I first met Tom Wilson in 1980 at the Dundas Valley School of Art, just outside of Hamilton, Ontario, where I was a student and he was hired to strum his guitar at a reception there. Being involved in the local music scene as I was, I introduced myself to the lone stranger. Not long afterwards, Tom emerged onto the Hamilton music scene kicking and screaming as the frontman for local roots-based rockers, The Florida Razors. At the time, I was booking bands at a dive bar in the city’s west end. Too many stories to tell here about the shared adventures and experiences that ensued over the next couple of years, but we have been friends and colleagues ever since, connected through art, family, and the close-knit circles of the Hamilton music and cultural scene. When I later moved to Montreal I became involved in the music scene there, booking bands into bars and clubs, including The Florida Razors and other groups from Hamilton. During passes through Montreal, Tom developed a keen interest in visual art and visited my studio over the years. By the early 1990s, he had taken up painting, and our conversations and exchanges evolved from music to literature and art.
-Written by David Liss, curator
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Which ’hood are you in?
I live at the bottom of Niagara Escarpment in the South West pocket of downtown Hamilton Ontario. I’m fifty steps away from a biosphere and a world away from Toronto.
What do you do?
I work to create anything that wasn’t here yesterday.
What are you currently working on?
I’m painting the final canvas for my upcoming art exhibit at Cultural Good Gallery, writing my second book for Penguin Random House and pumping out lines and music for my play, “Beautiful Scars” which opens in April. Now fuck off I’ ‘m busy.
Where can we find your work?
In your local bookstore or on Spotify or Apple Music. Work can also be found at Hatch Gallery in PEC and Beckett Fine Art in Hamilton.
