Thomas Shedden was born and raised in London. Living near Crystal Palace as a child, Shedden had grown up with a Victorian fantasy landscape on his doorstep, a place of manicured gardens inhabited by concrete sphinxes and dinosaurs.
Having Canadian and Australian parents meant that he has travelled since he was a boy, and this has also left its trace, not only in subject matter, but in his paintings, and drawings.
Thomas Shedden did not train as a fine artist. From a young age, he worked as a picture framer and gallery technician. Framing and hanging shows for the Saatchi and other West End galleries. Although always wanted to be a painter himself, felt at the time too young and inexperienced to follow that course. Wanting to learn a craft, and with an important early influence in his mother, who was a gifted illustrator, studied illustration at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art, graduating in 1997. It was only in 2005 that he decided he needed to make paintings. The workman in him applies himself to experimenting rigorously with materials: previously predominantly paint, but more recently focussing on drawings in wax crayon. Being now based in Folkestone Kent, allows him as much time as possible to make work alongside other financial commitments.
Visit Tom’s website here
