Hi Friends,

As we head into the holidays I hope you find the little bits of grace that are blown around like leaves - sometimes sprinkled across the lawn in a messy quilt, sometimes piled in great heaps and admittedly sometimes found lining the bottom of the pool, waiting to be fished out. In my own creative practice this is a necessary excercise in focus since we are constantly immersed in too much of the wrong information. And focusing on whats not working leads my creative mind away from its source code into analytical territory - strategy, marketing, planning, planning, planning…instead of making, making, making.

When you make something -a painting - you’ve manifested an idea into something tangible and that thing now has its own place in the world. It stands on its own and continues to tell its story, which lead me to a lovely bit of news.

I’m thrilled to announce a new collaboration with the wonderful Ahmad Sharrif and his eponymous gallery, situated in charming village of Claremont, California in Los Angeles County. Mr. Sharrif came across my figurative work in his role as a board member of the Sasse Museum of Art, which hosted a solo exhibition for me this past summer. You can view my available works represented by the gallery on Artsy here.

In other news, The Fig Tree Gallery in downtown Fresno is presenting the Rennaissance Exhibition in the months of December and January. As a cooperative gallery we’ll be exhibiting this group show in celebration of our recent remodel of the walls and lighting. The place looks amazing! Arthop is December 6th from 5-8 pm, and a reception will be held on December 8 from Noon-4pm. The artists (including me!) will present and happy to talk about their work. We are hosting a used Artbook Sale for the art enthusiasts out there (great affordable Christmas gift!!). Artwork will also be for sale and can be taken home immediately for gifting.

Although my focus is mostly on figurative work, I also make landscape paintings. It offers me the opportunity to enjoy nature and those big inspiring vistas. I want to thank Chris Hays and The Door Gallery for representing these works for me and for selling one this week!

Supporting small galleries provides a vital role in oxygenating our community, so please consider original artwork as a Christmas gift. You may think your people need a new ipad, but what they REALLY need is an original artwork from a local artist!

Circling back to the most important sentiment here - I wish you a wonderful holiday season, filled with your chosen people. You all make me feel very grateful.

Warmest wishes,

Kati Thomson