"Pop Punk and Pissed up!" from an eccentric painter and taxidermist
Waters always planned an artistic career and from an early age and showed a talent for painting and drawing. In his school years, Thomas (Tom) was influenced by the work of H.R. Giger and gothic horror. By the time he came to complete his foundation year at the Centre of the Arts North Hertfordshire he was highly influenced by Richard Princes work particularly Princes series of nurses. The Nurse Paintings are a series inspired by the covers and titles of inexpensive novels that were commonly sold at newspaper stands and delis (pulp romance novels). Prince scanned the covers of the books on his computer and used inkjet printing to transfer the images to canvas, and then personalized the pieces with acrylic paint. Waters would take photos of his female friends in various poses, enlarge them and use acrylic to paint uniforms on them much to the critique of his older female peers who thought the pieces to be sexist and degrading to women.
After being declined entry onto a fine art painting course at the University of Brighton. Waters found himself living in Leeds and attending Leeds metropolitan university but after 6 months and various altercations with tutors and peers he left and returned back to Bedfordshire, where he continued to paint meticulously, these pieces were highly influence by pop-art and German expressionism.
In July 2011 after discovering the work of Polly Morgan, Tom trained as a Taxidermist with George Jamieson (Morgans tutor) in Edinburgh, where he completed a red-legged partridge that he subsequently named Rufus. The animals used in his taxidermy are contributed by people who have found and kept the animals frozen; the animals have died naturally or accidentally, for example they may have been road kill or window collisions. Waters maintains a detailed log of all dead animals in stock. His piece Forgive me (Father for I have sinned) is a male sparrowhawk on a log with a rosary bead in its beak. This was inspired by the time Tom worked as a wildlife adviser and would have to deal with people regarding sparrowhawks as Evil due to the carnivorous diet.
In 2012 he exhibited in the Royal academy's summer exhibition where his painting King & Queen sold to a private buyer. In September 2012 Waters painting Jamie was accepted to be exhibited at Regents Park tube station throughout the month of October to coincide with FRIEZE art fair. Jamie was also exhibited as part of ArtBelow and The peace project at Gallery different in London. In February 2013 'Florence' (a portrait of the Florence and the machine singer) was on display at Chalk Farm Tube station London, and in The Underground gallery in Charing Cross.
Education
North Hertfordshire Centre for the Arts
Leeds Metropolitan University
George Jamison Scottish Taxidermy August 2011
Exhibitions
Royal Academy of Art Summer Exhibition 2012
Art Below Regents Park Regents Park Tube Station 1-28 October 2012
The Peace Project Gallery Different Fitzrovia London 11-18 October 2012
Art Below London - February 11-25 Chalk Farm 2013
Curious Duke ArtPie Show - March 2014
Pancakes and Booze - September 2015 and March 2016