Very early in his career, Thomas Haller Buchanan trained as a combat artist in the U.S. Army and as an assistant illustrator in a busy full service commercial art studio, learning (as he likes to say) “to be fast, flexible and reliable, with lessons I’ve retained this day.”
He co-founded Haller-Buchanan Studio to design and create exhibits, murals and educational projects for children and adults — for museums, visitor centers, corporations and trade shows — all the while producing illustration art for advertising, editorial, institutional and multi-media clients.
As Staff Artist for the Denver International Film Festival he produced scores of portrait illustrations of world-renowned filmmaker guests — for use in advertising, public display, large backgrounds for special events, and as executive gifts for filmmakers and other VIPs.
He is a long-term art provider for Denver Museum of Nature and Science exhibits— from Chinese, Egyptian and Native American cultures as subjects, to dinosaurs and space technology. He was an attaché to the museum’s Exhibit Development Committee, traveling to Mexico City, in cooperation with the Mexican government, to research, take photographs and create drawings for the development of educational objectives for his murals for the exhibit Aztec—World of Moctezuma.”
Thom is commissioned internationally for portraits and paintings, many times for site-specific installation in hotels, restaurants and theme parks.
As well as illustrating several children’s books, he also has authored two books showcasing his artwork and has been the subject of a PBS documentary film.
Thom is also an outreach speaker, sharing his knowledge of art process and history with illustrated presentations.
He will go anywhere in the world to work on-site for projects or as a guest speaker. Or he will create the work in his studio, traditionally or digitally, and quickly send out electronic files anywhere in the world.
Thom has illustrated a vast array of subjects and concepts, but he especially enjoys rendering images of people, celebrating their beauty and character.