Tom Wheeler

I studied Art and Illustration in college, at Brigham Young University where I received my BFA degree in 1997. Some of the notable artists I studied under included Bruce Hixon Smith, James C. Christensen, Brett Helquist, Doug Frier, Richard Hull and Robert Barrett.

While studying there, I sorta' panicked and decided I needed to get into computers and learn some skills to help me get a steady job. So I plunged into anything that had to do with computer graphics, including both 3D animation and web design.

This choice of a technical career path was a good one for me, although it's always a challenge to find balance in my life. I spent 3 years with Zygote Media Group where I worked building 3D computer models for games, movies, and software applications. Some of my own animation work was used for the movie "Soldier" (with Kurt Russell). I also designed and built their first couple of websites.

Since January of 2000 I've been teaching at the Art Institute of Portland, in the Interactive Media Design program. I love teaching and I've taught a variety of subjects... everything from drawing to website development. Some of that time was in a full-time role, but for the past few years I've been teaching part-time.

In 2008 I started Wheelercreek Studio, Inc. In addition to my own programming and art clients, I have relationships with Gravitate Design Studio and Cosmonaut Creative Media. I've found I really enjoy both programming and fine arts, and I feel I've been blessed to be able to pursue both areas.

Art Exhibitions & Recognition

"5 Year Retrospective" - Group show at Second Story Gallery in Camas WA, 2008
"Reflecting on Water" - Individual art show at Second Story Gallery in Camas WA, 2007
Columbia River Gallery, Troutdale OR, 2006
Art Institute of Portland Faculty Art Show 2006 (Juried)
Art Institute of Portland Faculty Art Show 2004
Exhibited at the Light Design Center, Portland OR 2003
Exhibited at "Winter 2003 Best of AIPD" - Art Institute of Portland gallery exhibit 2003
Exhibited at the Allen Trust Company art exhibit 2002
Exhibited at the World Forestry Center's AIPD Faculty art show 2001
"Best of Show" award at Confederation of Visual Artists (COVA) exhibit 2000
"People's Choice" award at North Clackamas Arts Guild 1999 Exhibit
Provo Freedom Festival Art Exhibit, Provo UT 1997

Illustrations published in the following publications:

Computer Graphics World Magazine
3D Artist Magazine
KTX World Magazine
Strata User Magazine
BYU Magazine

Other Activities:

Contributed a chapter for the Poser 3 Handbook, Charles River Media 1999
Guest Lecturer - George Fox University, 2005
Member, Professional Advisory Board - Clark College, 2005

Education

BFA Illustration, Brigham Young University 1997
MA Ed. Curriculum and Instruction, Argosy University Seattle 2005

The most important things in my life are my relationship with God, with my wife, our 4 wonderful sons and 1 beautiful daughter. They add more joy to my life than I ever thought possible.

Tom Wheeler is a local Oregon & Washington PHP Drupal programmer and designer with over 15 years web programming experience. He specializes in custom Drupal Module development, Drupal theming with CSS, and Drupal programming. Tom is a Portland Drupal Developer, and has taught college courses in PHP, MySQL and Drupal development at The Art Institute of Portland. He is also well-versed in Wordpress and other PHP and MySQL applications. If you need any object oriented PHP programming, contact Tom today!