Jane S.Thomas

Jane Thomas is an award-winning artist whose paintings have been included in a numerous invitational and group exhibitions and juried shows. She has exhibited in major shows abroad and in the United States and her work is widely collected by the collector’s worldwide.  She is a signature member of Baltimore Watercolor Society, Potomac Valley Watercolorists and the member of The Art League of Alexandria.  Many of her paintings have been awarded honors, including numerous “Best in Show”.  Most recently Jane’s first-place watercolor self-portrait won the Art League Gallery Director’s Award.

Jane was born in South Korea and studied Oriental Art under legendary Korean artists including Park no-su, at Ewha Woman’s University.  Upon graduation with a BA degree in Fine Arts, she moved to the United States, and further studied with prominent American artists. She worked as an illustrator /graphic designer for the US Government and retired after 40 years.

Though she paints in several mediums such as acrylic, oil, pen and ink, and SUMI, she most frequently paints in watercolor, a medium that many artists agree is the most difficult.  Because watercolor is a transparent medium, it is difficult to be corrected by covering up mistakes, so it takes planning and practice before applying those first brush strokes.  The Oriental art that she was formally trained in also requires many hours of practice and planning before the final painting on rice paper, and it seems natural for her to gravitate toward watercolor. She takes time to plan ahead so as not to glaze too many layers as some watercolorists do. She prefers the final execution of the painting done rather swiftly and spontaneously.

While the subject matter she paints is unlimited, her favorite subject is portrait.  Jane’s portrait painting shows her unique style of watercolor in a fluid, painterly manner.  Often she alters the clothing or the hair of the model to attain a more unified look, but she also believes it is important to attain a likeness by striving to retain distinctive features of a subject.

Jane Thomas is a Fine Artist and a retired illustrator for the US government who paints and teaches art classes in Alexandria, VA.

 “There's no retirement for an artist, it's your way of living so there's no end to it.” Henry Moore