About The Artist
Tom Fritz has taken his fascination of a movement once cast aside and brought it forth to the mainstream to be reexamined and recognized as a valuable element of the American tableau. Born and raised in San Fernando, California, Tom's vivid childhood recollections of the motorcycle and automotive cultures that were prevalent in Southern California during the 60's and 70's are a part of the power that shaped the artist he would become. His brushwork is a celebration of those memories, showing a sense of life, an enthusiasm for his art, and an intimacy with his subject.
For more than two decades after earning his bachelor's degree in two-dimensional art from California State University Northridge, Tom serviced major corporations including ITT, Litton Industries, and Northrop Grumman, and clients such as Petersen Publishing and the United States Army and Air Force as a designer and illustrator, while accepting freelance commissions on his own time. Today, he paints out of his studio in Ventura County, California. The rich colors and controlled looseness captured in his paintings reveal his fascination of the early days of American motor sports, and offer a unique interpretation of the relationship between man and machine and the beauty of power.
For those who are not familiar with this artist's work, it is distinguished by an honest, uncontrived approach to reality that is tempered with the soft-edges of impressionism. Fritz's works are acclaimed for taking the subject matter beyond the traditional limitations of the genre. In addition to being a four-time recipient of the Automotive Fine Arts Society's prestigious Peter Helck Award, he served on the Induction Committee for the Mattel's Hot Wheels Hall of Fame at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles
After his widely acclaimed 1998 Harley-Davidson® Annual Report series, Tom was commissioned by Harley-Davidson in 2001 to paint an image commemorating their 100th Anniversary, and has since been licensed by the Motor Company to pursue his continuing investigation into their colorful and multi-faceted history. He has been honored to have painted the portraits of Willie G. Davidson, and retired CEOs Richard Teerlink and Jeff Bleustein.
His work can also be found in many private and corporate collections around the world, including the corporate office of the AAA, the NHRA museum, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Pittsburgh Paint and Glass, and has been reproduced in several internationally published magazines.