Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

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

I realize it has been way too long since my last post. Life has gone and got crazy busy again...busy is getting to be a more frequent occurrence these days and time is beginning to be a precious commodity... I recently completed two mandalas - "Renewel" is an 8" x 10" acrylic painting (shown above) and "Vibrancy" is a miniature 2.5" x 3.5" ACEO acrylic painting (see below) and both are available for purchase in my Etsy shop .  These were painted in a different way then I usually do. I disciplined myself to only two colors (minus the black) and after laying out the mandala drawing, what I would normally do is find particular patterns that I wished to emphasize with certain colors and sometimes painting over lines in the process. With these mandalas, I tried something different, where I kept every line and painting with the rule - no one color could touch itself...so it was like - purple, green, purple, green, that sort of thing. I found...

"Lil' Bit" original ACEO 2.5" x 3.5" acrylic on matboard  Here is the next cat painting in the series...this is Lil' Bit who belongs to a good friend and collector. She is normally a very shy kitty and on occasion she will let you get close. It was such the occasion that I managed to get the photo I used for reference here:) I am noticing a natural tendency to slightly exaggerate the size of the eyes when I paint. I don't want to overdo it though...but I like being struck by the cat eyes first and then move around the rest of painting.   This art card is currently available in my Etsy Shop .

"Luna with Purple"  2.5" x 3.5" Acrylic on Acid Free Matboard So after completing the last cat painting, I made a decision to keep going and do a series of cat portraits. This new one is actually my kitty, Luna. This ACEO painting is now available in my Etsy Shop.

"Source of Joy" 2.5" x 3.5" Original watercolor,acrylic,pen and ink ACEO I have discovered, the last few days, how much I enjoy watercolors. I so often grab for the acrylics before I do watercolor but I had an inspiration to use them together on "Source of Joy"(above). I enjoyed how this piece turned out so I used the same design concept and created "Blue Butterfly" which is available in my Etsy Shop "Blue Butterfly" 2.5 x 3.5" Original watercolor and acrylic ACEO Click Here!

  "Heart Blossom" original ACEO pen and ink Etsy shop For whatever the reason, I have found myself exploring a style of drawing that I used to do a long time ago. My start onto the creative path began in pen and ink drawings. As a young person I would spend hours drawing flowers or animals. I would draw a simple shape on that intimidating blank piece of paper and it would unfold amazing and fantastical creatures and flowers. There is a freedom in youth, that often gets snuffed out with age. I worry, stress and plan now. I stared at that blank ACEO yesterday and remembered how it used to be and this flower emerged - it filled me with joy to feel that freedom again. No ideas, no planning just pure creation. I suppose you could call it doodling, although doodling implies your attention is elsewhere. I guess maybe attentive doodling it could be called. I would prefer not to call it anything really...

I remember a few years back someone asking me what my Chinese Zodiac sign was. I had no clue. I could remember those silly place mats at the Chinese restaurant with all the zodiac animals on it but I never paid any attention to it. However, after being asked this, I did eventually google it one night and to my surprise, found a fascinating world to explore. I learned I was a Rat - the first sign of the zodiac and I discovered, after looking up different friends and family members, that it was amazingly accurate! Wikipedia's chart has some good basic info on your sign, if you want to find out for yourself. So, this Chinese New Year, which begins February 3rd, is the year of the metal Rabbit. I have read a lot on the forecast of this upcoming year. It appears that traditionally, the Year of the Rabbit is known to be a calm period, a time for home and family, creative pursuits, creature comforts, that sort of thing. The Rabbit is the luckiest of the signs, so it is expected t...

2.5" x 3.5" ACEO original painting acrylic on acid free crescent matboard $10.00 free shipping click here Staying with the hummingbird theme, I created this little guy. It's hard not to love hummingbirds - they are such amazing creatures!

Here are two ACEOs completed recently...   Tibetan Buddhist and Australian Aboriginal designs...interesting combo:)

I'm huddled in my studio today, trying to stay warm. It's raining again...if it weren't for the cactus everywhere, I would think I was back living in Washington! I live in southeast Arizona where we have been in a 15+ year drought and I do believe that the start to this year is changing that... So, whilst I am huddled in the studio, I am making the best of it and being creative. I have heard of ACEO ( art card, editions and originals)for some time and left it on the back burner until this weekend. I tried my first one and I think I'm in love. I'm a detail freak, so working on such a small canvas is such challenging fun!           "Fig Trees" acrylic on canvas paper 2.5" x 3.5" I will definitely continue to create these little guys and have them up for sale on the Etsy shop soon!