One thing that has made me happy through the years, to be honest with you, is I think that my work does have a certain amount of broad appeal, and I like that.

I want, I want there to be a broad appeal to my work, and I want people to enjoy it.

I mean, good paintings are supposed to be enjoyable, and they're supposed to, move you in some, you know, psychological way, whether it's, very pensive kind of concept or it's it's it's happy.

It's it's, you know, humorous.

It's witty.

Those kind of things.

It's it's, it's inspiring because of its technical accomplishment.

I mean, a lot of those are are things that, the good paintings should be, should do.

I mean, I've seen people see my work and, like, really smile and everything, and that that makes me.

That makes me really happy.

The one thing that, that I don't want to have happen with my work is people who walk by and ignore it, you know, and I've seen that happen too.

And so.

You really have to do, paintings about things that you care about.

And that's what makes the difference.

Okay.

My name is Tom Palmore, and I'm an artist, a professional artist, because that's my full time job, and that's what I do every day.

Okay.

The way that I got started in art is that I, from an early age, when I was, when I was a child, like in grade school and stuff like that, I had the ability to draw and paint better than most of the other children.

My father, used to draw and paint and everything.

Also, you know, when he was younger, he was an engineer, but he was like, you know, when he was younger, he used to used to draw and paint a lot.

And it's one of those kind of things that you sort of, in my particular case, kind of do you kind of inherit.

Cool to do when a lot of when a lot of, people were wondering what they were going to be as far as professions, I really, didn't question that because I really I knew already what I was going to be.

I knew what I was good at.

One of the things that, had a big influence on me was my granddad and I used to go fishing a lot, and we spent a lot, a lot of times outdoors.

And we used to raise animals and and things like that.

And, so I was always fascinated by by animals.

I wanted this bird to be really strong.

And that's kind of why I selected him, because I knew that it was going to be against a, predominantly light background.

I mean, this sounds this sounds really kind of kind of corny, but, the truth of the matter is that that, you should never do paintings.

You should never write books, you know, make movies, whatever it happens to be about something that you don't that you don't, that you're not really interested in, that you don't care about, that you're not fascinated by.

So I really, started doing paintings of of animals, you know, and I wanted to do them in a way that was, that was different than most of the work that I, that I saw.

I mean, other if you're, you know, none of us look alike.

None of us act like, you know, we shouldn't, create a, like.

I was born and raised in Ada.

During the football seasons.

Every Friday night, I go to the Ada high football games, see old friends and things like that.

I just I have a real sense of community and and, it's been extremely enjoyable.

Because of that enjoyment.

That's why I actually ended up doing a painting for eight of high, which hangs in the school.

And, they sell, posters of it for the kids, and they're very, you know, like $10 a piece or something.

And the profit from the sale of the, the, posters, goes to everything from band uniforms to, all, you know, all the different athletic programs and, to art scholarships and stuff like that.

And I'm real happy that, that I had the capability of doing that.

Tommy, and I met each other in grade school in the first grade, and, we met on the playground at Wheeler grade School here in Ada.

We became friends, and we've been friends ever since.

I've seen penguins in the back of limousines.

It's just a different artwork.

He could also do, paintings of things in his natural habitat.

Paintings in front of, oh wallpaper.

You'd have to look at the wallpaper because it's going to have something probably in it that's unusual or different.

I guess is the the detail work that he does.

It's it's so fine.

I mean, it's like, looking at a, at a photograph of the, the animal or the subject.

Tom's paintings are he is considered a premier realist painter, and he has also been described.

And I think these things, when you view his paintings, you will see that they're quite transparent, that that fact is transparent.

But he has also been described as a person who paints portraits of animals and he himself has said that he likes to approach a painting as if the animal itself has, commissioned him.

And I think that's most unique.

Okay, this is a painting.

The title is Jade, and I originally photographed, the leopard, at a cat sanctuary.

And, I wanted the the cat actually naturally posed like, this.

Kind of looked over its shoulder in a very seductive kind of, pose.

And it's called Jade with roses.

And as you'll see, a lot of the work that I do, there is a juxtaposition, with the background and the animal.

You know, it sounds corny as hell, but they're like.

They're like your creation.

They're like your little children.

And you put, you know, you put a lot of effort into them and everything, and you try to make them the best you can.

I mean, that's the only thing that I, that I've always consistently done and, and most of what I would consider, a very competent and successful artist and quite a accomplished artist do the same thing, which is, they try to do the best they can at that time.

Most, most of the paintings that I do take, take, quite some time to, complete and, I just you just I've just found through the years and I'm much, much better off just being very regimented about it and, putting the hours in, and it's not.

It's not like it's painful.

I love it when when I go into my studio and I start, I started working on on something and the time evaporates and I look up at the, the clock and it's like, oh my gosh, it's 12:00 already.

And that feels really good because you're, you're sort of in this, in this creative zone.

And because you're so focused on what you're doing that everything else sort of seems to melt away.

Well, it is educational television because this, this painting is or this print is called, nude in the garden.

But I think it would be okay.

So it's, it's, you know, it's on educational television.

Why his reputation, is not is well known in Oklahoma is beyond me.

You would think that, that the the people of Oklahoma in general, especially in the arts, would treasure him.

He's just a, I hope you're not repeating all this so he hears me, but he is actually a very, very talented artist.

That is, for some reason, just overlooked in Oklahoma.

I would say that Tom Palmer is probably one of the most extraordinary painters that I have ever observed.

His work is absolutely outstanding.

And I'm I'm very proud.

I think all of Oklahoma should be very proud of him.

I think he is truly a treasure.

I feel really fortunate that I have, you know, most, most of my almost all of my adult life, been able to do this for a living.

I don't I don't really ever plan and plan on retiring.

There's no there's no reason to.

I mean, I actually might do this long enough that at some point, I might.

I might actually get good.

Know what I'm doing?