Gilbert Tampkins

Artwork by Gilbert Tampkins

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Artist Bio

I was born in Los Angles, California.  My family moved to Oklahoma when I was three years old.  I attended public schools in Oklahoma City and Spencer, Oklahoma.  I have degrees from Langston University, Langston Oklahoma and University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, Oklahoma.  After many years of public service, retired from Langston University/extension service, United States Department of Agriculture.  Ten years ago I began to explore art as a leisure activity.  In 2005 my drawings and paintings were accepted in the Owens Gallery, Guthrie, Oklahoma and the Contemporary Art Gallery, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Those showings led to other opportunities to showcase my artwork.  My studios are in my home and at the Paseo Arts District of Oklahoma City.  My work can be seen at the Gallery One on Paseo Drive throughout the year.

I displayed an interest for my art at an early age.  As far back as I can remember there was this desire to draw something I saw.  The interest grew stronger the older I became.  My favorite things to draw when I was a child were comic characters, horses, cars and space related things.  It was a challenge to draw horses to my satisfaction.  My first art class was in Junior High School.  It was an eye opening experience and the start of an appreciation for the arts.

Today, having retired from a job of service to others, I now find time to search within me and unleash the expressive artistic qualities which laid dormant for so many years.  This process and challenge I might add helps me communicate emotions, places and people, through the application of value, color and other elements and principles of art.

You will note in my work that I love painting landscapes.  I am captivated by the beauty which surrounds us from every turn.  From the east coast to the west coast in the United States and other countries there is beauty abound.  I take great pleasure in representing such beauty on two dimensional surfaces.  The brush strokes found in my paintings are suggestive leaving the viewer a chance to help bring passion to the finished work.

The primary media for my art I create are oil, watercolor and pencil.