Jean Thomas

Professional artist Jean Westphal Thomas grew up in Southern California, lived in Arizona for many years and has now settled in Oregon. Observing and making art has been a part of her life since childhood and continues today. She received a BFA in Art Education from the University of Arizona where she was awarded the Zoe Gore Scholarship for art studies. Her post graduate work in painting and archaeology was done at Arizona State University and the National University of Mexico in Mexico City. After teaching high school art and crafts for many years, she moved on to teaching adults in art centers and workshops. Her main focus lately has been to concentrate on her studio painting.

Jean's style is impressionistic with strong design, vigorous brush work and luminous color. Tactile surface texture and a ‘painterly’ style create arresting images of both the familiar and the imagined. Through the years Jean's paintings have evolved into bold, dramatic interpretations her environment. The current work celebrates the buildings and bridges in and around Portland, Oregon, as well as the coastlines and mountains she regularly visits. Jean has shown her work in galleries in several western states. Besides successful one-woman shows, she had had her art commercially published and has won numerous prestigious awards in juried shows. She is represented in private and corporate collections in the United States, Canada, and England.