Thomas Blackshear

Thomas Richman Blackshear II (born November 14, 1955) is an African-American artist whose paintings adorn many Evangelical churches. He is also a sculptor and a designer of stamps and ornaments, often with African American, Indigenous American, and/or Western themes.

Early life Blackshear was born in Waco, Texas. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and then American Academy of Art in Chicago.

After his 1977 graduation from the American Academy of Art, Blackshear worked for Hallmark Cards for one year.

Career Blackshear designs have been a featured in the Smithsonian, museum collections, postage stamps and music albums.

Blackshear's illustrations for numerous postage stamps have issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS). Single: Joe Louis – 29¢ – issued June 22, 1993

Eubie Blake Jelly Roll Morton James P. Johnson Erroll Garner Thelonious Monk Coleman Hawkins Charlie Parker John Coltrane Louis Armstrong Charles Mingus

The Wizard of Oz Gone with the Wind Stagecoach Beau Geste

Bela Lugosi as Dracula Lon Chaney as The Phantom of the Opera Lon Chaney, Jr., as The Wolf Man Boris Karloff as The Mummy Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster Stars of stage and screen James Cagney – single – 33¢ – issued July 22, 1999 (designed by Howard Paine, illustrated by Blackshear) Literary Arts: James Baldwin – single – 37¢ – issued June 24, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize / humanitarian Mother Teresa – issued September 5, 2010

A touring exhibit of his Black Heritage works premiered in 1992 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Blackshear also illustrated the USPS book I Have A Dream: A Collection of Black Americans on U.S. Postage Stamps (1991).

Blackshear's oil painting Forgiven (1991) is in the collection of the Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas. His oil painting Now What? (2008) is in the collection of the Booth Western Art Museum. Blackshear's paintings are often featured at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Personal life Blackshear and his wife, Ami Beth Smith, met through the American Academy of Art College, Chicago. The couple have one son and reside in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Blackshear has been a Christian since he was a young man. He credits his marriage and artistic success to God, "So many things that have come my way during my career are blessings from God." Distinguished Alumnus Award from the American Academy of Art in Chicago in 2013. Artist Choice Award at the Gene Autry Masters of the West Show in 2018. James R. Parks Trustees Purchase Award for the painting “Wild West Show!” in 2019. Express Ranches Great American Cowboy Award for the painting “Two Americans of the Old West” at the Prix de West in 2022. Prix de West Purchase Award for the painting “A Much Needed Break” in 2024. Artist Excellence Award sponsored by Art of the West magazine in 2024.