Kaia Thomas - A path with ART

 "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...

Well, this year is just screaming by and now we are approaching the gift season! The commissions are coming in and it's time to focus! I thought this a good time to share the gourd birdhouse I did on request a few months ago which lead me to the current commissions - birdhouse was a hit!! Makes me happy because they are really fun to do. This was my first experience doing one and of course there is always a learning curve. A few things I would do differently on the next ones but overall it was a successful first try.

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...

 " Butterfly Dreams" 6" x 6" acrylic on hardboard $50.00 available in my Etsy Shop Click Here Here is the latest completion. I have always felt a deep connection with Australian Aboriginal art and having a love for painting eye crossing detail, it's no wonder!:) On this piece, I was looking to meld the mandala art with a twist of Aboriginal. It didn't go at all as planned but I am pleased with the results. I think I want to try larger scale with this style.

Cactus are certainly a feature living in the desert and they never cease to amaze me.  This year we had an Agave cactus (the kind Tequilla comes from) that was planted when we first moved here, coming up on 20 years ago, that put out it's flower. The thing about Agave cactus is, when they flower, that's it! That's the final doing of it's life.  I put together a series of photos that I took as the flower grew. It's tough to capture the feeling of just how big these flowers are but I did my best. Two hours after the very last photo I took, a wind storm came along and blew it over. I was glad I was able to capture this Agave's last stand.

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!