Gary M. Thomas, whose resilience and passion for art led to a fundamental change in the
clemency process in Washington State.
In 1998, Gary was struck out and sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole for an unarmed robbery committed to support his untreated addiction. The message conveyed by a life-sentence is unmistakable, and yet, Gary is one of thousands of "lifers" throughout the country who have refused to accept that they are disposable.
"You can't strike out a human being," says Gary. "We are phenomenal." This was the fundamental truth that drove Gary, at 67 years of age, to fight for his freedom.
Gary is an artist.
“My art is driven by a spirit of positive energy that relies on the power of abstract relationships which work together to meet the whole. The underlying message is that we are ALL phenomenal human beings with the potential for greatness and perhaps my work might just lead people to a creative enlightenment.”
Born in 1947, Gary spent his childhood on the run. It wasn't until his teenage years, after his family's arrest for their forgery ring, that Gary had the opportunity to settle in somewhere. Observing something unique about Gary, the sentencing judge placed him in a private boarding school in Michigan. Outfitted with a suit and a few personal belongings, Gary did his best to assimilate to this new world of privilege as the only court case on campus. Despite his hard-earned acceptance among peers, he grew restless.
In 1965, at only 17 years of age, Gary packed a suitcase of oil paint and left for the streets of Toledo, Ohio with only $8 in his pocket. He caught sight of an empty wall in a beauty salon and within the day, he secured his first job painting a mural. Word spread and before long Gary was painting backdrops for the local burlesque shows and painting portraits at the tavern. For the first time in his life Gary was also experimenting with drugs.
In the decades that followed, Gary's escalating addiction would be the only rival to his passion for art. Even a life sentence could not diminish his inspiration. Reading and rereading everything he could get his hands on, mastering his technique, Gary invented and reinvented his style as the years passed.
Gary's talent drew the attention of the Department of Corrections and he was offered the opportunity to paint murals for the prisons. Eager for any chance to work with oil paint, Gary accepted. After nearly 20 years of incarceration, Gary's art can now be seen in all of Washington State's prisons.
In 2014, Gary's focus and determination shifted. Now in his late 60s, Gary laid on his bed listening to the noise of the prison pulsing around him. "There is something in me worth saving," he thought. And with that, Gary decided to fight. He saved up $500 to buy the best typewriter available and began to write letters.
Aware of the odds, Gary knew he would need legal help to win his freedom. He wrote letters to every politician and criminal justice authority he could think of. And then he wrote to them. Again. And again.
In 2015, Gary's persistence paid off. King County Prosecutor Dan Satterburg handed criminal defense attorney Jon Zulauf a stack of letters following a justice system reform meeting. "You should take a look at these," he said to Jon.
Jon read through Gary's letters. With a long and successful career behind him, Jon might have been considering retirement, but Gary's letter sparked a different sort of inspiration. Jon had never worked on a clemency petition. In fact, other than a few independent practitioners, there were no services in Washington State to assist deserving individuals through the long and challenging clemency process. Although he had no idea if he could help, Jon wrote to Gary with an offer to come to the prison to talk.
Gary is not hard to believe in. His eyes shine as he looks back and forth between me and the paintings that line the walls of his room, gauging my reception of his Interfusion work. He fingers through the pages of his books, showing me the progression of his inspiration. Vincent Van Gogh. Jackson Pollock. Richard Pousette -Dart. Their influences are vibrant and alive on the canvases that surround me.
Since their fateful meeting in 2015, much has changed for Gary and Jon.
Gary's letters demanded that his readers consider, not only his humanity and capacity for redemption, but also the justification for a man-made system routinely used to discard the vulnerable. Recognizing the unmet need for legal advocates in the clemency process, Jon Zulauf and his longtime friend and co-worker, Jennifer Smith, formed the Seattle Clemency Project (SCP).
On December 21, 2017, Gary turned 70 years old and walked out of prison a free man.
His story is far from over. After two decades in prison, Gary finally received substance abuse treatment, and is now living independently in his own apartment. His living room is his studio, and his life is synonymous with art.
https://fusionartarchives.com/open-quarterly-art-exhibition-2017/