About the Artist Thomas Celewicz, a native of Poland, is a musician turned painter who expresses himself in oils. He was born in Southern Poland (Galicia) and grew up among luxuriant hills, temperamental mountain rivers, and lived among very colorful and strong people. Before coming to the United States Tom spend almost two years in the refuge camp in Latina, Italy, near Rome. He hitch-hiked all over the country, visiting all the beautiful cities, churches and art museums, all while becoming acquainted with masters of Italian art. Tom arrived in the USA in 1986 and shortly afterwards began to paint. First mostly self guided and extremely determined, he later attended art classes in the local college (CLC.) He was a student of Ed Karnischer, who in turn was a student of Mark Rothko. Tom paints colorful and warm oils using vivid colors and simple abbreviated forms. He likes to paint landscapes as well as portraits of personalities, and occasionally still-lives too. All of his paintings express a depth and poignancy of feeling that reveal his insights in his subjects. One is tempted to contemplate visiting the places he creates. Thomas is also a jazz trumpetist, guitarist, husband, father, and a cat lover.