Tom Allen describes his work as painting, but his palette consists of a variety of domestic and exotic woods such as walnut, maple, cherry, bloodwood, bubinga, and pink ivory as well as semi-precious materials such as lapis, turquoise, silver, and abalone. He calls his medium Sculptural Marquetry, using the variety of natural colored woods to sculpt his images of Northwest life.

Unlike conventional bas-relief marquetry, sculptural marquetry uses pieces of wood 1/4” to 6” thick, each separately cut and shaped to form the three-dimensional image.

Tom has done pieces varying from several inches in size to a twenty-three foot long aerial landscape and a fifteen foot interactive Kapok Tree. Commissions are welcome, and can be designed to fit your specifications.