Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

Macario Pascual and myself painting the Escalante River at the Kiva KoffeeHouse I have just returned from yet another magical painting adventure in Escalante, Utah. It was my second year attending the Escalante Canyons Art Festival plein air competition.  Although I received no ribbons this year, I was, however, rewarded with beautiful scenery, new friendships, and wonderful hospitality. The people of Escalante, and the people volunteering and attending this festival, are largely the appeal for me going. The artwork produced and entered in this year's competition was truly incredible! View of the show It was challenging this year, with the wet weather, and some nagging health issues - however, I remained focused and excited throughout the experience! I painted several pieces, at several locations during the week long event, and here is a sampling of three of my favorites... "Backbone Bonsai" 10x8 in. oil on linen panel Available Pa...

 "The Ol' Egg Room"      8" x 10" oil on canvas panel   Contact me for pricing and availability When painting pal Clement Scott and I, discovered an old barn to plein air paint in Pomerene, Arizona, we didn't realize the history that would be revealed about it after asking permission of the land owner to paint in his yard. This old dilapidated structure, tucked away amongst a grove of pecan trees and knee high weeds, had once been an important egg sorting room, where special lighting allowed them to reveal whether the eggs were keepers or not. It was a main supplier of eggs to many nearby towns. Who would of known??! Hearing a story such as this can help breathe life into a painting.  I added the chicken later on, as a sort of homage to the place and our experience.

"Unexpected Friend" - Framed 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel Available through 55 Main Gallery 55maingallery@gmail.com A friend of mine had this beautiful cat show up at her house one day, she was so purrfect! As it turned out, this cat had been in a car accident and was later reunited with it's owners. My friend had bonded with with the cat, and was sad to see her go. I had taken a photo of the kitty at one point, as I often do with cats I meet, and here it is years later, I ran across the photo and decided to paint from it. What a joy! This is a small, framed and ready to hang on your wall, 6" x 8" oil painting.

"Blackstone Sunflowers" 10" x 8" oil on canvas panel Contact me for pricing and availability During a recent trip to one of my favorite places on Earth - The Blackstone Hotsprings Hotel , I was struck by grounds keeper Dorthy's amazing sunflowers that were growing there. Having brought my painting gear along, I set up and produced this plein air piece. I am always deeply inspired whenever I stay there!

Okay, so I have a bit to catch up on here - it's been a while since I've posted... Biggest news would be winning Best of Show at this year's Ann Boyd Wade Fine Art & Photography Show in April!! Very excited, and deeply honored by this!  I did a solo plein air event for my gallery for the April artwalk... It was so much fun, and one of the paintings sold! There was another plein air event in the month of May, again during the artwalk weekend. This was a group event, which included a wet canvas sale and show.  We all had such a blast! Diane Hayes, Clement Scott, Kaia Thomas, and Michelle Cook One of the pieces created during the weekend... "Off Main" 8" x 8" oil on canvas panel Available through 55 Main Gallery 55maingallery@gmail.com Well I think that about covers it for now...there will be more news to come :)

Sometimes I find I take for granted places I see day after day, like my driveway, and skip over potential paintings because of this. So...I set up my easel in the driveway, and in no time at all, was inspired to paint. My focus landed on the shadows cast by the Salt Pine tree.  "Driveway Shadows" 6" x 6" oil on canvas panel 

"Afternoon At The Amerind"                             6" x 8" oil on canvas panel Contact me for pricing and availability My friend Clement Scott and I had a recent plein air adventure near the Amerind Foundation in Dragoon, Arizona.    It is an area full of history, and about a million paintings waiting to happen! We had a blast, and this painting is the result of that day.   If ever in this neck of the woods, a visit to the Amerind Foundation is a definite must! Well worth it.

"Strut" 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel Contact me for pricing and availability Some years ago, we attempted having chickens. Attempted being the key word there. They had so much personality. I had taken a photo that I thought really captured their personalities, and thus a painting was born!

"Red Hill" 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel Available through 55 Main Gallery Another small painting of Northern Arizona scenery. I really enjoyed the process of painting this one. There was an effortless flow that happened while painting it, which was such a welcomed rarity from the usual struggle to get my vision on to canvas:)

"Twisted"                               8" x 6" oil on canvas panel Contact me for pricing and availability This old Juniper tree was located right next to our campsite while staying near Escalante, Utah. It really struck me with it's twisted, almost braided looking trunk. It had a very old and magical presence, like it had witnessed much in it's day. A definite must paint subject!

"Northern Arizona Hillside" 6" x 6" oil on canvas panel Up for auction! Sold! Yet another in a series of small paintings of Northern Arizona and Southern Utah.  I don't think I am ever going to tire of the beautiful colors and contrast of this area. This scene is from the Navajo Reservation just before sundown.                          (Underpainting)

"Alluring Hillside" 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel up for auction! Staring bid $35! Click Here to see auction.

"Red Rock Country" 8" x 6" oil on canvas panel Up for auction! Click Here to see auction. Trying to capture the intense magic and beauty of Southern Utah's red rock country is most definitely a challenge. For me it's a real struggle to decide what to leave in and what to leave out. There is no way I can capture all the detail in those red rock mountains. I think this piece caught the essence of the place, though. This scene is near Escalante River.  This painting is up for auction on DailyPaintworks .

"Arizona Colors" 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel up for auction! Sold! Click Here to see auction. Another study of my trip through Northern Arizona. I was very taken with the late afternoon contrast and colors that were happening. The Juniper trees made perfect subjects for capturing it. The underpainting... Establishing the darks ... I have been spending the last few months really focusing on my planes and values. I feel like I'm starting to get a feel for it. Although, as an artist, I don't think I will ever arrive at anything. It's a life long journey of learning and growing.

"Playground of The Ancients" 24" x 30" oil on stretched linen up for auction! Click Here to see auction. This is one of my favorite places to hike and paint, which is just a few miles from where I live in southeastern Arizona. I painted a 9" x 12" study on location, and later in the studio,  painted this larger version. This painting is up for auction on DailyPaintworks . Painting on location

"Diva and Prickly Pear" 5" x 7" oil on canvas panel (with reference photo) The last few days have been busy preparing for an upcoming miniature art show. This is one of the small works I will be entering. So excited! I will post more about it soon...

"Thunderhead" 24" x 20" oil on stretched linen up for auction starting bid $350! Click Here to see auction. I saw this scene while driving home one summer afternoon. What really struck me and made me reach for the camera, was how tiny the farm house looked next to this massive thunderhead building over the mountains. It had a very humbling effect.  One of the many things I love about living in the desert, are the intense and invigorating summer monsoon storms. The progression of "Thunderhead". For those interested, this painting is going up for auction on DailyPaintworks.com

"Early Morning" 6" x 12" oil on canvas panel       I got back to work on the horse series yesterday, and I have to say I got a little excited about this one. Everything seemed to just fall into place as I painted, which believe me, is not a common occurrence!    The Block-in   This is another scene taken from my adventures in New Mexico .  I think I may have years worth of reference photos from my time spent there:) No complaints about that! Beginning to add color       I took the reference photo during the early morning. The air was crisp and heavy with dew. You could even see it glistening on the barb wire fence. The light was amazing, with lots of inspirational interplays happening to spark the creative spirit. I'm glad to finally come around to painting this moment...  

Untitled 12" x 9" oil monochrome on stretched canvas Sold I had to put my horse painting aside in order to complete this recent commission painting. A sweet lady asked if I could do a painting of her grandmother. It will be a gift for her mother. "Of course"!, I said. I'm always eager for a challenge.  I was really excited about this until I saw the actual photograph...there was next to no detail in the grandmother's face. She needed to be recognizable, otherwise I could have made it up as I went. I thought at this point the commission was over, but she had another photo that might work (she only had the two photo's of her grandmother), and that one really spoke to me. Her grandmother was a nurse in her day, and this was an old black and white photo of her tending to a baby. When I saw the photo I had an instant vision of doing it in a monochrome block-in style, keeping that vintage feeling.  I completed it today, and I think I managed to ca...

"Grazing Trio"  6 x 12  oil on canvas panel  $100 Up for auction with a buy it now option! Click Here to see auction. Well, Happy New Year everyone! A little late, I know. I hope it's off to a rip roarin' start for all. I recently became obsessed with painting horses! Yep, and I couldn't have picked a more difficult subject to paint, I might add.  It seems it takes a very tiny flick of the brush, to go from horse to dog. It's magic really...a very frustrating magic!  Anyway, I'm having fun with it anyway. I have collected a great deal of horse reference photos over the years from my outings, and in the case of the painting above, from right here in my home town. They are a very beautiful and majestic creature, and fascinating to paint. I also recently discovered that at the end of this month is the Chinese New Year, and lo and behold, it's the year of the horse! How fitting. Perhaps explains my new obsession. For those interested, this...

"Peace in Peñasco" 6" x 8" oil on canvas panel Starting bid $25 Click Here to see auction! This was a beautiful scene I came across while traveling through northern New Mexico near Taos, and near a tiny town called Peñasco. I loved how the red barn was nestled amongst the vibrant greens.  This painting is up for auction through DailyPaintworks.com . The underpainting and laying in the darks.