TJ Cunningham

Born in 1988, TJ Cunningham grew up in the quintessential, small New England town of Cambridge, Vermont, where he spent most of his time outdoors. The small farms, wooded hills and shallow streams of his boyhood haunts were fertile with inspiration. It was the perfect place to awaken a desire to create. TJ pursued this desire into adulthood by studying commercial art at Pensacola Christian College. It was there that he discovered oil paint. He often describes the experience as, “love at first sight.”
Since the beginning of TJ’s career in fine art, he has come to focus on the landscape and spends much of his time outdoors painting from life. His work continues to grow in notoriety. In 2014, Southwest Art highlighted Cunningham as one of America’s emerging artists in their annual “21 under 31” article. Recent awards include Finalist, 14th International Art Renewal Center Salon Competition, 2019, and Top 25 Finalist, 8th Annual Plein Air Salon, 2019. He has also received “Best overall Oil” in the Plein Air Salon Competition (2015 and 2020), First Place Landscape, Portrait Society of America (2016), Honorable Mention, 13th Annual Art Renewal Center Salon Competition (2016), 5th Place, International Portrait Competition (2014), and Exceptional Merit, The Portrait Society of America (2013).
Honors and Awards
2020 Best Overall Painting, Dec/January bimonthly Plein Air Salon Competition
2019 Finalist, 14th International Art Renewal Center Salon Competition, Port Reading, NJ
2019 Animal Award of Excellence, 28th National Juried Exhibition of Oil Painters of America, St. George, UT
2019 Top 25 Finalist, 8th Annual Plein Air Salon
2018 Best Building, August/September bimonthly Plein Air Salon Competition
2018 Outstanding Composition and Technique Award of Excellence, 27th National Juried Exhibition of Oil Painters of America, Steamboat Springs, CO
2018 Honorable Mention, 13th International Art Renewal Center Salon Competition, Port Reading, NJ
2016 First Place Landscape, 2016 Member’s Only Competition, Portrait Society of America
2016 Honorable Mention, 2016 International Portrait Competition, Portrait Society of America
2015 Best Overall Oil, October/November bimonthly Plein Air Salon Competition
2015 The Bold Brush Award, October 2015 Bold Brush Painting Competition
2014 Fifth Place, 2014 International Portrait Competition, Portrait Society of America
2014 Travis H. Toland Memorial Award, The 23rd Annual Juried Art Show, Breckenridge Fine Arts Center, Breckenridge, TX
2013 Exceptional Merit, 2013 International Portrait Competition, Portrait Society of America
Solo Shows
2017 The River, Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury, VT
2013 Adirondack Lake, Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury, VT.
Selected Exhibitions
2019 28th National Juried Exhibition of Oil Painters of America, St. George, UT
2019 Summer in New England, Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT
2018 Nurture, Old Main Gallery, Bozeman, MT
2018 Rising Stars, Argosy Gallery, Bar Harbor, ME
2018 Summer Salon, Collins Galleries, Orleans, MA
2018 This Land is…, ARCADIA CONTEMPORARY, Pasadena, CA
2018 Exploring Air, Edgewater Gallery, Stowe, VT
2018 27th OPA National Juried Exhibition, Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO
2017 Five and Under, ARCADIA CONTEMPORARY, Pasadena, CA
2016 Mountain Oyster Club Art Show, Mountain Oyster Club, Tucson, AZ
2015 Joseph McGurl, Karen Blackwood, T.J. Cunningham, Marc Dalessio & Friends, Haynes Galleries, Thomaston, ME
2014 Mountain Oyster Club Art Show, Mountain Oyster Club, Tucson, AZ
2014 Celebrating the Portrait as Timeless Art, Haynes Galleries, Nashville, TN
2011 Annual Members Show, Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, VT
2010 Impressions of New England, The Bennington Art Center, Bennington, VT
Publications
“What to Know About Painting Snow” PleinAir Magazine, February/March 2019
“Art of the Portrait: Master Showcase” International Artist, August / September 2014
"21 Under 31: Young Artists to Watch in 2014" Southwest Art Magazine, August 2014
“Art of the Portrait: Master Showcase” International Artist, December/January 2014
” The Artist as a Young Man Art Review: T.J. Cunningham at The Art House” Seven Days, August 2010
“Moments of inspiration spark young career” Addison Independent, August 9, 2010