Tom Coomber

Tom is an exception artist. This should be the very first thing we say. For many reasons, we needn't really say any more. His artwork alone will knock your socks off. But, as is so often the case, there is so much more to Tom's story, if you have the time to listen.


Tom is autistic, dyspraxic, dyslexic, has a speech disorder and sensory processing issues. Just a few labels then! But, I'm sure you get the gist; things have not always be plain sailing. However, despite each of these challenges, Tom's love of art has still won out. He has an eye for the unusual and enjoys sharing how he sees the world with others, through his paintings. Tom recognises that he sees the worldly slightly differently to others.

My paintings are a way of showing beautiful or quirky things, or both, that I see as I move around our shared world.
     disabled artist tom coomber plein air painting on a wind-swept beach. he is wearing a purple t-shirt, looking down as he mixes colours     

 

Tom has a bold and vivid style. He works with acrylics to capture the feel of the wind and the warmth of the sun as it falls across delicate crops and open fields. This year one of Tom's paintings was shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. This was an enormous boost to Tom's confidence.

Painting makes me really happy, and the whole business of being an artist, helping at exhibitions, being an expert and able to talk to other artists as an equal gives me a lot of confidence and makes me realise how much I do know.
Many of Tom's friends are also autistic. They don't talk about autism as a disability, possibly because of the negative stereotypes surrounding the term, but they provide vital support and understanding to each other when they are faced with challenging situations, like looking for jobs or making plans for the future.
The world is not always very kind to us and some [of my friends] are struggling with mental health.

We just want Tom to know that we are really rooting for him. Being shortlisted for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition may just be the beginning, we're certain great things are yet to come for this inspirational artist. Watch this space!

Art Rabble Christmas Cards

We all want to do our bit to help others at Christmas and buying charity Christmas cards is a great way to do this. However, not all "charity" cards are as generous as others. Many popular supermarket cards contribute only a fraction of their proceeds to charity. At Art Rabble, we try to give as much as we possibly can back to our artists; currently this is 50p out of every £3. We do this because we want disabled artists to be paid generously for their skills and effort.

We would like to pay our artists a larger amount but while major retailers benefit from economies of scale, for us small print runs are costly and delivery (as a percentage of sale value) is high. However, with the continued support of our lovely customers, we hope we can increase volume over time, therefore lowering our costs.

Thank you for taking the time to look at our Christmas cards - we hope you love them. We are so proud of the work our artists do, if you can help us spread the word, all the better! Happy Christmas to all.

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