Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

"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.