Mary Alayne Thomas has a fascination with textures and uses diverse media in her paintings including watercolor, encaustic, gold leaf, india ink, pencil, and silkscreen. The artist begins with watercolor, coats it with encaustic (beeswax mixed with resin), and then layers other materials between the washes of wax. The resulting layers give a soft, dimensional depth to Thomas’ stylized images. Combined with her gentle creatures and aloof heroines, these translucent layers glow with inner light and call to mind the magic of faraway fairytales.

          Thomas was raised by two artists in the culturally eclectic and artistic community of Santa Fe, New Mexico and was illustrating children’s magazines by the age of twelve. She has studied at the University of New Mexico and expanded her studies with personal tutors as well as plein air classes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and Arles, France. The artist has exhibited her work across the United States, and is currently represented by galleries in Santa Fe, NM; Chicago, IL; Portland, OR; and Charlotte, NC. Mary Alayne Thomas currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon.