Meet David Tomb. His Artwork Is The Bomb.


above: Still Lives in Living Color, 59" x 58.75" Oil paint, alkyd glaze, pastel on canvas, 1988

Looking to collect work from the next great artist? Here's one.
A California native and resident, Tomb (which DOES rhyme with Bomb) has mounted solo exhibitions at the Fresno Art Museum, and the Artists’ Forum, among others. He has participated in group shows throughout the United States. His work is included in the collections of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the Fresno Art Museum, and the Oakland Museum.

above: Burden of Dreams, 84" x 180" oil paint, alkyd glaze on canvas 1991

David Tomb has embraced the discipline of the portrait, but abandoned its historical convention, choosing to infuse his work with an intense and uneasy energy that speaks to our time. A San Francisco Bay Area Painter, Tomb's energetic line, acid color, and keen observance make for penetrating portraits and fresh figurative works that demonstrate a unique contemporary vision.Tomb utilizes in his media, charcoal, gouache, ink and watercolor, often loosing himself in the beauty and purity of mark making and pattern. His works assimilate stylistic tropes from a pantheon of canonical portrait painters, from Francis Bacon, to Lucian Freud, to Alice Neel.

As a huge fan of the painters mentioned above, it's no wonder I love his work.
above: Navigation, 1989, Oil paint, alkyd glaze, pencil on canvas, 60"x120"
above: Susan (oil painting)
above: Brent (mixed media)

above: Untitled Male 1, 2001, 44 x 30", mixed media on paper by David Tomb

above: Portrait of Laura (that's me!), mixed media

above: Ethan Wallison, oil painting

above: David in his SF studio

More examples:



Below are just a few links to impressive reviews of his work: