Born and bred in Oxford, Tom Croft has painted a vast variety of people including David Beckham and Wayne Rooney for Manchester United and the first female Bishop for St Peter’s college.
Perhaps most famously, during lockdown in 2020 he offered to paint a free portrait of an NHS worker and encouraged other artists to do the same. “The physical nature of a painting means you keep people in the room long after they’re gone. We can take thousands of pictures, but we never print them out and hang them on the wall. I wanted to celebrate the heroic work of the NHS key workers at that appallingly stressful time, partly as a thank you but also to document their status as the most important people.” The overwhelming response led to thousands of portraits being produced, which Tom used to create a book, raising money for NHS Charities Together. He continues to paint at least one free NHS portrait each year.
Tom Croft received a British Empire Medal on behalf of all the people who took part in Portraits for NHS Heroes and also attended the Coronation of King Charles III. He has filmed and presented two episodes of Sky Artist of The Year Masterclass on portraiture.
What Makes Tom
Happy
I’m very easy to make happy. Family and friends, painting, food, music, sport. However the sunshine massively improves my mood more than almost anything. Throw in a beer garden by a river or looking out to sea, good company and I don’t think I could get much happier.
Sad
Obviously so many things given the state of the world generally at the moment. However I am naturally an optimist, and I just hope my kids generation have a better outlook soon.
Reflective
I suppose music is my primary trigger for reflection. Oh and when I see my childhood house for sale on Rightmove. It’s probably some deep-rooted hope to reconnect with my childhood.
Confident
I used to wish I could always feel confident, so I did a session of hypnotherapy in my early 20s, [but] I now realise it’s good to not always feel confident, and self-doubt can be a good thing – particularly in my paintings. Confidence can lead to certainty which can lead to a closed off mind. If I want my paintings to engage the viewers they need to be open conversations rather than statements, so ambiguity and uncertainty is good
Angry
Stupid irritations that I shouldn’t really let get to me, like tech fails or football or dangerously bad drivers. Bullying in all its forms makes me really angry: I had a teacher when I was about 13 who poked me in the chest while saying repeatedly that I wouldn’t amount to anything. I eventually snapped and screamed “I’m going to be an artist you [expletive], you’re just jealous!”. Then I ran off to the loos and burst into tears with the adrenaline rush. It felt amazing to stand up to him though.
Creative
I guess it’s just the way I’m made. I assumed everyone’s brain worked like that but took some tests and found out, like a lot of artists, I have ADHD. I think it’s quite useful in the creative world and I don’t medicate for it, much to the irritation of my very patient and lovely family.
Tom Croft will be opening his studio in Wolvercote to the public from 3-11 May for Artweeks.
He is also showing a self-portrait at The Mall Galleries for the Royal Society of Portrait Painters exhibition in May. For commissions and news on Tom’s upcoming painting workshops find him on Instagram @tomcroftartist
Find the Healthcare Heroes portraits online at artsandculture.google.com/project/healthcare-heroes
