For Tom Boatright, the path to becoming a painter wasn’t direct. He would first journey through the soccer fields, quarter horse ranches, and a computer science career before finally arriving at the canvas in his early forties.
Growing up in Southern California, Tom spent his youth outdoors, immersed in sports and the rocky beauty of the region. Starting as a teenager and into his early twenties, Tom worked on a quarter horse ranch—an experience that would later influence his equestrian artwork.
After college, he played competitive soccer for several years before transitioning into the technology field that would occupy him through his thirties. But when Tom picked up a brush and revealed his talents for painting, something shifted entirely. “When I discovered painting, it just launched me and was almost like an out-of-body experience. I got absorbed into creating on a canvas. It just related so many things I was passionate about in my life.” Today, splitting his time between Olympia, Washington, and La Quinta, California, Tom creates explosive, textured works from his unbridled creativity.
What Does the Creative Process Look Like?
For Tom, the creative process is about embracing chaos rather than controlling it. “Just creating beauty out of chaos, I love that process. When I get to the canvas, it’s super captivating,” he explains. Unlike artists who have spent years in formal training, Tom took a different route entirely. “I didn’t do the traditional art classes; none of that appealed to me. I was really about experimentation and just using different materials and seeing from that chaos what I can create.”
That experimental spirit extends to his materials as well. Tom works exclusively with oil-based techniques, but he’s developed a highly unique approach that combines three different mediums: linseed, urethane, and enamel-based oils. Instead of buying pre-mixed paints, Tom purchases transparent bases and mixes his own pigments, giving him complete control over color and consistency. This level of customization allows Tom to achieve effects that would be impossible with standard paints, making his style nearly impossible to replicate.
Each piece begins with inspiration, typically a photograph that speaks to him on a visceral level. “Seeing something is where the motivation and inspiration come from when I see what I really love,” Tom shares. Once that spark ignites, he doesn’t hesitate. As soon as inspiration hits, he jumps into action, though not without careful consideration of his materials first. Tom spends significant time thinking about which combinations of mediums will achieve the effects he’s envisioning before anything touches the canvas.
Tom’s layering process itself is methodical despite the organic appearance of the final work. He starts with sketching or compositional work to establish the underlying structure. Then he moves to thicker materials, building up texture to the layers. Next come the more fluid, flowing materials and metallics that create movement and catch light. The long drying time required for oils becomes an essential part of the process itself, allowing each layer to set properly before the next is applied. In the final step, Tom applies a wash—a lacquer finish—over everything to give it that additional wow factor. This wash catches onto the texture he’s built up through the layers, creating depth and dimension that shifts as you move around the piece.
The Studio Space
Tom’s painting environments are as unique as his process. In Washington, he works inside what he calls the Starlit Chamber, a massive 70-foot by 30-foot concrete building with 13-foot ceilings. The space has intense sound dynamics that Tom has made integral to his creative practice. “Music and vibrations help to guide the process,” he explains. When Tom is in creative mode, he listens to loud music that vibrates off the concrete walls, helping to create a space where we can tap into specific energies. The studio becomes more than just a workspace; it transforms into an immersive environment where sound, space, and vision merge.
In Palm Springs, his approach shifts with the climate. There, he paints outside, taking advantage of the warm, dry weather that helps his oils dry more consistently. Temperature matters significantly when working with the complex oil mixtures Tom creates. “Sometimes oils dry at different levels and the heat helps to keep it consistent,” he notes. The outdoor environment also means easier breathing despite the protective gear and respirator he wears while painting. When working outdoors, it is far more practical to be in this desert space than dealing with the damp, wet conditions he’d face if working outside in the north.
Regardless of location, Tom considers the experience of painting as opening a portal. “When I get to the canvas and allow myself to be an instrument in the processes that are going on around me, it feels like it opens a portal to the spiritual realm. This is maybe the part I enjoy the most.” For Tom, creation isn’t just about aesthetic choices, but allowing his interpretation of energy and beauty to flow through him and onto the canvas. “It speaks to me at a very deep level,” he reflects, describing this connection as immensely powerful.
Most Challenging Aspect?
With such an experimental, spontaneous approach, what does Tom find most challenging about his practice? “The chaos of not being able to stay in one lane can sometimes be aggravating,” he admits candidly. The constant desire to create, invent, explore, and discover means that no two pieces are ever the same. He’s in a continuous state of trying new combinations, new techniques, and new approaches.
This impossibility of replication is both a blessing and curse. It means every piece is truly unique, but it also means Tom can never quite predict where a painting will go. He doesn’t restrain himself or his process, doesn’t keep notes or follow guides. Everything is spontaneous and in the moment. This requires constant trust in the process rather than control over the outcome, a practice that has become central to Tom’s artistic philosophy.
The Collector Connection
When asked about how he hopes collectors respond to his work, Tom’s answer reveals what matters most to him about creating art. “What is deeply meaningful to me is that people feel the spiritual connection. I don’t mean that in any denominational way. Art invokes feeling and spirit and life.” Tom lights up when describing the big reactions people have to his work, those moments when someone stands before a painting and truly connects with the piece.
Tom highly values the connection and reactions art can bring out in people, and he’s deeply committed to creating high-quality work worthy of those responses. The element of surprise, of not knowing how a piece will land until it meets its viewer, keeps the work alive and dynamic for him. Each painting becomes a conversation waiting to happen, an opportunity to connect his experience in the studio with someone else’s experience standing before the finished work.
Equestrian Work: Energy Across the Spectrum
For Equine Instincts, Tom has been working on a series of equestrian pieces that explore a wide spectrum. “I’m trying to represent across spectrums of different emotions and energy that I want people to feel. Different colors, different sensations,” he explains. Color becomes a language for Tom, a way of communicating feeling before words ever enter the equation.
His choice of horses as subject matter comes from a deep respect for these animals. “I find horses to be extremely powerful, emotive creatures. I want that to come out in the painting,” Tom shares. Anyone who has spent time around horses understands what he means. “If you’ve been around horses, you know, their energy comes in all forms”, Tom elaborates. That variety, that individual personality each horse carries, is what Tom works to capture through his layered, textured process.
The Artist Behind the Work
When asked what flavor of ice cream he would be, Tom’s answer perfectly captures his artistic philosophy. “I would have to say I’m like the 32 flavors. When I reflect on myself, I’m a ball of chaos and creativity, so I find my life different. It’s full and wonderful.” He can’t be reduced to a single flavor, a single approach, a single anything. Tom has so many elements to his work and in his life, that pinning himself down to one thing feels impossible.
Art That Lives Where You Live
At Equine Instincts, we connect collectors with artists whose work carries genuine energy and transforms spaces. Tom Boatright’s paintings embody experimentation, spiritual connection, and the breathtaking beauty that emerges when chaos is allowed to organize itself into art. Each piece is unrepeatable, alive with texture and movement that shifts with the light. Explore more of his artwork online at equineinstincts.com or coming soon in person at our Pop-Up gallery outside of Indoor Arena 2 at the World Equestrian Center.
For life-long equestrian Susan McClafferty, photographing horses isn’t just a job. It’s the intersection of everything she loves and is most passionate about. During the week, Susan works as a consultant, bringing innovation, problem-solving, and technical expertise to a large healthcare system.
For life-long equestrian Susan McClafferty, photographing horses isn’t just a job. It’s the intersection of everything she loves and is most passionate about. During the week, Susan works as a consultant, bringing innovation, problem-solving, and technical expertise to a large healthcare system.
2026 is off to a full gallop at Equine Instincts. January has been an exciting and incredibly busy start to the Florida season.
