Q&A with ‘Art chameleon’ Scott Thomlinson
Hi Scott, since when are you actively painting?
I have been painting for a little over a year now after spending a life in advertising. I wish I had started earlier but better late than never. It is my full time obsession.
What do you want to create when you paint?
I create something that wasn’t there yesterday. Something that will look good on a wall. Something that makes you want to look at it over and over. Something that can’t be ignored. I do it because I’m never completely happy with what I’ve just done and I know I can do better. I do it because it isn’t easy and i love that it isn’t easy. When I’m painting, I’m out of my comfort zone and I feel alive.
How do you define your style?
I’m a trial and errorist. I don’t have one particular style. I have minimalist sensibilities. I will do two or three paintings, then move on and try something new and then switch back and forth between particular styles.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
Continual improvement. Keeping it fresh. Keeping it interesting. And framing as I go!
What does ‘being an artist’ mean to you?
A constant struggle that I will surrender to.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I love an artists quote. Here’s mine: “A wall without art is just a thing holding up a roof.” Scott Thomlinson
Scott Thomlinson ★ Artist resume
Born in 1971 in Australia, my art career started at a very early age, drawing reproductions of Sydney Nolan’s Ned Kelly on the living room floor. At primary school, I refined his artistic skills, drawing dinosaurs and Daleks on the classroom blackboard during lunch time (much to the delight of fellow students and the displeasure of my teachers). In high school, I chose fine art, photography and design as elective subjects, a happy by-product of which was the need to discontinue my study of maths and science.
After high school, I moved to Sydney, however unfortunately not in sufficient time to enrol in my preferred tertiary art course. Not to be deterred, I pursued a career in advertising where I spent the next thirty years as a finished artist, illustrator, designer, art director, copywriter, creative director and agency owner. After achieving all I had set out to achieve in advertising, it was time for a change. So I turned my hand to the one thing that had preoccupied my mind for most of my life in one form or another – creating the art I wanted to create.
Web: scottthomlinson.com
Instagram: @scottthomlinson_art
