The American West is a region that is endlessly inspiring for Cami. Painting the natural landscape, its wildlife, and people in a celebration of light and color is her forte. Her unique style only intensified after moving to northern New Mexico. Growing a garden full of beautiful dahlias each year brings another joyful subject matter to her work.

“To paint the landscape correctly,” Cami says, “one must practice plein air painting. The mood of the environment has to be experienced. The wind, the temperature, the terrain is best captured being out in nature. After years of painting and drawing outside it is still a wonder to my soul.”

Cami’s works range in size and can be spontaneously painted from memory in 45 minutes, or, perfected and layered in the studio for a month or more for her larger pieces. She works exclusively in oils and keeps a turpentine-free studio by using soy oil to clean brushes and linseed oil for mixing. Her exquisite works may take longer to dry but also have a sturdier longevity for the collector.

Find much more information and further examples of Cami’s work on her website and Facebook pages cited below.

Bio

A native of Michigan, Cami Thompson has lived and worked in the Rocky Mountains for the past 50 years. In the 1990s she traveled to Alaska for four consecutive summers, where she painted over 250 paintings, taught workshops, and finalized each trip with a one-woman exhibit. Most all of these paintings sold to Alaskans, and her work is in the permanent collection of the Baranov Museum on Kodiak Island.

She moved to northern New Mexico in 2001. She sees supporting art in the public school system to be one of the most important issues today. Aside from training new artists with skills they will need, it also teaches art appreciation to a whole new generation of young people.

Her paintings hang in private and corporate collections throughout the world. Cami has won numerous awards and recognition in her field including:
Best of Show, 1997, Artists of Colorado at the Colorado History Museum in Denver
Top 100 Arts for the Parks 2004
Top 200 Arts for the Parks 2004
Top 150 Arts for the Parks 2005
Taos Invites Taos show 2006, 07, 08 and 09
“Living Legends of Taos,” 2012 show Taos Art Museum at Fechin House
Solo show 2014 “Love Light and the Pursuit of Art,” Taos Art Museum at Fechin House.