"Tom was commissioned by H. S. B Racing for this piece. The painting of Topango was when she captured the $100,000.00 La Senorita Stakes for 2 year-old fillies on the Retama Park turf in San Antonio, Texas. The daughter of Distant View has won 4 of her 5 career starts as of 05/22/04, earning $114,000.00. Topango is set to race again at Retama's upcoming meet. This painting is 18 X 36" and was done in oil. More horse owners should take such pride in their champions as this Texas outfit. For those of you looking Tom does beautiful work on his commissioned art."

Topango

Dominated by Racing in 2004

"Tom has done something a little different for Wine Country Racing this year. In previous commissions for Sonoma, you'll notice the same hill in the background. It's known as Taylor Mountain. Instead of concentrating on the wine, Tom has muted the mountain and middle ground vineyards to make the action really dominant. They almost pop out at you That is Tom in the middle. The original painting is 24" by 36" done in oil."

"Once again Tom has been commissioned by the Sonoma County Fair to do the Wine Country Racing painting. This painting depicts a wine glass with the reflection of 2 horses racing. Tom didn't fade them out like a real reflection because he wanted the viewers eyes to be drawn to the bright colors of the horses and jockeys. Sonoma County Fair will be selling t-shirts and posters of this painting at the fair in the summer of 2003. Tom will be up there opening Saturday to sign posters, prints etc. The original painting is 24 x 30" and was done in oil."

Reflections of Wine Country 2003

Wine Country Racing 1996

"This is the first of five paintings that Tom has done for the Sonoma County Fair, located in the California Wine Country. Here the race is run directly through the vineyards of Sonoma. The hill in the background (Taylor Mountain)is an actual land mark, and anyone who has attended the fair would likely recognize it. This painting shows how the horse racing just takes over."

"This is one of our favorites. Tom wanted to incorporate racing, with a large wine barrel, and bunches of grapes. This painting sure gives the term 'Barrel Racing' a new twist doesn't it? Or even the song 'Roll Out The Barrel'? No doubt neither had anything like this in mind. The land mark hill (Taylor Mountain) is also in the blurred background. Tom just likes the way it all came together, as we all do! It is a wild scene of the Sonoma County Fair excitement."

Wine Country Racing 1997

Vine Country Racing 1998

"In 1998 Tom did something a quite a bit off hand, by turning the starting gate into a kind of trellis type gate. This is one of my very favorites from the Wine Country collection and Tom displays what a vivid imagination can create with a little effort. A very unique piece of art for sure. As you can see, the gate is made out of the grapevines that come out of beautiful Sonoma County area. It really gives a different feel to the racing action. And away they go, and outta the vines."

"For 1999 Tom wanted to try something a little more serene. He has painted a pose of a jockey and horse in the post parade. Then surrounded the posed picture by the leaves and clusters of grapes you would associate with wine, and or Wine Country Racing. Tom has given it a tranquil feeling this year."

Wine Country Racing 1999

Wine Country Racing 2001

"For this year Tom put the emphasis more on racing, but the background is all telling. It is definitely the Sonoma Wine Country. For all three riders Tom used old win pictures of himself. Tom couldn't have chosen a more beautiful setting for the 2001 Wine Country Racing painting."

"This is a lifelike view of racing on the Pleasanton racetrack at the Alameda County Fair which is located on the East side of the San Francisco Bay in Pleasanton, Ca. The fair has a small town feel to it but the racing is pretty close to being on par with the racing meets they have at Bay Meadows or even Golden Gate Fields, which are also located in the Bay Area in Northern California."

Pleasanton Racing 1999

The California Gold Cup

"The California Cup, held at the Oak Tree Meet at Santa Anita. The day is patterned after the Breeders' Cup Races, with one huge difference, the California Cup Races are for horses which were bred only in California. In 1996, Tom did a background of the Sierra Grande Mountains framed in the shape of California as it is on a map. The colors that the jockeys are wearing represent the four leading owners of 1995. Golden Eagle Farms, Mr.& Mrs. Robert Walter, Mrs. Ridder, and Mr. & Mrs. Martin Wygod. The CTBA, (Cal Cup Sponsors) had 60,000 T-shirts, as well as countless posters made of this image, as a giveaway on Cal Cup Day. We still see people wearing the T-shirts. It's great seeing someone wearing great artwork."

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