Tom Shultz

Tom Shultz, 74, passed away on Dec. 20, 2017, following surgery in Templeton, Calif. 

He was born on March 10, 1943, in Springfield, to Russ and Lorraine Shultz.

Tom’s artistic inclination began with drawing at three years old. He never stopped. He also loved sports and began playing golf with his brothers on the Springfield Golf Course golf which his father, Russ, designed along with Wally Erickson, the former publisher/owner of the Advance-Press. Tom honed his skills enough to play in two state high school championships. After a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, Tom graduated with a BA degree in fine art from Mankato State University in 1969.

Before long he migrated to the west coast of California. 

A house painter by trade, an artist for emotional wellbeing, Tom achieved some prominence in 1997 with a showing of 18 vintage car paintings at the prestigious Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, Calif. Over the years he exhibited in Santa Barbara, the California Central Coast and the Bay Area in California, and in Portland, Oregon.

Never married, fueled by wanderlust and seeking serenity, Tom often felt the need to “hit the road.” His van became his mobile studio, easel and domicile. From Baja to Mt. Shasta, he was in hot pursuit of the next great landscape, seascape or cloudscape. Painting mostly with acrylics, he was also proficient in pencil, pen and ink and water color mediums.

Showing his compassion, Tom recently began cooking frequent meals for his neighbors and the nearby homeless people.

He is survived by brothers, John, in Mt. Shasta, Calif., Russ, in Santa Barbara, Calif.; and sister, Holly, in Minneapolis. A memorial service will be held at a later date.