Florida transplant discusses the life of a local artist and the local art scene in Houston.
Tom Rye was born to draw, as his custom t-shirt reads. He loved to draw his favorite characters from Star Trek and Saturday morning cartoons as a kid. His private drawing lessons in the 6th grade kicked off his artistic journey. He later graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from Florida State University. He has been working as a Houston artist now for 13 years. He returned to Florida for a few months to work at Disneyworld in 2008. He came back after the economy went bust. We met Tom at Barnaby’s and asked him about his life of creating art in Htown.
Originality is what I go for when I create art, something that people haven’t seen before. I love when people tell me “I have never seen that before”. I think that is the ultimate compliment that you can give an artist.
You were born and raised in Florida. How did you end up in Houston?
I had been doing artwork for a small apparel company in Florida. It was a great job but they were small and family owned and eventually they couldn’t give me enough hours. I needed to move somewhere where there were more opportunities to pursue my passion. My sister had lived in Houston (Fulshear) since the early nineties and she offered me a place to stay to see if I liked it out here. After being here for a month I knew that I wanted to stay.
What did you find attractive here in Houston?
There were just so many things to see and so much more to do and the people were really nice and friendly. When I first got here I didn’t know where downtown was, I thought downtown was like around Highway 6 and Westheimer. I realized later that that’s not even the big part of Houston!
How long have you been a caricature artist?
I did my first event in 2004 at the Houstonian Health Club. I continued doing gigs part time while I worked a full time job in the fitness center at Second Baptist Church.
Do you still have a day job?
As of 2015 I have been self employed doing live caricatures, commission work, and selling my original art at local art events. The coolest part of my job is that I’m always meeting new people and working in interesting places.
At what type of places or events do you do caricatures?
I get hired to draw at every type that you can imagine. When I first started out I took every job I could get, from kids birthdays to weddings to high school grad nights. I discovered that I liked working at company office parties and trade shows where I can actually network while I’m drawing. I’ve been able to get into a lot of venues and see parts of the city that I otherwise would probably never have seen. Some of my most memorable events have been at Reliant/NRG Park, The Hemi Hideout, The Rienzi Mansion and the Bayou City Art Festival.
At what point did you decide to go work at Disney World?
I left Houston in 2008 when I got the opportunity to work as a caricature artist at Disneyworld in Orlando. Unlike most artists who do caricatures, I never trained at a theme park. I wanted to get more experience drawing faster and more accurate. After 2 years of working for the Mouse, I missed the big city life of Houston and I had to come back!
Do you have a studio in Houston?
Currently I work from home. In 2012 I had an opportunity to rent a space at Spring Street Studios in the First Ward Arts District. I was there for 2 years and I participated in two or three shows a year and an open studio every month and that was great. It was fantastic. The only thing was I was just creating and finding my style and not selling yet. It helped me figure out what style I wanted to do and helped me get my name out there. I became more aware of what’s going on in the Houston art scene. I did get a few commissions while there, but it wasn’t enough to keep the space. I had to let it go in 2014. I didn’t need the extra space since I mostly work small-scale, but I liked that it was a way for people to come to the studio and see what I was doing. I wish I still had a studio, but I can’t justify the cost yet. I can see the value of it definitely.
When did you start doing digital art?
In 2012 I got into doing digital art. I started drawing on a smartphone. It’s great because there’s no mess, it’s so much easier, everything is cleaner, you can work on a perfectly white background. You don’t have to photograph your work. I started having prints made of my drawings and selling them. I upgraded to the iPad Pro about a year ago and it had made my life so much easier!
Tell me about your latest series Upright Citizens.
I wanted to create something that was a combination of caricatures and fine art. I have seen a few artists who draw animals wearing clothing but I wanted to put a different spin on it and draw them in the style of old Victorian era photographs. I wanted to use insects and animals that were more dangerous and scary looking. I started with the spider and the vampire bat and gave them human personalities so that they would appear more friendly. So there’s two reactions to them some people say “Oh that’s cute” or some people say “Oh that’s so creepy,” I am happy with either one of those. I’m getting reaction from people and that is pretty cool. They decide how they want to feel about it. Originality is what I go for when I create art, something that people haven’t seen before. I love when people tell me “I have never seen that before”. I think that is the ultimate compliment that you can give an artist. I’ve gotten a really good response to them and the series is growing and evolving. I keep coming up with different environments for them. I am going to do an African series, lions, tigers, wearing safari outfits. Then there’s sea life, mythical creatures, and Texas themed. The possibilities are endless!
What made you decide to create jewelry?
While I was at Spring Street Studios I became friends with one of the jewelry designers who was also a tenant. She introduced me to Quintanilla Jewelers in the Montrose area and they helped me design my first piece. They take my drawings from paper and make a mold of it and pour the metal from there to make a piece of jewelry. The Heart of Thorns 14k gold pendant was the first one. It really has a strong message behind it. It has thorns so it appears dangerous to the touch but it’s in the shape of a heart which is the universal symbol for love. I had never seen a heart designed that way before. It also reminds people of a crown of thorns so it has a faith aspect to it. The original drawing is called Love is Pain because there is a single drop of blood trickling down from one of the thorns.
When you’re not doing your artwork what kind of places do you hang out around town? What are some of your favorite places?
I enjoy art related events. It’s a good way to socialize and network at the same time. I hang out at Sawyer Yards, they have five buildings now, there’s the main three where usually everything happens so I go there a lot. Occasionally I’ll go to another gallery, pop up show or an art market like First Saturday in the Heights.
What is your favorite restaurant?
I like to go to lunch with friends at Barnaby’s or Whole Foods. I love seafood. Especially spicy, the hotter the better! My favorites are Babin’s and Pappadeaux’s. The fish tacos at Berryhill are the best.
What are your thoughts about the art scene in Houston today?
Well I think it’s one of the best around. It is more diverse now than when I first moved here. There’s the East End Latino style, pop up shops and high end galleries. The whole Sawyer Yards is one of the largest groups of working artists in the nation.
What’s next?
I want to give back to the Houston community by sharing my talent for good causes. Last year I got the opportunity to volunteer my time drawing caricatures at a fitness expo called Normal to be Fit. I was just there again this year and I feel that it will lead to more opportunities to work with people who are doing really good things for our city.
Where can we find you online?
I have 2 websites. You can book me for an event at TomRyeLive.com and you can buy my original art at TomRyeArt.com. I’m also on Facebook and Instagram and I’ll be starting another Instagram account for the Upright Citizens real soon!
You can also request your pet or your favorite animal to be drawn as an Upright Citizen. Contact [email protected] for info and pricing.