Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

"Garden Delights" 10" x 10" framed oil on linen  Available through 55 Main Gallery ! " Garden Delights " was inspired from a particularly beautiful summer garden we had here in Arizona. The sunflowers were in full force and in turn attracted many varieties of butterflies including the Monarch Butterfly, which is what I chose to paint here atop a vibrant and prolific type sunflower named the Mexican Sunflower. These are two of my favorite things in the natural world and of course means a real joy to paint!

"Brilliance" 2.5" x 3.5"  oil on archival primed card stock Contact 55 Main Gallery Another miniature sunset added to the series!    

"Cotton Field" 8" x 8" oil on gesso board In November I will be participating in a show in Bisbee, AZ that is in celebration of the Heather Green Studio's 2nd Anniversary since opening.  The show theme is called "Cotton Anniversary" and although the gallery is open to all media, subject and style with the only rule being it must have the dimensions of 12" x 12", I really wanted to try and paint cotton. I don't have a lot of background or relationship with cotton as a plant and I was curious and challenged by the idea of painting it. As it turned out, cotton harvest here in Arizona is in the month of October, so Luke and I set out in search of a cotton field so I could collect some reference photos and also get to know the cotton plants. We were very fortunate to find an amazing and perfect field in a nearby town and our timing couldn't have been better as they were in the process of harvesting right at that moment! I actuall...

"Haunted House" 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel wooden frame $110.00 + shipping www.kaiathomas.com I came across this abandoned house in New Mexico during our return trip. I love forgotten homesteads such as this - they look to me to be so saturated with history they are sagging from the weight of it. It has been named Haunted House because everyone in my family keeps referring to it as such. It stuck...not to mention it's the right time of year for a name like that:)

" Playground of the Ancients" 24" x 30" o/c     My latest project has been painting a rock landscape series. This painting is the first in the series. This series is being done from field studies and photo reference taken over the last few years. This place is one of my all time favorite spots to hike and hang out in. It is part of the Chiricahua mountain range located here in Southeastern Arizona and only a short distance from where I live. I have been visiting this magical spot for over two decades (okay, that just made me feel old - lol).  Here are some photos I took during the painting's progression - enjoy!  Underpainting....  Adding darkest darks and lightest lights...  See the small original field study?...  Boulders are nearly complete... The pose...lol...

Free Rangin' 20" x 16" oil on canvas framed $650.00   Available Here! This was such a fun painting to do and definitely a different choice of subject for me. Never thought I would be painting cows but this particular circumstance came from a great photo shoot that landed me some wonderful reference photos to work from. I really loved the playfulness of this cow and worked to express that part. This painting is available in my Etsy shop . It is framed with a rustic style, handmade, mesquite frame that suits the mood of the painting well. Here are some evolution shots for those who enjoy watching a painting in progress...

It has been a very long time since I have posted on my blog - too long. Everything has changed on here and I am having to relearn stuff... The reason it has been so long is blamed on two facebook pages, twitter, blogger, linkedin, etsy, flickr, behance and of course my personal website. I pretty much drove myself crazy and quit everything! The good part about it was is it gave me time to be creative and actually paint some paintings- imagine that! One of the paintings that came from this is " Utpala Spring " a 20" x 24" colorful and vibrant mandala with a few new added techniques. I haven't been able to get a photo to do it justice yet. However, as you can see from the above photo,  it's "kitty approved" so there ya go:)) lol... I named it "Utpala" because of the blue lotus flowers that emerged in this piece. Utpala is the Sanskrit word for lotus or blue lotus, it has several other beautiful meanings as well, so it seemed t...