has an oil painting he produced when he was thirteen. But Thomas was not always certain what direction he wanted to take artistically. “I sort of went with trends when I was younger, which I probably shouldn’t have done. Now I’m back to doing what I originally was doing, so that’s better. Stick to your guns.”
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