I was born in a small town about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah. I always had a fascination and appreciation for art from an early age. I recognized how fulfilling it was for me to create things and how much I enjoyed sharing it with others. I began taking art classes soon after high school but quickly learned it wasn't my ideal for artistic progression.
I played around with different mediums, techniques, styles and struggled with feeling a connection to what I was creating which almost totally diminished when I was being graded on my work. I'd spend days and weeks creating a painting that just didn't move me like some other works I've felt inspired by.
I’m no Van Gogh but I've always been mesmerized by the texture and flow of his work. The texture of a painting is what captivates me. I try to study the movement of the strokes and fight the temptation to run my fingers across the paint. One day after revisiting yet another painting I was creating, that I just couldn't seem to complete, I started pushing the paint around the palette with my mixing knife. I noticed that the paint stood up when I pulled the knife away. My mind sort of wandered and I imagined an entire canvas covered with paint just like that.
I grabbed a fresh canvas and just started pushing paint around almost like I was sculpting. I felt myself get into a creative state that just sort of took over me. I was fascinated by the idea that I couldn't revisit the strokes or redo a particular element in the painting. I just had to place the paint on the canvas and trust it. In that moment, I realized the brush was my problem. With the brush, I second guessed each stroke. I revisited things over and over again until I didn't feel anything when I looked at the painting.
When I finished my first knife painting I posted my new work for artistic review and felt I came full circle when I heard the work being compared to a modern day Van Gogh. At some point, I did more research and learned of other artists creating pieces with only palette knife and impasto techniques. I was thrilled to learn from them and join this movement of knife painters.
When I paint with the palette knife I loose all track of time and truly feel connected to my work. My hope is that I can create that connection to the viewer of my pieces and for a moment, they experience what I do. If you fight the urge to run your fingers across the canvas, I feel I've done my job as an artist.
I live in Utah. I enjoy traveling, theater, golf, music and spending time with family.
I welcome commissions of my one-of-a-kind paintings anytime. Please contact me at tlamoreaux@gmail.com for more information. Prices depend on the scope of the work and shipping charges.
