Thomas Watkins

My abstract photography is an exploration of perception, tension, and emotional undercurrents that exist beneath the surface of the visible world. I translate experience into color, shape, and form, allowing texture, fracture, and ambiguity to carry meaning beyond representation.

Influenced by artists such as Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Wassily Kandinsky, this work engages the psychology of seeing and feeling. The images often suggest narratives without defining them, inviting quiet unease, reflection, or introspection. Hidden structures, weathered surfaces, and subtle disruptions become metaphors for memory, power, and vulnerability.

These photographs are meant to confront and reveal. They ask the viewer to slow down, to look beyond the surface, and to engage with the darker, less certain currents that shape perception and experience.

Bachelor of Arts: Secondary Art Education through Ottawa University in 2009.

“Perspectives of Greater Phoenix”, Greater Phoenix Economic Council. - May 2025. Group exhibition - abstract titled "Desire"

"Phoenix On Film", Phoenix Film Revival March 2020. - Group exhibition - I had three toned silver prints in the exhibit which was a month long show depicting scenes of downtown Phoenix, Arizona.

"Natural Adaptations," Photomark, 2009 - Solo exhibition - Featuring a series of abstract black and white silver prints, this exhibition examined the unique abstract patterns created by tree roots in their pursuit of water, captured through the lens of macro photography.

Awards:

November 2019 - Artwork "Zion's Depths" chosen to be featured in Saatchi Art's "Flora and Fauna" Collection

March 2018 - Received First Place Award of Excellence for the "Seasons" exhibition at the J. Mane Gallery 

July 2018 - Received Second Place Award of Excellence for the "H2O" exhibition at the J. Mane Gallery