Thomas Rebek: Painter

Thomas Rebek first visited Boston in the summer of 1967. He immediately fell in love with the city and decided to move here as soon as his teaching tenure ended at Cornell University in 1969. "I've loved every minute of my time in Boston," says Thomas. "The four seasons have sparked my interest in painting the same sites in the city over and over again with great variety."

He portrays his love for cityscapes, seascapes and landscapes in his warm watercolors, sensitively depicting the scenes and events of each area. From 1969 to 1978, he lived and painted in Boston's Fenway area. More recently he has moved to the South End, but his brush has captured scenes from all around Boston and Massachusetts. His painting style is realism with a strong expressionist color palette and a hint of impressionism. He is most inspired by Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth, Maurice Prendergast, Childe Hassam, Claude Monet, Charles Burchfield, Ogden Pleissner, Joseph Mallord William Turner, and Walt Disney.

"I paint on site as weather permits, produce sketches and take many photographs to document my experiences," says Rebek. He works exclusively in watercolors because this media gives him the excitement to explore color and form in a fresh way every time he paints. He describes it as immediate as writing a letter to a friend or loved one. "Either I say just what I want to say to that person (in this case, my viewer) on paper or throw it away and start over until I feel I've expressed the right intention and meaning."

Thomas earned his BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and his MFA from the University of Illinois. He is a member of the Copley Society of Boston, where he achieved Copley Master status. He is a past president of the New England Watercolor Society and a distinguished artist of the Concord Art Association. He has won several major awards from these art associations as well as the Cape Cod Art Association and the Cambridge Art Association. Prints of Thomas Rebek's watercolors are available at Massachusetts Bay Trading Company.