About Tony Speirs
Tony was born in Washington State and moved to the Bay Area when he was six. He grew up loving comics and cartoons, old science fiction and horror movies, nature and wildlife (especially snakes and insects)-- and drawing. After stints as a silk-screen printer, sign painter, and freelance artist he attended the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, studying life drawing and illustration. Trips with his family to Mexico and Guatemala influenced his work greatly, inspiring a mythical, surrealistic direction in his paintings.
Around the year 2000, Tony switched from oil paint to acrylics, which also coincided with a stylistic change in his work. Beginning with his love of fruit-crate labels, he began incorporating elements from other vintage pop-culture graphics (circus posters, comics and children’s book illustration, old game and toy box designs) as well as elements from other cultures (Chinese fire-cracker labels, Indian matchbook designs, Japanese anime, Islamic patterns, etc.) to form the basis for his current work
About five years ago, Tony (together with his wife and fellow artist, Lisa Beerntsen), founded a loose collaborative group of ever-changing members known as Art Farm Motel. The group has produced five large-scale pieces (originally destined for the Burning Man Art Festival in Nevada) and continues to work and exhibit.
Tony has shown his own paintings at many galleries throughout the Bay Area, and his works have been featured on the covers of a number of publications and in books. He and Lisa live and paint in Sonoma County, California.
Résumé
| Exhibitions | |
|---|---|
| 2009 | “Portraits”, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA. “Best Intentions”, Thumbprint Cellars, Healdsburg, CA Kuhl Frames + Art, Oakland, CA |
| 2008 | "One Studio, Two Views”, Rasmussen Art Gallery, Angwin, CA “Bringing Back the Fire: Art & Community at Burning Man & Beyond”, SRJC Gallery, Santa Rosa, CA Burning Man Festival, Organized and created “Shrine of Fortuna” a large- scale collaborative painting installation Handcar Regatta, exhibited pieces created for Burning Man ArTrails, Sonoma County Open Studio Events |
| 2007 | “Closer to the Flame” (Art form Burning Man), Santa Cruz Museum, Santa Cruz, CA “Curator’s Choice”, Arts Council Gallery, 3 Person Show, Santa Rosa, CA Recent Paintings, Miyares Gallery @ Sonoma Academy, Santa Rosa CA OverHung 3, Boontling Gallery, Oakland, CA Alumni Exhibition, Graton Gallery, Graton, CA ArTrails, Sonoma County Open Studio Events |
| 2006 | Arches Gallery, Healdsburg, CA, 2 Person Show ArTrails, & Art at the Source, Sonoma County Open Studio Events Burning Man Festival, Organized and created a large-scale painting installation piece in collaboration with Easel Park Group |
| 2005 | “Denizens of the Day”, A Street Gallery, Santa Rosa CA, 3 Person Show Burning Man Festival, Created a large-scale painting installation piece in collaboration with Easel Park Group |
| 2004 | Arches Gallery, Healdsburg, CA, 2 Person Show “Artist as Activist”, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA, Juried Show “Food”, Cultural Arts Center of Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, CA, Juried Show “Botanical”, Graton Gallery, Graton, CA, 2 Person Show |
| 2003 | “New Visions”, Pro-Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA, Juried Show, Jurors’ Award, Third Place Nexxus Gallery, Berkeley, CA, 3 Person Show |
| 2002 | M.Lowe & Co., Berkeley, CA, 2 Person Show |
| 2000 | “Beaux & Eros”, Vorpal Gallery, San Francisco, CA, Valentine’s Day Group Show |
| 1999 | Stanford Art Space, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, 3 Person Show |
| 1998 | Los Medanos College Art Gallery, Antioch, CA, 2 Person Show |
| 1997 | Adobe Art Center Gallery, Castro Valley, CA, Group Show Gallery Concord, Concord, CA, Group Show |
| 1996 | Cecile Moochnek Gallery, Berkeley, CA, 3 Person Show Carrara’s Gallery Cafe, Emeryville, CA, 2 person Show M.Lowe & Co., Berkeley, CA, 2 Person Show |
| 1995 | Weir Gallery, Berkeley, CA, Fall Group Show |
| 1994 | “47 by 15”, Carrara’s Gallery Cafe, Emeryville, CA, Group Show “Lucky Thirteen”, Weir Gallery, Berkeley, CA, Group Show |
| 1993 | The Tegami Gallery, Oakland, CA, 3 Person Show |
| 1992 | “Wet Paint 2”, Southern Exposure Gallery, San Francisco, CA, Juried Show “U2 Zoo TV Tour”, Bill Graham Presents, Oakland, CA, Backstage Group Show |
| Teaching Experience | |
| Summer 2008 | Artstart Program, Santa Rosa. Lead artist (supervising team of young artists) on mural & public sign projects. |
| 2006 & 2008 | Mockingbird Studios, Graton. Supervised student volunteers in drawing & building aspects of large-scale collaborative projects destined for Burning Man (Nevada) & the Hand Car Regatta (Santa Rosa, CA). |
| Summer 2005 & 2004 | Excel Program, Sonoma State University. Taught beginning acrylic painting to gifted students grades 4-9. |
| 1990-96 | Weir Gallery, Berkeley, CA. Taught beginning & intermediate drawing to youths (10-16) in an afterschool program. |
| Publications, Etc. | |
| 2009 | “In Your Face” Review, the East Bay Express, June |
| 2008 | The Berkeley Monthly, cover painting, May |
| 2003 | “‘New Visions’ at Pro-Arts”, Artweek Magazine, October Issue |
| 1996 | “River of Words”, International Rivers Network. Painting used on internationally distributed posters for a spnosored competition. |
| 1995 | Bones of Contention, CD Cover, Front & back & design Gnosis Magazine, Back cover & 2 inside illustrations |
| 1994 | The Berkeley Monthly, Cover painting, December Issue Yellow Silk Magazine, Cover, and eight other paintings reproduced Ghosts: SF State University Literary Magazine, Four paintings reproduced |
| 1993 | The Berkeley Monthly, Cover painting, October Issue |
| 1991 | “Discovery in Berkeley: Tony Speirs” article, Art for Everyone |
