Thomas W. Schaller

Thomas W. Schaller is an American architect and watercolor artist.

Early life

Thomas W. Schaller was born near Newark, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State University from Architecture, and then studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. He then apprenticed at an architectural firm in Boston from 1980 to 1985, when he became a registered architect.^[1]

Art work

Schaller began his art career as an architectural artist, working to render buildings for architects including Michael Graves, Tod Williams, and Billie Tsien. He worked out of New York City, and created watercolor paintings for many of the city’s major architecture firms.^[1] In addition to architectural renderings, Schaller has done watercolor paintings subjects including Southern California, London, Italy, Greece, as well as amazing architectural fantasy paintings.^[2] He has also done watercolors of global cities in Asia, Europe, and North America, and has a specific affinity for painting bridges. In 1991 Schaller’s book Architecture in Watercolor, received an award from the American Institute of Architects for his best-selling book Architecture in Watercolor.^[1] He later published the book The Art of Architecture Drawing: Imagination and Technique.^[3] His work has also appeared in watercolorist magazines.^[4]

In 2005, Schaller became a full-time watercolor artist, moving to Venice Beach, California.^[1] In 2015 Schaller was commissioned by Los Angeles Magazine to produce watercolors focusing on the City of Los Angeles’ varying weather and climates. Works in the series included images of the fog on the canals of Venice Beach; the farmer’s market in Hollywood; changing Autumn colors in Laurel Canyon; and a winter rainstorm in LA’s Chinatown.^[5]

Recognition

Schaller has twice been awarded the Hugh Ferriss Memorial Prize.^[2] Southwest Art has called him “one of the foremost commercial architectural artists in the world.”^[1]

References