Christina Ilene Thomas BIO

CHRISTINA ILENE THOMAS

Artist Statement

“Expansiveness, heart-centered generosity, spirituality, the inexpressible mystery of life, the paradoxical sense of joy and sadness. I hope that my work will elicit a range of emotions in the viewer, to touch or soften people’s lives in some way, no matter how small. My paintings change moods, just as we all do and as nature does. My intuitive, sensitive process takes time to fully express what the painting wishes to be, as I contemplate and listen to each piece. My landscapes are sometimes invitations to stillness and meditation, sometimes expressions of joy, sometimes of drama and mood. I create my titles in hopes that each piece will be further enhanced - the mood, the feeling of it. To me, the titles are just as important as the painting itself. I never paint using a photograph for reference. All of my paintings are painted by intuition and feeling my way along."

Gene Sasse, Owner-Sasse Museum of Art, wrote about Christina: My artistic journey explores the expansiveness of nature, heart-centered generosity, and the inexpressible mystery of life. Working intuitively without photographic references, I create landscapes that capture the paradoxical sense of joy and sadness that permeates our natural world. Each painting emerges through a sensitive process of contemplation and listening, allowing the canvas to reveal what it wishes to become.

The constantly changing moods in my work mirror the transformations we witness in both nature and ourselves. Some pieces invite viewers into spaces of stillness and meditation, while others express unbridled joy or dramatic emotional weather. This diversity reflects my belief that art, like life, contains multitudes of feeling and perspective.

I consider my titles equal to the visual elements—carefully crafted companions that enhance the emotional resonance of each piece. To me, the naming process is as significant as the painting itself, completing the artistic vision by guiding viewers toward certain emotional territories while still leaving room for personal interpretation.

Viewers often discover familiar elements in my paintings—a waterfall cascading down rocks, sunlight dancing across a seascape—yet experience them uniquely. Like characters in a beloved novel that each reader pictures differently, these landscapes connect with people on an individual level. What one person sees as a peaceful sanctuary, another might experience as a place of dramatic transformation. Sometimes, the same painting reveals entirely new aspects even to someone who has viewed it before.

This "imagination magic" creates the delight and satisfaction I seek to share through my work. As landscapes shift and change with light, weather, and seasons, so too do our perceptions and emotional responses to them. My deepest hope is that my paintings will elicit genuine emotional responses, softening and touching people's lives in ways both subtle and profound.

Through color, texture, and form, I invite viewers to pause, to breathe, and to reconnect with the natural world that sustains and inspires us all—finding in these painted moments a reflection of their own inner landscapes

Christopher Foster, writer/author: "The paintings of Christina Ilene Thomas examine the ephemeral beauty and constant change of the outdoors. What is more, all who view her work are certain to find sparks of scenery familiar to everyone, yet we all see them a little differently. A waterfall or seascape, for example, will be recognizable in its essence, but nobody sees precisely the SAME waterfall or seascape. It’s like reading a timeless novel in which a character has certain aspects of appearance that everyone mentally pictures—broad shoulders, say, or bright blue eyes—but if that character were painted true to every reader’s imagination, none would be identical. It is the same with Thomas’s work. Occasionally, it even changes for the same viewer. It is this type of “imagination magic” that brings delight and satisfaction."

Bio

After travelling the world as a consultant, and the exciting adventure of travelling/working on a Princess Cruise ship Christina settled in San Diego in 1999.

In 2007, after a medical emergency resulted in a period of reflection, Christina picked up a paintbrush for the first time since childhood. Since then, she has studied with several instructors in San Diego, including the noted artists Pia Stern and American Master Hyacinthe Kuller Barron.

As well as gracing private and corporate collections across the country and internationally, her work has also been used on four separate occasions for the cover art of the American Journal of Critical Care. She’s had work featured in two issues of Pacific Magazine, and in both additions of San Diego’s juried national publication "50 to Watch.” She was also selected to be displayed in the CEART Baja California publication titled “Archivo Vivo - Primer Mapeo de Artistas Mujeres de Baja California. In addition, Christina's work was selected by the Chief Curator of Saatchi Art Gallery twice, as a top pick of the week from among hundreds of thousands of artists worldwide.

For several years, in partnership with 2 other local artists, Christina owned a gallery in Rosarito, Baja, Mexico, now closed after COVID.

Memberships
• 2015 Oceanside Museum of Art Artists Alliance
• 2015 San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild
• 2008 - 2011 San Diego Art Institute, Balboa Park

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