Tom McFarland melds a tradition of rugged craftsmanship, with a precise eye and intricate process to his mixed media paintings. The artist draws inspiration from the utilitarian works of his biological grandfather, who was a master blacksmith, and his adopted father who introduced him to painting and photography. From these varying spheres of influence McFarland takes a controlled approach utilizing resin, acrylic paint, mesh, wood, and metal, among other materials, to communicate a deconstructed, raw aesthetic, of fine painting.

These materials, for the artist, are a lense to the past as well as a survey for exploring the process and reasoning for how things can be applied or attached. “I like to investigate texture and the way things can be arranged to create a feeling,” McFarland explains. He views his art as a situational attitude of how we face and examine predicaments on both a macro and micro scale. Examining the composition of these mixed media works creates an identifiable set of icons and symbols, which hark back to autobiographical experiences communicated by the artist. 

Born in 1991 in San Antonio, Texas, Tom McFarland received his BFA in Painting from Rhode Island School of Design in 2014. He has received multiple First Place and Best of Show awards for his works and was accepted to the prestigious Marie Walsh Sharpe summer art program in Colorado Springs, CO, in 2009. 

Tom McFarland lives and works in New York City.