We have a group who meet monthly at various locations. In November the group met at Suzy Schaefer's home.
We paint from 9am to noon usually on Wednesdays. You can come and go as you like. We meet when the weather is good (no rain, no wind, no cold). It is open to only Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild members after signing a Waiver of Responsibility. Contact [email protected] for a Waiver.
Tom Balderas speaks several languages as an artist. I don’t mean French or English or even Spanish, I mean Tom speaks the artistic languages of both Value and Color, sometimes both together. Tom uses the concept of language to explain the differences between these differing approaches to painting. This and so much more is the basis of the intricate style and approach to painting of artist and teacher, Tom Balderas. This Nov 14th the Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild presents an art demonstration with Tom Balderas.
Visit his website at -> https://www.tombalderas.com/
As a Colorist using the broken brushwork technique* Tom’s work gives my eye colors that bounce and bend on his canvases. A colorist concentrates on the paints, their color balance, and their relationships in a particular scene rather than simply color values. The colorist shows how 
color affected not only the image but how it affected the mood, gesture, light and emotion for the viewer. Tom mentions impressionist, expressionist and the color field movement greats all in one breath. He cites Pierre Bonnard, Rothko, Newman, Sorolla, Bongart, and Charles Hawthorne as inspirational colorists throughout history.
Tom’s interest in art developed out of his father’s love of photography. At a very
early age Tom remembers seeing a photograph appear like magic in his father’s darkroom. Tom loved the landscape work of Ansel Adams. Adams’ critically focused black and white landscapes filled his drawing tablet until one day he saw the work of plein air artist Dan Pinkham. Pinkham’s work motivated young Tom to pursue his art education while living in the LA area. So, Tom called Pinkham. Tom grew up in Torrance and still lives in the area. Pinkham never called him back, but fortunately Joseph Mendez returned his call and soon became Tom’s mentor. Mendez, a native of Spain, had earned a scholarship position with Russian master Sergei Bongart after emigrating to the US in the 60’s. Mendez proved to be a tough teacher and was all about color. Mendez brought Tom around from the tight world of black and white to the magical world of color and gesture. Even Tom’s still life’s have a gesture and the colors have power.
Joseph Mendez -> https://savvycollector.com/artists/506-joseph-mendez
Daniel Pinkham -> https://americanlegacyfinearts.com/artist/daniel-w-pinkham
Tom works in both oil and watercolor and loves to mix it up with gouache. Approaching first through the darker passages he likes to leave the light planes and shapes as the last bit of happiness. His brushwork is his handwriting – the broken brushwork technique with the small strokes breaks away from any line or contour but creates an observable mood.
Tom paints mainly from life but with his photography background he states that
proper use of a photo can be beneficial for any subject. Picking up the color needed to be recorded for a painting is possible with a good understanding of the way your photographic device records color.
Throughout his years as an artist Tom’s inspiration has mainly been his growing family – those light-filled beach figures dancing in the sun and shadows have delighted Baldera’s enthusiasts for many years. Even when he was painting landscapes, teachers told him, “You will be doing figures soon.” But that didn’t happen immediately. Not until his first son was born and the family was at the beach did he begin his figure painting with heart. His wise mentor Joseph Mendez once told him that when you paint what you love then growth as an artist and 
honest works are an assured outcome.
Today Tom is not hanging out at the beach as much because his family has grown up. Tom spends some time now teaching his skills and is eagerly accepting small groups of students who want to learn his approach to observing color and applying it to canvas with paint.
Join us at the Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild, Monday Nov 14th for a firsthand demonstration with Tom Balderas. Observe the light and you will see the color.
*Broken brush work is a term referring a technique where an artist will apply colors to a painting in small strokes, but does not blend them, so that they blend optically creating a strong sensation of the sparkle of natural light.
Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild | P.O. Box 773 | Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067
