How Marin’s Landscapes Inspire Tom Killion’s Art

Tom Killion’s excursions in the outdoors often include time spent on landscape drawings, but, rather than a purely artistic endeavor, drawing for Killion is a process of observing, understanding and connecting to the natural world.

“When I do drawings, I’m not thinking, ‘I’m going to turn this into a print.’ I’m thinking ‘I love this place, it’s so great, I just wanna sit here and draw it,’ and I’ll spend all day,” he says. Killion attributes his fondness for local landscapes or “topophilia,” the love of place, to his childhood exploration in Marin’s natural settings. “I definitely got my sense of topophilia from growing up in Mill Valley. There were redwoods in the canyon and the mountain rising up above with all its different ecological zones, and you could walk right over it to the beach,” he says. “You didn’t need to be transported by anyone else to get into all these wonderful places.”

Drawing also became a big part of his outdoor experience when he was growing up. In particular, Killion recalls returning home with a bundle of drawings and paintings after one inspiring Boy Scout backpacking trip to the Sierras in junior high. “Those things from your early life are really important. When you get into your 60s you start to look back and you can kinda see the gems, the little starting points from which things grow.”

Today, back at his Point Reyes studio, a selection of Killion’s prolific drawings from outdoor excursions old and new provide the foundation for his printmaking. In turn, his prints reveal the splendor of the lines, scale and ecological diversity that define local Marin outdoor areas, from Mount Tamalpais to coastal cliffs. He starts his process by making woodblock carvings using Japanese-based techniques and then pulls handmade paper over them in a German printing press full of oil-based inks; it’s all informed by a strong respect for handcraft traditions, which were the go-to before the digital era. The artist’s unusual combination of methods has helped him to develop a singular California vernacular and recognizable aesthetic.

“The Japanese influence is very Californian, too,” says Killion. In the early 20th century, with trade and immigration connecting Japan and California, folks in Mill Valley had a strong aesthetic interest in and exposure to the style. “All around southern Marin you saw a lot of Craftsman-style houses, which were very influenced by Japanese building techniques, and people had Japanese-style gardens,” he says. It was during his childhood that Killion became interested in traditional Japanese prints. In particular the work of printmaker Hokusai, including “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji,” which inspired him to direct his attention to Marin’s own remarkable mountain, Mount Tamalpais. In his 20s Killion completed his first hand-printed book, 28 Views of Mount Tamalpais. 

Killion is well aware of the cultural and historical backgrounds that influence his work, having a Ph.D. in African history from Stanford and a past academic career that included teaching California history. Another pivotal part of his childhood in the 1960s was the rapid commercial development of open spaces in Marin and the resulting efforts to protect these areas. These conservation efforts invigorated the printmaker’s own appreciation for the natural world, driving him toward art “to preserve these places that are being gobbled up by massive housing developments.” He says these same forces of development are still in play and important to consider even today.

Today Killion is turning his attention to treescapes with his most current project “Trees and Trails of California.” In this ongoing work, he sees his own technique as evolving but with a sustained focus on the landscapes of Marin and Northern California. At the heart of it all, the art inspires in the viewer exactly what motivates Killion himself: the love of place. “I guess when you love something you want to share it,” he says.  

Where to Find Tom

• More than a dozen artists, including Killion, will be on display at the Mill Valley Community Center on April 24 as part of Art Exhibit at Earth 2050.
• See Tom KIllion’s High Sierra exhibit at the Save Mono Lake Committee store/gallery in Lee Vining, Calif, through July.
• All of Killion’s available Marin and Northern California images can be seen at Toby’s Feed Barn Gallery in Point Reyes Station during the month of July.
• Book Passage’s gallery in Corte Madera and Leona’s Gallery in Point Reyes Station have ongoing Killion exhibits.