Tom Kerr was born in Holywood, County Down and educated in Sullivan Upper School. He started work in a Belfast firm of Architects and qualified as an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1949. Tom began painting in watercolours in the 1960’s. He has held several highly successful One Man Exhibitions in the Eakin Gallery, Belfast during the past 20 years, and continues a close working relationship with the Gallery. In 1978 he formed the Kerr Art Group which attracted a wide variety of talented members for over 30 years. During this time the Group held well supported Annual Exhibitions in Holywood and as a result of these donated over £80,000 to various charities. Tom has written five books of poems, each illustrated with his own paintings. Two poems from the Quiet Shore were recently chosen for inclusion in a Re-Imaging Communities Programme, an initiative created by the Shared Communities Consortium. The words of The Sky were reproduced in stainless steel letters and mounted on an 80 metre long wall in West Belfast. In the 2009 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Tom was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the Arts in Northern Ireland. Tom now works mostly in acrylics, painting from a wide range of subjects.