Tom Doran: Ease Your Eyes
Driven by a desire to reconcile structure with chance, Tom Doran creates unique digital compositions that layer photography and previous artworks. Informed by years of jazz improvisation and the tactile nature of paper collage, his process embraces spontaneity and a pursuit of balance between order and disorder. Tom values fundamental artistic principles, yet intentionally introduces ambiguity to ignite curiosity and encourage viewers to venture beyond familiar perspectives. While often abstract, his pieces resonate with an underlying “soul” and subtly reference the organic forms and energies of nature. Ultimately, Tom aims to craft works that prompt personal interpretation and reveal unseen possibilities, echoing the belief that compelling art poses questions and offers new ways of seeing.
According to Tom: “I use color and texture to challenge but also soothe you. While I don’t require beauty to be an element of my work, I value beauty hence Ease Your Eyes.”
Come to the BFL to view Tom’s work, which will be on display from November 5th through January 28th. You can also enjoy his work at The Center for Arts in Natick (TCAN) in the Spring of 2026.
Tom’s art career didn’t actually begin with art. Instead it started with music. First, rock, in the soul, funk, and r&b area, then on to jazz. The jazz aesthetic provided the basis for his art: study and be well prepared so that when it’s time to improvise- make the leap!
Twenty years ago he began improvising with collage and paint. Now his art is in the digital domain but he uses the same techniques, now called “pixel collages”: Use original images, find things to work together, keep it fresh, improvise. Tom is fascinated by nature, geometry, and strong colors so all of that comes out in his pictures, which he describes as a collision of nature and the modern world; at times ironic, funny, eye candy-like, digital, abstract, and hopefully, fun.
Tom is a proficient jazz bassist and singer who is mostly self taught, he is mainly a self-taught artist as well. His influences include Picasso, Matisse, Joseph Stella, Juan Gris, Georgia O’Keefe, Lee Krazner, Arthur Dove, Gerhard Richter, Romare Beardon, Sam Gilliam, and Mark Bradford.
Tom says: “Please judge me by my work.”
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