10 MARIN ARTS & CULTURE
In Africa, he had worked in refugee camps, witnessing the Eritrean battle that won independence from Ethiopia. In a Pacific Sun article, written by Steve Heilig, Killion says, “ I just feel so blessed that by total chance I wound up growing and living here (in Marin). I worked in refugee camps, and I couldn’t change anything—I never thought I could—and just learned from people there. So much of the world is just unbelievably hard to live in; shantytowns are growing all over much of the world. But still, I never feel guilty about being here and just say, gosh, I was one of the lucky ones, and I guess I just try to give back in some way, to celebrate it and remind people how much beauty there is. That’s about it.”
His work is extraordinary, joyful, spiritual and intimate. Gifted with a natural ability, he has never taken art lessons. Tom was the “class artist,” always drawing, making Christmas cards for his family and working on various art projects.
A discovery of a book of woodcuts by the 19th century Japanese artist, Hokusai, inspired Tom to create his book of Hokusai-like linocuts at age 15. As a child growing up in the sixties in Mill Valley, he rode bikes, camped and hiked Mt. Tamalpais. A lifelong love affair with Mt. Tam informs and inspires him to this day. “I’ll never get tired of Mt. Tamalpais,” he says.
Killion’s process begins with on-site sketches; he doesn’t use photographs as the “middleman” between what he sees and what he draws. He believes this practice creates an intimacy with the work that resonates with the viewer. He’s on-site with his pencils, breathing in the sights, sounds, the ground under his feet and the majesty of nature before him.
The process is intense. Some of the bigger pieces can take up to 300 hours to complete on a hand-cranked press he has owned for over 40 years.
Currently, Tom is just finishing two Sierra prints: “Moonrise Yosemite Valle,” and “Mt. Thoreau from Paiute Pass” and is about to start on a vertical multiblock of a huge pine overlooking the canyon of the Middle Fork of the Kings River, below the Palisades.
A special exhibit of Killion’s work is on view at the Bartolini Gallery at the Marin Center from March 16 to April 28th.
For more information and to see more of Tom’s work, visit tomkillion.com for a complete list of upcoming shows, a catalog of prints, some wonderful articles on his technique and how to buy prints.
Coast Camp
Mt. Tam, Big Rock Ridge (Master)
”As a Marin County native,
I cherish this place and people more than anywhere else in the world, and to feel the support of my community here constantly inspires me to keep exploring the limitless possibilities of artistic creation.”
—Tom Killion