One Million Project Magazine

A&Q
Thomas Cardin
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Thomas Cardin and I’ve been a professional
artist for most of my life. I’ve always
been a creative, losing myself in other worlds,
what ifs, and whimsical explorations. For the last
several years I’ve also turned to words to create,
growing myself into an author as well as artist.
Why did you join One Million Project
and what inspired you to do
so?
I heard about the One Million Project through
Jason Greenfield on WriteOn. We connected
there by reading each other’s work.
Why do you do what you do?
I think visually, so images are constantly appearing
in my head like there’s a projection screen
behind my eyes. It’s always been natural to use
my hands to draw and shape the things my imagination
sees.
How do you work?
I visualize, I sketch, I refine. If I look for the energy
and dynamics of a piece first and I succeed in
translating that through whatever medium I am
using, I’m invariably more satisfied.
What’s your background?
Growing up with a mother who is a master
at painting in oils and water colors. Having
a father who was a professional photographer.
Having an uncle who wore a fifty year
pin as a Disney animator. They didn’t give
me my skills, but they taught me I could do
anything if I worked for it. ‘Can’t’ is a very
bad four-letter-word for an artist.
What’s your strongest memory of
your childhood?
My father reading to me before bed. He
didn’t read Dr. Seuss, he read Edgar Rice
Burroughs. I went to sleep with Tarzan
swinging through the trees in my mind and
John Carter cutting a swath across the surface
of Barsoom to rescue the incomparable
Dejah Thoris.
What’s your most embarrassing
moment? Most?!
Something tells me it’s still ahead of me.
One day I’ll turn a corner in front of a parade
and my pants will fall down around
my ankles. I live in constant fear of that.
Copyright © 2016 by OMP Magazine Publishing