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Today's Featured Biography
Thomas Deir
December 17,1989 was a turning point in the life of Kailua resident Thomas Deir. On that day, he created his first painting on canvas. At the time, he was 26 years old. Two years later, he was the top-selling artist in a Waikiki gallery, selling originals for $10,000 and more.
Deir, an American of Japanese-English-Irish ancestry who was born in Queens, New York (where his father was born and raised), moved to Hawaii (where his mother was born and raised) at the age of three and was raised in Kailua, where he has lived since he was seven. His mother Lillian and his father Thomas Sr. met in the U.S. Navy and had three children – Thomas Jr., Kathleen, and Kevin.
After graduating from Kailua High School in 1981, he worked his way through the University of Hawaii and Windward Community College as an art director for Sellers Advertising and a freelance artist doing logos and commissions for tile murals in kitchens, bathrooms, spas, pools, and entryways. Thomas’ mother Lillian, or “Lee” was a major factor in the development of his career, supporting him financially and giving him the talent genes. She is an artist too, and her father and brother were as well.
Through his interest in flying ultralight seaplanes, Thomas met the man who would eventually become his mentor; John Pitre, a classical surrealist painter of thirty years whose work is known and collected worldwide.
The two flying enthusiasts quickly became friends and then business partners when they developed a revolutionary new paint for fine artists that stays wet indefinitely and only dries when you want it to. The heat-setting synthetic oil paint is called Genesis Artist Colors and is licensed to American Art and Clay (AMACO) and is sold throughout the world.
It was during the research and development of Genesis Artist Colors that Thomas quickly became skilled at painting under John Pitre’s guidance. He started like many artists in Hawaii do; selling his first originals on the “Zoo Fence” in Waikiki. While maintaining his tile mural commissions, he entered the world of fine art by being accepted into several art galleries in Waikiki, Maui, and Kauai. Within 3 months Deir was the lead selling artist in 3 Waikiki galleries, gaining the most recognition for his most inspired work to date, “Christ of the Deep”.
It was this painting that caught the eye of Dr. Robert Rines, inventor of high definition sonar, which made the invention of the ultrasound technology possible. In 1994 Mr. Rines commissioned Thomas to do a $100,000 painting for the USA Inventor’s Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio of the famed Nessie, or Lochness Monster. “Nessie Lives!” is the only painting in our National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.
With Dr. Rines’ help, Thomas soon opened his own gallery in Haleiwa, on the North Shore of Oahu, and a studio in Kaneohe where he trained apprentices to help him produce his murals and deco tiles.
It was during this time (1994) that Thomas also co-chaired several fundraisers for one of his favorite charities, Earthtrust. A moonlit dinner cruise and a benefit concert by Kenny Loggins were among the most productive. Loggins signed shirts and posters of Deir’s image “Morning Breach” and performed in a Waikiki hotel.
Amidst a demanding career Thomas met Lyn Tatsuyama, who would soon be his wife. They married in 1995 and are the grateful and happy parents of two beautiful girls, Tiara and Nai’a.
The joys of marriage, family life, and simplicity have replaced the hectic business career that once took up so much time. Rather than owning a gallery, managing a dozen people and two locations 40 miles apart, Thomas works out of his home and spends much of this time with his family.
“Life is simple, and I love it!” says Thomas, who would never go back to the grind of overworking himself again. “I’m painting again, doing other subjects like seascapes and landscapes, enriching my world of color, which was my weakness after painting mostly underwater blues and greens”.
He hasn’t left the tile mural world though. On August 16, 2002, Thomas completed a project that has been on the drawing board for over ten years; the entrance mural to the new Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. Commissioned by the City and County of Honolulu, the six by twelve foot exterior tile mural greets four to six thousand people a day.
Thomas’s impressive client list include developers Chris Hemmeter and Michael Shinn; designers Glenda Anderson and Wayne Parker; architect Cary Smoot, golf great Chi-Chi Rodriguez; Brigham Young University, Fisheye Marine Park in Guam, Ibusuki Phoenix Hotel in Japan, Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Turtle Bay Hotel on the North Shore of Oahu, Castle Estate and Kaneohe Ranch in Kailua, Sea Life Park at Makapuu, the USA Inventor’s Hall of Fame, the Academy of Applied Science, and Kawaiahao Church.
In addition to the City and County of Honolulu, since 1999 the State of Hawaii through the Artist-in-the-Schools program has commissioned Thomas to teach elementary school children how to paint murals for their school on tile and canvas. To date, Thomas has taught at 15 schools around Oahu.
Thomas keeps himself healthy exercising regularly by playing tennis and surfing. “Surfing and tennis are great complements as they use different muscle groups”, says Thomas. He has stopped flying his ultralight seaplane for now, staying “grounded” for his family.
His motto in life; “The meaning of life is to find meaning in life”.
For Thomas Deir, the meaning of life is clear now: Family first, play second, career third. Now 43 years old, Thomas realizes that elders have always tried to teach this to energetic young men, but for many, only experience will be effective.
THOMAS DEIR STUDIOS HAWAII
www.thomasdeir.com
808-261-7122
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