Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

"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!!!

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...

"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!

So I finally put together a Plein Air Paintings section in my Etsy shop and now have some available pieces! I will continue to add work but for now this is what's available... "Rustic Barn" 9" x 12" oil on linen board $150.00   purchase here "San Jose de Gracia" 12" x 9" oil on linen board  $150.00 purchase here "Morning Light" 9" x 12" oil on linen board $150.00 purchase here

   I decided to document this latest still life painting from beginning to end. I was trying out this newly discovered style - a much looser, "get the paint on there", kind of style.       F or much of my artistic life, you probably could of called me a "Miss Meticulous" type of painter. I loved to spend hours on one spot and often leaned towards painting fine detail type stuff (cultural designs, mandalas). There has been a shift in me lately where I have learned to let go and just paint! I truly believe that this has been my missing link, mainly with my oil painting.    T his past workshop that I took is where I discovered this new style and ever since then, my painting style has become looser and more expressive. So, here we go...    I n the beginning I chose not to draw out my idea first, I usually would use charcoal or pencil or even a sketch with paint - this was about a three minute, throw some "thin"paint on there, ...

So I have just returned from a week in Taos, New Mexico where I attended a workshop with artist J. Chris Morel.  The weather stayed perfect for us even though the weather report had us concerned. It stayed absolutely beautiful the whole time! This was my second time taking Chris's workshop and I got even more out of it this time around. His workshop is so much fun! We got to paint at some great locations like the San Jose de Gracia church... and here is my painting from that location...  9" x 12" oil We spent all of the second day at a beautiful ranch outside Llano de San Juan that belonged to a friend of Chris's. We painted amongst horses, goats, sheep, dogs, cats and there were several old inspiring structures as well which I chose to focus on... here is my painting that came from that experience... 9" x 12" oil The last day of painting was hard. By this time everyone is reaching their exhaustion point. I wasn't very happy with what I pai...