Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

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 

"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.

From now until December 16th, you can get 20% off any artwork in my Etsy shop.  Just use the coupon code HOLIDAY13 during checkout.  Here are few of the available paintings you will find for sale! Please visit my Etsy shop and take advantage of this opportunity. Sale ends soon! Click Here to enter the shop.

"Agave Grande" 8 x 10 oil on linen panel $280  www.kaiathomas.com  I decided to set up and do some plein air painting in our front yard. Over the years our cactus garden has really taken off and I am seeing paintings everywhere now! I was really happy with how this one turned out.

 About three months back, I started painting miniature sunsets in oils. I was doing it as a sort of discipline and exercise at the time but found that it became a passion for me, painting these tiny, concentrated, desert skies. After some time of doing these miniatures, I had the urge to go BIG! I wanted to see how the larger versions would look and would I be able to capture the same potency.  "Brilliance"  24" x 30" oil on canvas Available Here! The first of the larger versions is seen above. I was very happy with how it turned out and thus began my new passion - painting large sunsets! "San Pedro Sunset" 24" x 30" oil on canvas Available Here! "Sky Symphony" 20" x 16" oil on canvas Available Here!

"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...

" 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...

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

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...

So I finally found some time to dust off the plein air equipment and get out to paint! It's actually been so long that I am embarrassed to say. The kick in the butt is my upcoming workshop with Chris Morel and not wanting to show up to paint too rusty. As usual, it was an adventure...it was a pleasant, first cool day in 3 months and all seemed to be going well...We went to a favorite spot of mine that I've known about for many years and it's just loaded with magical beauty. Unfortunately it's also a favorite spot shooters...I was about an hour and half into my painting when the gun shots started. The shots would make me jump and added some unwanted brush strokes to my painting. I tried to endure but soon became very uneasy about ricochet bullets. So I had to put an end to the painting... We went to another area away from the flying bullets but by then the day was nearly spent... So I spent the rest of my time taking photos of the beauty... All in ...

So much has happened since the last time I posted a blog. Life just got too busy for cyberspace:) Many adventures to tell! I will try to play catch-up here and start with what happened in September... I attended the annual Bisbee Plein Air Competition the second weekend of September. This was my second year with a whole lot of learning under my belt since my first attempt. I had only been doing plein air painting for about a month when I participated last year. Needless to say I felt awkward and my paintings didn't go so well.  This year, however, was a very different story. First off, I had some confidence in what I was doing - helps for sure. Second, I had a very good painting session - you never know! Sometimes it just doesn't click but this was a definite YES! At the final festivities there is a silent auction with a chance to sell your work and a reward ceremony (first place $500). I was in total shock when both the paintings I entered sold in auction! Really! This was...

Ok, so it's been a while since I posted. A lot has been happening, let's see, first of all I have  exciting news!  The "Art with Heart" gallery in Tempe, Arizona approached me to show the mandala paintings for three months!! Next exciting thing is that I made the leap and bought a really nice printer so I can now make my own art prints from home. This is a huge learning and a lot of frustration at times working out the bugs but I am thrilled - the prints look amazing! I have two currently available in my Etsy shop... "Summer Cloud" 8" x 10" print of oil painting 2009 For Sale click here "Castaneda Desert" 8" x 10" print of digital painting  2009 For Sale click here I will continue to post and share prints as I make them. I also would love to get some advise if anyone wants to leave some. Mostly I would like to know about getting the colors on the monitor to match what comes out of the printer or vice versa. The digita...