Cathy Thomas

I feel incredibly lucky to see the wide-open sky, the Cascades, the Sound and beachscapes with their ever-changing light and weather, from my Port Ludlow home.  The light and feel of a scene excite me and are integral to my process.

I paint for fun, not yet for profit. I visited this area on vacation and on two such trips I took lessons from Gary Griswold. When I moved here, I naturally wanted to check out the Port Ludlow Artists’ League, where he was a member. I joined on my first visit because I saw members encouraging each other, appreciating each others’ work, celebrating each other’s successes and providing opportunities for growth.

My Quaker roots run deep and influence everything I do. Ours is an experiential religion that greets that of the divine in everyone and recognizes the mystical quality of daily experiences. Nonetheless Quakers were slow to recognize the spiritual value of art and music, originally seeing them as frivolous distractions from worship and compassionate action. I grew up in a home without music or pictures on the wall, but luckily my parents realized I experienced joy when painting and they encouraged it through art lessons in Japan and India.

I’ve wrestled all my adult life with the question of whether painting is a natural and valuable dimension of my spiritual life or a selfish waste of time and resources. This dichotomy is like a swinging door. Sometimes the door is open; a teacher with a technique and life philosophy I admire appears and a creative and happy period ensues. I am delighted when my work gives joy to a friend or supports a good cause through a tee shirt, magazine cover or poster design. Then suddenly the door slams shut. It is time for other things in my life – sometimes for years. Only in retrospect do I see how art seeped around the corners of the door during those years. Yet when life seems darkest, the door gets pried open and the cycle repeats.

Sunlight streams onto the beach	Creativity sparked by Port Ludlow Artist League challenge: “Make something inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s painting or Don McLean’s song – Starry, Starry Night” With eyes that know the darkness in my soul. Click here to see a slide show of Vincent Van Gogh paintings while hearing Starry, Starry night sung by Don McLean	Mount Baker is a Silent Giant of the Sound
A gauzy curtain shrouds the sound.		Sky and Sound and Marsh blend together

When I paint, I lose track of time. It is a quiet, meditative space for me. From Japan, I absorbed a love for quiet peaceful scenes.  Later in India, I reveled in the bright colours brilliantly displayed on sunny days. Bright, transparent, colours make me feel happy and light. When I returned to America for high-school I took my one and only academic art class. As we moved from representational to modern (abstract) art, I was clueless and I concluded now that art was modern, I couldn’t do it. The door slammed shut. I married, had two daughters and pursued challenging and absorbing technical careers as a research chemist doing spectral analysis for the U.S. Geological Survey, a database designer for Bell Labs and the web designer for the Quaker United Nations Office. Looking back, I see my love of color, design and real world applications that promoted the common good were all incorporated in these endeavours. Now, as a retiree in a beautiful spot with a supportive art league, I find the door wide open and I can walk through, exercising all my gifts, with faith that  in time their purpose will become clear. You may contact me at cath…@pobox.com

I’ve loved colors as long as I can remember. Here I am in China.