Tamara Thomas

I paint with acrylics on linen or cotton, building and stretching my own canvases using commercial stretcher bars. I often use photos for reference, but my work is strictly hand-done, by eye. I use no projection methods or other image transfer processes. I paint the old-fashioned way, using glazing techniques to achieve color and visual depth.

Born in Sun Valley, Idaho, I moved to Arizona in the '80s. After a 20-year career as an editor and technical writer, I am now a full-time artist living in Bisbee, Arizona, and pursuing my art.

I studied fine art and English at Reed College, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Arizona, but my art mostly developed independently of my education. My degrees include a bachelor's in English and a master's in psychology, both of which I completed in my 60s. I have been a professional artist since a teenager, with murals and paintings in many private homes and businesses across the country.