Thomas Windsor
From Heart to Brush
Episode 78
Episode length: 1 hour and 3 minutes
Doom scrolling on YouTube may usually be a waste of time but occasionally you stumble across a real, hidden gem. That happened to me a few weeks ago. I like watching YouTube videos about art and art history (and, truthfully, many other subjects). You know the way YouTube works - it takes your watch history and tries to predict other videos you might want to watch. YouTube wants you to keep watching videos - forever would be ideal for them. This was the case with my guest in this episode of The Artful Painter.
YouTube suggested to me a video on a channel called Painting Therapy, by artist and cinematographer Thomas Windsor. That expression - painting therapy - hooked me. I clicked, and I watched, and I watched, and I watched. YouTube’s algorithm was happy, and I was enthralled by what I saw and heard as Thomas painted on camera. The binge has started and I kept watching and listening to Thomas. At one point, I left one of his videos playing as I worked on a large painting. I could not see what he was doing so I just listened to him talking in the background. I usually find it highly distracting to paint with words sounding off in the background. The words through me off so it’s something I rarely ever do. I can’t listen to podcasts while I paint, nor can I listen to songs with vocals. It’s weird I know - but that’s just me. But Thomas was an exception to the rule.
After this experience, I knew I had to have Thomas Windsor on the podcast. I reached out to him and he graciously accepted. So, I’m happy to share with you our conversation in this edition of The Artful Painter. Wow! I learned a lot about Thomas in this conversation. Turns out, his day job is running a film production company. He is a cinematographer and produces commercial videos. Painting is a side-calling, but a very important one to Thomas.
To whet your appetite, here are a few things we talk about:
Thomas Windsor’s background in filmmaking and commercial production
Growing up in a strict household with limited media exposure
Committing to “a painting a week”
Why Thomas intentionally avoided formal art training
Painting as self-education and self-discovery
The connection between filmmaking and painting
Why painting feels more personal and vulnerable than filmmaking
The difference between technical perfection and emotional authenticity
The influence of Vincent van Gogh on Thomas’s thinking about art and emotion
Creativity as a direct emotional expression rather than a technical exercise
The dangers of overthinking and perfectionism
“Painting Therapy” and art as emotional regulation
Depression, sensitivity, and the search for meaning
Observing everyday beauty and “being an artist” in daily life
The importance of presence, attention, and wonder
That’s a lot to process in about an hour, but, shazaam! What an hour it was for me to converse with Thomas. I hope you enjoy this episode.
Thomas Windsor - Cinematographer and Fine Art Painter
Click on the images above for a larger view.
Links
Thomas Windsor
Website: https://thomaswindsorstudio.com/
Film Production Website: https://epiclightmedia.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thomaswindsorstudio/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thomaswindsorstudio/
Painting Therapy channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thomas_Windsor
Epic Light Media channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/EpicLightMedia
Other Links
Vincent Laforet Website: https://www.vincentlaforet.com/
Vincent Laforet on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaGfb_6taciyILmlJFxecvA
Philip Bloom Website: https://philipbloom.net/
Philip Bloom on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/philipbloom
Rodney Charters: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153552/
Available on:
Apple Podcasts
Amazon Music
Spotify
YouTube
Transcript
A Note About This Transcript
This transcript has been edited for clarity. I’ve endeavored to capture the thoughts and expressions of my guest as accurately and truthfully as possible. In some cases this means completing incomplete thoughts, removing stammers and word fillers such as um, like, you know, and so forth. I’ve edited the transcript to make it easier to read. Please pardon the inevitable errors that I may have made or overlooked.
Transcript coming soon…
