Get To Know the Artist Behind These Amazing Art Pieces
Artist Biography for Smokey Thomas
Smokey Thomas was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Working primarily in chalk pastels and oil paints. Sculpture, jewelry and pottery are also creative outlets. Strong family ties hailing from The Land of Enchantment and The Last Frontier shed light to the blossoming artist. Working on bringing to life ever changing ideas and inspiration, location has no bounds.
Smokey’s father definitely fed, grew, breathed and lived constant creativity in forming and shaping Smokey as an artist. With that being said her father was the main teacher of art and art business. As the years went by her Uncle Joe and Aunt Violet also shared and taught her art as well as art business. Self-taught painting techniques and style naturally evolved. Sculpture, jewelry and scrimshaw were steered by her father. Pottery is a tradition. Art is always evolving.
Many of Smokey’s work is and has been by collection only. Now is the time to share with the world. Art is Smokey and Smokey is art forever.
Artist Statement of Smokey Thomas
My very well being is to paint what I see, sculpt what I think, make jewelry to accentuate beauty and shape pottery to feel peace. Whether I’m in New Mexico or Alaska, creating and growing in art is necessary for sharing my perspective on life.
My earliest memory is sitting on the floor as a baby in a lava rock house watching my father carve walrus ivory. My father gave me my first medium, countless boxes of crayons. As I grew up, I wanted oil paints but my mother gave me a black sharpie marker saying I had to learn how to draw with that before I can paint. Sometime after my sister gave me a box of chalk pastels. Oil pastels, acrylics, watercolors, and oil paints soon followed.
In Alaska, I worked diligently with my father, carving walrus ivory, whale bone/teeth/baleen and wood, making jewelry, sculptures and scrimshaw. The style of my work ranges from abstract expressionism, realism, traditional and non-traditional. Subject matter varies from flora and fauna, humans, space, thoughts, feelings and views of the world and myself.
