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 

"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.

"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.

 "Refreshing Perspective" 9" x 12" oil on gesso board starting bid $125 Sold! Click Here to see the auction.  This painting is up for auction starting December 11, 2013! The auction is through dailypaintworks,com  This painting is in the October 2013 issue of Southwest Art Magazine in the "Art of Arizona" section.

 I am finally starting to sort through copious reference photos I took during my trip to Utah in September. I did this little 6" x 8" study today of some juniper trees that caught my eye in Northern Arizona.  I hope to be doing many more little studies from this magical trip. Stay tuned! "Juniper Trees" 6" x 8" oil on panel  UPDATE! Now up for auction on Daily Paintworks. Click here to see the auction! Starting bid at $50!

 "Deer 1" 3' x 2' oil on gessoed hardboard in the collection of Richard Chapman So I finally completed the first half of a commission started several months ago. As life goes, many events limited the time I had to paint, so it is a slow going commission. However, a very exciting first half! I have been doing workshops, book reading and practicing new techniques in the past year and half and really worked to incorporate all that I have learned along the way into this painting. I did document it's progress and thought it would be fun to share it! First thing I did was a 9" x 12" study of the basic concept of the painting... When it came to the 3' x 2' panel, I decided to do the grid method to lay in my drawing. Starting from back to front, I did an underpainting of the trees... My palette:)... Starting to lay in the darkest darks... Background complete! Now for the deer...oops I forgot to take pictures during the deer. Oh well, the...

Over the weekend, Luke and I took a camping trip atop Mt. Graham. It's a little piece of heaven for us desert floor dwellers in the middle of the hottest month of the Arizona year.  Mt. Graham is located in Southeastern Arizona just a few miles outside of Safford, AZ. Ascending Mt. Graham takes you through 8 botanical zones before reaching the top. Needless to say, I brought my plein air painting gear with! The beauty was astounding... The vegetation was so powerful, being used to the desert flora . We were fortunate to find a camp spot right next to a creek. Another treat for us - water!! There was much inspiration here, I was seeing the colors in nature so differently and I did my best to absorb all that I was seeing in hopes to bring it to future paintings. I did manage to produce a plein air painting and some sketches in pencil and watercolor. I still feel I am very much in the learning phase with this style of painting but it is such a pleasure to do!

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!