Mary Alayne Thomas – Wild Wood

Description

Raised by two artists in the art-minded and culturally-eclectic community of Santa Fe, Mary Alayne Thomas developed her creative abilities early on, illustrating children’s magazines by the age of twelve. She has studied art extensively at the University of New Mexico and under personal tutors in Santa Fe, Corrales and Seattle. She has also taken plein air classes in San Miguel de Allende and Arles, France. Her mastery of drawing and painting techniques are the starting point of her distinctive ability in the combination of varied art materials. Mary’s curiosity about diverse mediums has taken her into previously unknown territories. She was initially taken with the luminosity and versatility of watercolor. She has since gone on to incorporate encaustic, gold leaf, India Ink, pencil and silkscreen. The artwork begins as a watercolor which is then coated with encaustic (beeswax combined with resin). The media are layered between the wax washes. The result is an unusual depth, a three-dimensional artwork with an emphasis on Mary’s unique stylized patterns and shapes and textures.