Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

I'm excited to announce I've been invited to exhibit at the Willcox tasting room of award winning Aridus Wine Co.! I will have a number of  paintings on display as well as some recent charcoal drawings. Miniatures, small works and greeting cards will also be available just in time for the holidays! The opening reception is December 3rd from 1-3pm and the show will be on display through the month of December. Also taking place in December is the first annual "A Painting's a Painting No Matter How Small" show put on by TwoTen Fine Art Gallery in San Antonio, Texas, which I was pleased to learn my small painting " Escalante Pasture" was accepted into. Click Here for show details.

"Escalante Pasture" 8x8 in. oil on canvas panel I was super excited to get notified not just once but twice in the same day that my little painting of Escalante had first been accepted into the small works show at TwoTen Fine Art Gallery in San Antonio, TX, and then got notified that it won a Judge's pick in DPW's monthly contest - a big thank you to judge Diane Hoeptner!   Escalante, Utah, is one of my all time favorite places and loved painting this scene... So happy!!!

"Evening Crescendo" 10x20 oil on canvas During the months of July and August here in Arizona, the summer skies were doing their evening magic with sunset after sunset, each one seemingly trying to out-do the next in color explosion and jaw dropping beauty. Has to be one of the biggest highlights of where I live and undoubtedly lends to extreme inspiration for painting. Speaking of which, I dove into a series of skyscapes inspired by these sunsets and found myself immersed in the discovery of color harmonies and abstract expression, which sky and clouds can make it easy to explore both those elements of painting. Very fun to do and I plan to continue more of these studies with a graduation into some larger works. Here are some of those studies which I also have available for sale through Daily Paintworks. Click on the provided links for further info and purchasing - enjoy!   "Cloud Drama" 9x12 in. oil on linen CLICK HERE for more info. ...

Triangle T Guest Ranch 7th Annual Garlic Festival On July 30th & 31st, I was invited to participate in a garlic festival held near Dragoon, AZ., in Texas Canyon at the beautiful Triangle T Guest Ranch. I not only had a booth with art to sell (first time adventure), but also did live demonstration painting both days! What a great experience!! Smells of garlic wafted through the air, garlic everything was available and when I say everything... how about garlic ice cream?? Of which was sold out both days and I never got to try :(   Both days ended with a show of dancing horses - an impressive scene to behold. Some horses looked to be natural dancers, others looked more like controlled tantrums lol! In preparation for the festival I painted a series of small garlic still life paintings, which was a fun discipline and found myself learning a great deal in the process. Who knew the variations one could achieve painting garlic! However,  4 days of modeling garlic in ...

The year of 2016 has been nothing but amazing thus far, beginning with winning a Best in Show, a Best in Landscape, a People's Choice and a Judge's Choice award! There were many adventures and events attended as well, including the Plein Air Convention and Expo held in Tucson, Arizona in April, the Bisbee Plein Air Festival in May, also in May I held my first ever plein air workshop with 10 students, and most recently I was super excited to participate in the Maynard Dixon Camp Out as a guest artist in Mount Carmel, Utah! What an amazing experience getting to see the grounds and studio of Maynard Dixon, not to mention meeting great artists! The landscape is of course gorgeous there in southern Utah and I got a lot of painting time in as well. This path with art continues to grow and expand and I am truly grateful for all of the support and encouragement along the way. I am fortunate to have met some amazing people that have helped me realize this dream of being a full tim...

Giving a value study demo for the class (photo courtesy of Clement Scott) So, not only was the day of March 20th the first day of Spring, the new moon, AND a solar eclipse, it was also my first day of teaching a class and giving a demo! Of course it was a very nervous day for me, and I'm pretty sure I drove my family and close friends a little nuts with all that nervousness, but it was also a very exciting day that ended up being such a great experience. For one thing, I learned that I actually enjoy teaching, and even more so, giving a demo! A progression of my black and white value study (photo courtesy of Louise Walden) This class was part of the Art 130 course at the Cochise College in Benson, Arizona, taught by friend and fellow artist Clement Scott . He had invited me to be guest instructor for the introductory day of landscape painting. I am very grateful for the opportunity and so happy I was talked into it! The students were great too! There is something a...