The Keyboard and Piano are the canvas for this musical artist that
 "expresses emotions (through his fingers)"

Thomas Barber

View Mr. Barber's paintings online through the Polonaise Art Gallery
Contact Information

Tom's life has been as fascinating as his art, and he's graciously consented to allow me to share some of it with you.

I first met Tom in the spring of 1996 at an IBI entrepreneur's forum. Even thought we were strangers, we connected instantly, as if we were long lost brothers. Definitely an unlikely pair. With me in my business suit and him in his black western shirt, black jeans, long white ponytail and grizzled Fu Manchu, we couldn't have been more different. Yet, we hit it off immediately - funny how life works that way.

As I talked, Tom listened intently and liked my ideas for the music I wanted to create under the name Cathedral Whispers, and he was kind enough to have a listen to my $2.98 cassette that I'd made as a rough for a CD I was going to call Stained Glass. I thought it to be the most unpolished rough probably ever heard by anyone except the artist that created it, yet Tom heard something in it. He heard an image for a painting. In those few moments, the idea for the cover of Stained Glass was born.

With my next three CD projects, three more covers followed. Points of Light, Christmas Reflections on the Fallen Snow, and then the crowning achievement that I felt combined both my music, and Tom's art, Cathedral Whispers.

At that point, though I hope to entice him back to do more music covers for me, Tom needed to get on with his other paintings. In the meantime, I'd like to share more of Tom's life with you.

As Tom tells it - his own life's journey began in New York City on July 24, 1946. In 1964, after moving many times with his family, he graduated from high school in North Carolina. After several family arguments over his career choice, he graduated from the Art Institute of Boston.

The Vietnam War effort interrupted his entrance into the world of art. Racing his draft notice to the recruiting station, he enlisted in the Army, and found himself serving out his stint as a medical corpsman in Germany. As he puts it, "Dealing with the physical carnage of war, I was forced to see many aspects of man's behavior towards, and treatment of, one another."

In 1971, he received his discharge and elected to stay in Germany. Going to Switzerland, he climbed the Matterhorn, thought about more climbing, but decided instead to go back to Germany and savor the beer. As he says it- that decision suited him just fine.

Europe, with its medieval castles, its magnificent cathedrals, and its charming villages, proved to be a feast for his artist's soul. That connection to the Middle Ages was to provide a deep and ready source of inspiration for the many works of art he would create.

Tom finally returned to the States and, to feed himself, began work as a commercial artist. Finding his way into the science fiction/fantasy genre of art, and with thirty book covers to his credit, he became recognized as an artist of note. In 1976, Tom received the Best Professional Artist Award at the New England Science Fiction Convention.

Still his artist's soul wasn't satisfied. Following his heart, he settled in what was once the lonely little "ghost town" of Jerome, Arizona. Appreciating the town's motto of "No Sniveling," he bit the 'bullet of deprivation' that only true artists know, and settled down to paint. And to drink. He stumbled happily through his days until one day he was forced to realize his drinking was starting to affect his painting. That day, he bit yet another bullet, and called it quits. Tom's since left the west, but as he says, "The spirit of the southwest will stay with me forever."

In the years since, he's found his lady and together they have traveled, and lived, in various western and northwestern states. Returning to New England in 1999, he has finally been able to build the studio of his dreams and in the past few months has contracted with the AccuWeather Company who will be offering posters of his sky, storms, and clouds paintings. The western skies have always remained in his heart. Thankfully for all of us, they've found their way into his art. (Way to go my brother!)

For more information on Tom Barber's paintings, or if you would like to contact Tom personally, he can be reached at the following address:

You may contact Mr. Barber through:
Polonaise Art Gallery
15 Central Street
Woodstock, VT USA 05091
Proprietor: Mr. Wojtek Pilczynski