Folwell achieves his hyperreal rendering of life through the use of pencil under-drawings, multiple layers of colour and a photographic depth of field. Texture, light, and shadow are thoughtfully rendered with utmost clarity, binding his subject together with its environment through a sensitive understanding of detail amongst ‘the whole’.
Folwell was the youngest student to be accepted into Elam at the age of fifteen. Having established a successful practice in New Zealand, Australia, and France, his paintings are held in private collections globally. Folwell returned to live in New Zealand in 2000 and now lives and paints in Coromandel Town.
Parnell Gallery has represented Tom Folwell since 2012.