Passion becomes purpose for speed painter
Artist Tom Varano puts the finishes touches on his portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. at his recent performance at Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus. He used the portrait as a basis to encourage students to go 鈥渁ll-in鈥� with their dream - whatever it is.
The first painting he ever attempted was Albert Einstein and on Jan. 29, artist Tom Varano again chose Einstein as a subject for his show at Penn State Fayette as a way to urge students to never give up on their dreams. Einstein, Varano explained, once failed math as a child, yet went on to become one of the most famous physicists in the world.
Amy Fauth
As audio clips of 9/11 played, speed painter created a patriotic depiction of the Statue of Liberty during his show on Jan. 29 at Penn State Fayette.
Speed painter and motivational speaker Tom Varano stands among his masterpieces.
Days after Kobe Bryant died in a tragic helicopter crash, artist Tom Varano incorporated the former NBA player鈥檚 story into his speed painting show.聽
Amy Fauth
Speed artist Tom Varano signs all his creations in a unique way 鈥� with鈥檚 his handprint in paint. Here, Varano signing his Lady Liberty piece on Jan. 29 at Penn State-Fayette.
Artist Tom Varano鈥檚 performance, 鈥淓motion Into Art鈥� offers the audience excitement, suspense, motivation and surprise, along with a powerful message of art, inspiration and creativity.聽
Performance painting isn鈥檛 just about the finished piece, but the journey the audience and artist share along the way.
On Jan. 29, students and employees at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, and the community got the opportunity to take such a journey with Tom Varano, a nationally-recognized speed painter and motivational speaker, who brought his unique show, 鈥淓motion Into Art鈥� to the campus for a second time. Recently, the artist performed in front of 18,000 people at Penn State University鈥檚 famed THON, the largest student-run philanthropic endeavor in the world, which was what prompted the campus to invite him back.
Varano was humbled to be asked back to the university.
鈥淭o be invited back here is beyond an honor,鈥� Varano said at the beginning of the show. 鈥淭his is where my career started. My first show was right here seven years ago.鈥�
During his shows, Varano, who has performed all over the world, including Las Vegas, Walt Disney World, and even on Carnival Cruises, creates three to four masterpieces in minutes, choreographed to powerful music and sound bytes from history. He chooses subjects from history that are inspirations not only to Varano, but to the audience. At his most recent show on the campus, Varano painted Martin Luther King Jr., the Statue of Liberty, Malala Yousafzai, Albert Einstein鈥nd Kobe Bryant, who just days before the performance tragically died with his daughter and seven others in a helicopter crash.
As he paints, Varano endeavors to inspire, entertain and excite audiences with his subjects, words, actions and passion.
In between paintings, Varano also shares his story of passion. His first passion, Varano explained, was photography, which he discovered after receiving a camera as a gift. He, like King, decided to go 鈥渁ll-in鈥� on his dream of being a photographer and started a photography studio in his father鈥檚 house. He was broke, but happy because he was following his passion.
He encouraged everyone attending the performance to follow their passion.
鈥淥ur heartbeats are numbered. Are you dabbling?鈥� Varano asked. 鈥淥r are you all-in on your dream?鈥�
He comforts those who say they haven鈥檛 yet found their passion, but congratulated students for being in the best place to discover it.
鈥淵ou are learning a valuable skill,鈥� added Varano. 鈥淵ou are learning discipline鈥iscipline to do something.鈥�
He said some may have more than one passion, and that after seeing a video about speed painting, he wanted to not only try it, but master the skill. It wasn鈥檛 easy. His first attempt, which he shared with his wife and two daughters, 鈥渄idn鈥檛 work out.鈥�
But, Varano didn鈥檛 quit. He spent four months working and working on his craft until he could bring his family back down and show them he could do it. He said he wanted to be able to teach his daughters that it鈥檚 perfectly alright to fail.
That first painting he did for his family was his last painting of the performance 鈥� Albert Einstein.
鈥淗e failed math as a kid, but he kept pursuing it. He stayed the course.鈥�
After his performances, Varano鈥檚 paintings are available to purchase, but the host venue 鈥� in this case Penn State-Fayette 鈥� gets to select a painting to display at the school.