Tom Zaw: "I am interested in the point where a recognisable figure meets an unpredictable line."

Tom Zaw

My practice has developed through exploration. I have worked with different materials and techniques, including pencil, charcoal, pastel and pyrography, continually looking for ways to challenge my approach to drawing.

This experimentation eventually led to the development of Pencil Troop — a method of drawing with multiple pencils simultaneously.

My work

I am particularly drawn to the human face and figure: appearance, movement, emotion and the small details that make an individual recognisable.

My drawings often sit between precision and looseness. I enjoy the tension between an identifiable subject and marks that remain energetic, layered and unpredictable.

Rather than trying to reproduce a subject as perfectly as possible, I am interested in discovering what can happen when the process of drawing itself becomes part of the visual language.

Recognition & exhibitions

Awards

2023 — Winner, Life Drawing Prize
Pastel Society

2023 — Award Winner, Annual Open Exhibition
UK Coloured Pencil Society

2022 — Winner, Art Competition
Talking Point / COLOR

Selected exhibitions & memberships

Pastel Society
Society of Graphic Fine Art
Royal Cambrian Academy of Art
Hastings Museum
Royal Society of British Artists
Royal Society of Marine Artists
and others.

Studio

I continue to develop Pencil Troop alongside other approaches to drawing, allowing the work to evolve rather than settling into a fixed formula.

New drawings and original works are released through the studio and shared on Instagram.

Google Sites