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by Henderson Smith

Celebratory in attitude, there is a clear sense in Tom's work that images gathered from the environment are brought into a painterly dimension. His aim is for each painting or drawing to eventually take on a life of its own through its scale, textures and colour interactions. 

His studio in St Columb is, once a year, open to the public for a week, usually as part of Cornwall's Open Studios scheme.

His next solo exhibition will be at Bodmin Shire Hall in late March / early April 2015. An adopted Cornishman, Tom Henderson Smith grew up mostly in Yorkshire and was educated there and at Newcastle-upon-Tyne University (BA Hons. Fine Art 1971). Two years in Italy, initially on a Bunzl Scholarship were followed by seven living in Bath, training as a teacher in Bristol and starting out teaching art in London.  
Moving to Cornwall in 1980 he worked as head of art at Mounts Bay School until the opportunity to leave teaching and relaunch his painting career came in 1999. 
Through paint on canvas and charcoal on paper he explores the endless variety within what he sees as the lived-in coastal landscape of Cornwall. Celebration of vibrant street festivals and other community events are another recurring theme of his work. 

Recent exhibitions include:
The Gallery on the Corner, London – June 2012 - The Turning Year
Morvah Schoolhouse Gallery, Cornwall – April 2012 - The Turning Year
The Gallery at Trereife, Penzance – June 2010 – Lived-in Landscapes
Chapel Row Gallery, Bath – April 2010 - Lived-in Landscapes
Spring and Steele Galleries, Falmouth Arts Centre. - October 2008 - In the Ocean Light
Bodmin Shire Hall - May 2006 - Shaping a Vision of Cornwall part 2
Mariner's Gallery St Ives - April 2006 - Shaping a Vision of Cornwall part 1
Mariner's Gallery St Ives - October 2003 - Valleys and Horizons 
Mariner's Gallery St Ives - July 2001 - A Peninsula Suite

He held exhibitions in Florence, Newcastle, Bath, Bristol, 
Plymouth and Penzance from 1972 to 1984