Thomas Blackshear
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Thomas Richman Blackshear II is an African-American artist, many of whose paintings adorn Evangelical churches. He is also a sculptor and a designer of ornaments, often of African American themes.
Blackshear was born in Waco, Texas and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He went to work for the Hallmark Card Company in Kansas City, Misouri for one year after his 1977 graduation from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois. While there, he met the famous illustrator Mark English and became his apprentice for several months. In 1980, Blackshear worked as head illustrator for Godbold/Richter Studio. He became a freelance illustrator in 1982 and has been self-employed ever since.
Known for his dramatic lighting and sensitivity to mood, Blackshear has produced illustrations for advertising, books, calendars, collector's plates, greeting cards, magazines, postage stamps, and national posters. His clients range from Disney Pictures, George Lucas Studios and Universal Studios to International Wildlife and National Geographic Magazine. Blackshear has illustrated 30 United States postage stamps including four 50th Anniversary Movie Poster Stamps, the Universal Monster Stamps, and the Mother Theresa Stamps. He also illustrated a commemorative stamp book entitled "I Have a Dream: a Collection of Black Americans on U.S. Postage Stamps." Seventeen of Blackshear's original paintings from the publication were exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. and toured the country for eight years.
Blackshear has also designed and executed illustrations for four collector's plate series, including "Star Wars," "The Wizard of Oz," "Star Trek," and "Star Trek: the Next Generation." He is known for his bestselling Christian prints produced for Day Spring's Masterpiece Collection, including "Forgiven," "Coat of Many Colors, Lord of All," "Watchers in the Night," and "Liberty." In 1995 Blackshear created his most popular art line. For 20 years, "Ebony Visions" has been the number one selling black figurine collectible in the United States.
Blackshear taught three semesters at the San Francisco Academy of Art College as well as lectured at numerous workshops throughout the country. He is also known internationally, having taught a workshop in Sweden and toured German Air Force bases twice. In 2006, at his show in the Vatican, Blackshear unveiled his painting of Pope John Paul II for the 25th Anniversary of the Pope John Paul II Foundation.
Blackshear's work has appeared in the Society of Illustrators annuals 24, 25, 27, 28, and 30, and in Volume 2 of Outstanding American Illustrators Today. His many awards included Gold and Silver Honors in the 1982 Kansas City Art Directors Club; two Gold Awards and Best of Show in 1986, Best of Show in 1989, and two Gold Awards in the 1990 Illustrators West Shows; a Gold Medal in the 1988 National Society of Illustrators; two Silver Awards in the 1989 San Francisco Society of Illustrators Show; and the Plate of the Year Achievement Award in 1990. His paintings are displayed at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, Texas, and the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia.
In 2020, the Society of Illustrators inducted Blackshear into its Hall of Fame, alongside other acclaimed illustrators including Edmund Dulac, Drew Struzan, and Jeff Jones. Blackshear also won the prestigious Great American Cowboy award at the 2022 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum's Prix de West in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Blackshear was born in Waco, Texas and grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He went to work for the Hallmark Card Company in Kansas City, Misouri for one year after his 1977 graduation from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois. While there, he met the famous illustrator Mark English and became his apprentice for several months. In 1980, Blackshear worked as head illustrator for Godbold/Richter Studio. He became a freelance illustrator in 1982 and has been self-employed ever since.
Known for his dramatic lighting and sensitivity to mood, Blackshear has produced illustrations for advertising, books, calendars, collector's plates, greeting cards, magazines, postage stamps, and national posters. His clients range from Disney Pictures, George Lucas Studios and Universal Studios to International Wildlife and National Geographic Magazine. Blackshear has illustrated 30 United States postage stamps including four 50th Anniversary Movie Poster Stamps, the Universal Monster Stamps, and the Mother Theresa Stamps. He also illustrated a commemorative stamp book entitled "I Have a Dream: a Collection of Black Americans on U.S. Postage Stamps." Seventeen of Blackshear's original paintings from the publication were exhibited at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. and toured the country for eight years.
Blackshear has also designed and executed illustrations for four collector's plate series, including "Star Wars," "The Wizard of Oz," "Star Trek," and "Star Trek: the Next Generation." He is known for his bestselling Christian prints produced for Day Spring's Masterpiece Collection, including "Forgiven," "Coat of Many Colors, Lord of All," "Watchers in the Night," and "Liberty." In 1995 Blackshear created his most popular art line. For 20 years, "Ebony Visions" has been the number one selling black figurine collectible in the United States.
Blackshear taught three semesters at the San Francisco Academy of Art College as well as lectured at numerous workshops throughout the country. He is also known internationally, having taught a workshop in Sweden and toured German Air Force bases twice. In 2006, at his show in the Vatican, Blackshear unveiled his painting of Pope John Paul II for the 25th Anniversary of the Pope John Paul II Foundation.
Blackshear's work has appeared in the Society of Illustrators annuals 24, 25, 27, 28, and 30, and in Volume 2 of Outstanding American Illustrators Today. His many awards included Gold and Silver Honors in the 1982 Kansas City Art Directors Club; two Gold Awards and Best of Show in 1986, Best of Show in 1989, and two Gold Awards in the 1990 Illustrators West Shows; a Gold Medal in the 1988 National Society of Illustrators; two Silver Awards in the 1989 San Francisco Society of Illustrators Show; and the Plate of the Year Achievement Award in 1990. His paintings are displayed at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas, Texas, and the Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia.
In 2020, the Society of Illustrators inducted Blackshear into its Hall of Fame, alongside other acclaimed illustrators including Edmund Dulac, Drew Struzan, and Jeff Jones. Blackshear also won the prestigious Great American Cowboy award at the 2022 National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum's Prix de West in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
