- by Robert Menzies

My friend Tom Bunce has died.
We shared some interests, once upon a time.
Besides playing some baseball with him,
I was in awe of his painted landscapes that were alive -
and still are, today.

Two are mounted on our walls,
and they both are reminders of both him and our place on Earth.
They are also kind of escapes – flights of realistic imagination -
into a world both beautiful and mighty.
A world that can still exist.
A world that can persist...
IF we treat it with both reverence and joy -
A realization that we are and can remain
a caretaker/gardener/traveller part of it.
And it’s my wish that all the elements
that went into a man and a life known as “Tom Bunce”
will not lay too much at rest,
but that his new, elemental dimensions
will be part of magnificent landscapes
that he will paint on each Earth day’s canvas.

"My work usually follows one of two paths arriving at the same destination. One is more literal involving the painting of visual history. The portrayal of derelict stores, schools, houses that remind the viewer of their past and their kinship with others. The second path is the painting of landscapes and waterscapes that connect the viewer to the vast Earth around them. The ultimate goal is to present the viewer with a beautiful painting that affirms their place in the world." - Tom Bunce