- July 12, 2025
Tom Gagner is the featured artist of the month at Frame of Mind in Ormond Beach. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Art work by Tom Gager
Art work by Tom Gager
Art work by Tom Gager
Art work by Tom Gager
Art work by Tom Gager
People, experiences and randomness.
Ormond Beach artist Tom Gager draws his inspiration from all of it. His pieces are full of color, shapes, numbers and images that one may not typically pair together — like the Beatles, the planet Neptune and the visa credit card logo.
For Gager, 75, incorporating these pieces is sometimes inexplicable. But, they fit, he said. It's what called him to art in the first place.
"I like surrealism and I like the painting aspect of that," Gager said. "... You could bring strange things from nowhere into life."
Gager is the featured artist of the month at Frame of Mind for Ormond Art Walk, to be held on from 3-7 p.m. on Saturday, July 5. Gager is an award-winning artist who has exhibited his works through the U.S. in various exhibitions and festivals.
He graduated with a fine arts degree from Florida State University in 1973, but had been making art since he was a teen. He was one of those students who sat in the back row and was often found drawing or writing poems.
A retired art teacher for Volusia County Schools, Gager taught at the elementary level for 35 years. He initially chose elementary because the idea of teaching children how to make art seemed fun.
And it was, he said.
"The kids, they can do stuff where there's no right or wrong," Gager said. "They can feel good about what they do."
Art is an opportunity for expression, he said. That comes in different mediums, but what he loves is when people can incorporate different elements. It gives spectators a lot to look at.
When he did shows, Gager recalls that people would often come up to him and engage in discussions about what they saw in his pieces.
He didn't dispute their observations, even if they didn't align with his.
"It's like music, or dance music," Gager said. "People get up and dance, and there's a lot of different way people dance. It's the same thing."
Sometimes, people would ask him what all the "stuff" was on his paintings.
"People look at art for all different reasons," Gager said. "They think there's some magic there, or something, and other people just [say], 'What's that crap?'"
When Gager was doing outdoor art shows, his wife Joan recalled how people would be drawn to it.
"I will say, children love his art," she said.
Gager's latest pieces have all revolved around randomness and chance. In his living room, he pointed to one of his paintings.
"This pipe pouring water falls into an orange triangle with an eye on it," Gager said. "What's that mean?"
His wife laughed.
"It's just something by chance," Gager said.
