Tom was born in Santa Barbara, California in 1946. He spent his childhood in nature, sailing, surfing and cavorting around the hills of Montecito. Drawn to art as a young boy, he was mostly self-taught until he turned his attention towards studying architecture at the University of Oregon from 1963 - 1966.

From 1966 - 1970, Tom served in the United States Navy as an Underwater Demolition Team Diver, and upon completion of that mission, studied art and archeology at the University of California at San Diego, where he received his BA (1970-72) and then, was awarded his MFA in 1972- 1975.

He returned to Santa Barbara, where he painted.

In the 80s & 90s, Tom painted large color fields, most of which are in private collections. 

In 2000, Tom responded to what he thought was the stealing of a national election by creating a series of paintings depicting images from voting card “chads”.

Over the next few years, these paintings evolved into the “radii series” which celebrate the connectedness of everything and the planet oceans upon which he spent so much of his life, in the Navy, sailing, delivering boats and surfing. 

In 2006, Tom joined the lightblueline project in Santa Barbara, CA and began creating "Global Warming Postcards," whimsical depictions of flooded Santa Barbara scenes. These were exhibited in galleries in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Orange County, then evolved into large paintings Tom called the climate change series. 

His ‘artists conceptions’ of sea level rise in cities across the globe served as his visual cry for help for an environment in jeopardy. 

Tom’s artwork has been exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Forum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Design Resources, the Fifhian Building, outdoors at the Coastal Project, Art Resources, The Book Den, Studio 3East, and Santa Barbara City Hall, and the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art.