Local artist paints spiderwebs, leaves, grains of rice
It started with leaves. After 40 years of building stone walls and fireplaces, Tom Abruzese of Londonderry turned to more delicate endeavors, picking up a paintbrush for the first time in his life and experimenting on traditional canvas. He was good at it, but he got bored quickly. So he started painting on leaves instead.
“I just had a knack where I could paint anything on a leaf, [and] it took off,” he said.
There is, presumably, a leaf with a painting of the White House somewhere in D.C., or possibly in the possession of former President Barack Obama.
“[I figured] no one’s ever going to buy the White House on a leaf, so I mailed it to the president,” he said. “About seven weeks later, I got a letter from the president, thanking me for the unique gift.”
The leaf painting of the Old Man on the Mountain that he sent to Gov. John Lynch when he was in office might still be in the Statehouse, Abruzese said, and he sent one to Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s office in Manchester too.
Abruzese makes prints of the leaves as soon as he’s done painting them, because eventually the colors of the leaf fade. He sells the prints at local craft fairs, and he said he gets a lot of commissioned work as well.
“The leaves are the big sensation,” he said.
Despite their popularity, after a while Abruzese wanted a new challenge.
“You can only paint so many leaves before you get bored or crazy, and I was borderline crazy,” he said.
Seeing a woman on TV painting feathers who said it was nearly impossible, Abruzese had found his next canvas. He uses turkey feathers and typically paints birds and other wildlife on them.
“Most of my [subjects are] from nature, because I use materials from nature,” he said.
Abruzese then turned to small rocks, painting them for use as jewelry.
“Everything I do, people seem to like,” he said. “I’m always looking for something else to create from.”
The latest something else? Spiderwebs, naturally. Abruzese lives in an old house with a carriage house attached, so they’re plentiful, and he thought it might be a bigger challenge than feathers or leaves. He was right ― but he’s figured out how to make it work.
It starts with a bottle cap that he pushes through the web, which clings to the sides of the cap so the web is suspended and not touching the front or back of the cap. Once it’s secure, it’s ready for acrylic paints.
“Because the web is sticky … I wet the brush just a little bit so the paint actually slides across the web; otherwise the paint would tear the webbing,” he said. “Once you get the first coat on, then it becomes a little easier.”
Abruzese puts his spiderweb paintings inside clear plastic containers so the whole thing is sealed.
“It’s so easy to forget that it’s a spiderweb,” he said. “One misplacement of your finger and the spiderweb is gone.”
Plus, he said, the sticky nature of the webs mean they collect dust if they’re not covered.
Abruzese said he paints whatever comes to mind, usually things in nature. But he couldn’t resist one obvious choice.
“Spider-Man ― how corny is that? You gotta put Spider-Man on a spiderweb!” he laughed.
As part of his repertoire, Abruzese also paints caterpillar webs, which are bigger and thicker, plus moose or deer antlers, birch bark, mushrooms, butternuts and grains of rice.
“My wife asks, ‘Why do you paint things people can’t see?’” he said. “To me it’s the challenge. [And] you can see it with a magnifying glass.”
The smallest he’s gotten is a sesame seed. The trick with these tiniest canvases is to use the very tip of the paintbrush and keep the brush in motion so only a finite amount touches the surface. Having a steady hand is key too.
“I don’t drink anything that has caffeine [when I paint],” Abruzese said. “The blood going through your finger makes it like a jackhammer.”
He hasn’t attended any craft fairs recently ― mainly because there haven’t been many to attend ― but Abruzese will be at the Londonderry High School Craft & Vendor Fair on Saturday, Nov. 20. He said none of his items have price tags because he wants his prices to be flexible for kids who are looking to buy gifts.
“The kids don’t have much money, [and] I do it for the pleasure and challenge,” he said. “I’m not there to make money.”
Still, he sold just about everything on his two tables at this fair two years ago.
“Someone looking for a Christmas gift, they can pick up something that is unique,” he said.
For those who can’t make it to the fair, Abruzese accepts requests for personalized art.
“I’ll have people bring in deer antler or moose antler [and ask me to] do something specific on it,” he said. “Once it’s done it’s one of a kind.”
Find Tom Abruzese’s art
Abruzese will be at the Londonderry High School Craft & Vendor Fair on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. You can also email him at [email protected] to see more of his collection or to commission a piece.
Featured photo: An array of Tom Abruzese’s work. Courtesy photos.
