WEST HOLLYWOOD—Thom Bierdz stars as TV’s Phillip Chancellor, III on the CBS soap “The Young and the Restless.” The actor, who is the only openly gay actor in any soap, is also a world-renowned painter and artist, not to mention a best-selling and award-winning author. Thom’s life has had a lot of adversities, but what makes him stand out is his unparalleled ability to find the positive side of things, to forgive and move on and continue being a role model to his fans and to those of us who are his peers in the industry. Thom suffered the loss of his mother over a decade ago. She was murdered by his paranoid schizophrenic brother, who is the subject of Thom’s autobiography “Forgiving Troy.”

Thom tells Canyon News, “I have been going through a mid-life crisis this year, but I feel renewed and quite excited about life again.” Part of the handsome star’s excitement is his new art series called "Gay Celeb Paints Straight Celebs Gay." “I am the only openly gay actor on daytime, and although we do have openly gay actors on primetime television, we still do not have any openly gay movie stars. I didn’t want to out any movie stars, but I wanted to show people that gay relationships on that echelon would be sweet, not scary - so I painted 28 huge straight movie stars in different stages of gay relationships,” said Thom.

Thom’s mission is his advocacy for equality for all people around the world, not just gay Americans. “Everybody deserves love and to be supported with their loving partner, and most gay men I know feel so validated that New York passed a gay marriage law. I am hoping to give an exclusive pictorial of my 14 paintings on this same subject to one national magazine, probably a gay or art magazine,” said the handsome actor. If you have any suggestions, please contact Thom or send the magazine your suggestions.

This month, producer Scott Harden will interview Thom on these paintings and Canyon News will let you know where you can see these segments after they are edited. A portion of the sale will go to a charity. Thom is always busy painting when he’s not at CBS TV City at the William J. Bell Studios in Hollywood joining the cast of characters in Genoa City. “Today, I start working on a wedding portrait for a cool lady I met through Facebook. I find portraiture very rewarding. Last week, I finished Elmo the cat for a man in Texas, then before that Sampson the Great Dane. In a couple weeks, I have a very big commercial project I will be working on for the N.Y. area. I am grateful to be so supported,” said Bierdz. Thom’s fans include some of Hollywood’s biggest film stars. I personally vouch for Thom’s incredible work, as he did this portrait of me two years ago.

Thom’s website is at ThomBierdz.com and announcements for the American Art Awards will be forthcoming. You can learn more about that at AmericanArtAwards.com.

Images Courtesy: ThomBierdz.com