Don Herron

Tom Perkinson, born in Indiana in 1940, has become distinguished as a regional painter, known for his work grounded in the visually dramatic landscape of the Southwest. As a child, Perkinson discovered he had a love for the natural landscape and a talent for art. He fostered that talent through classes at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis and then at the Chicago Art Academy upon graduating from high school. He received a degree in art from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1964, before moving on to graduate school at the University of New Mexico. Here, he continued to paint the landscape and it was this work that began to reflect a new fascination with the Southwest. He had found what would become an infinite source of inspiration. Influenced by early painters of the southern Indiana landscape, painters like T. C. Steele, Vawter, Schultze and Forsythe, Perkinson’s early work focused on landscape, still life and city scenes. As his love of the New Mexico landscape grew, his work matured, finding influence in J.M.W. Turner, George Inness and James Mcneill Whistler. Soon, a distinctive, sprung-from-the-imagination style he came to describe as romantic realism began evolving. “None of these places exist”, he says, “I just make them up as I paint them." It was this preference for spontaneity that led to watercolor as his preferred medium. After more than four decades now as an artist painting New Mexico, Perkinson has built a prolific career. His work is included in private and public collections across the globe and he is represented in the collections of many museums, including the Museum of New Mexico in Santa Fe, the University Art Museum in Albuquerque and the Eiteljorg Museum of Western Art in Indianapolis. His work is also included in the May 2006 book titled Landscapes of New Mexico, Paintings From the Land of Enchantment. He currently resides in Corrales, New Mexico, where he has lived for 20 years with his wife, renowned jewelry artist Louise Perkinson.

Painting is an art form that has spanned innumerable cultures, with artists using the medium to tell stories, explore and communicate ideas and express themselves. To bring abstract, landscape and still-life paintings into your home is to celebrate and share in the long tradition of this discipline.

When we look at paintings, particularly those that originated in the past, we learn about history, other cultures and countries of the world. Like every other work of art, paintings — whether they are contemporary creations or works that were made during the 19th century — can often help us clearly see and understand the world around us in a meaningful and interesting way.

Cave walls were the canvases for what were arguably the world’s first landscape paintings, which depict natural scenery through art. Portrait paintings and drawings, which, along with sculpture, were how someone’s appearance was recorded prior to the advent of photography, are at least as old as Ancient Egypt. In the Netherlands, landscapes were a major theme for painters as early as the 1500s. Later, artists in Greece, Rome and elsewhere created vast wall paintings to decorate stately homes, churches and tombs. Today, creating a wall of art is a wonderful way to enhance your space, showcase beautiful pieces and tie an interior design together.

No matter your preference, whether you favor Post-Impressionist paintings, animal paintings, Surrealism, Pop art or another movement or specific period, arranging art on a blank wall allows you to evoke emotions in a room while also showing off your tastes and interests. A symmetrical wall arrangement may comprise a grid of four to six pieces or, for an odd number of works, a horizontal row. Asymmetrical arrangements, which may be small clusters of art or large, salon-style gallery walls, have a more collected and eclectic feel. Download the 1stDibs app, which includes a handy “View on Wall” feature that allows you to see how a particular artwork will look on a particular wall, and read about how to arrange wall art. And if you’re searching for the perfect palette for your interior design project, what better place to turn than to the art world’s masters of color?

On 1stDibs, you’ll find an expansive collection of paintings and other fine art for your home or office. Browse abstract paintings, portrait paintings, paintings by popular artists and more today.