Discovering the Artistry of Kati Thomson: A Journey Through Resilience
- Ahmad Shariff
- Oct 21
- 3 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
Every so often, an artist comes along who doesn’t just paint figures—they paint the fractures, the mending, and the messy, glorious resilience of being human. We’re thrilled to introduce our newest artist edition: Kati Thomson.
The Philosophy: Beauty in the Breaks
Kati’s work is steeped in the philosophy of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. Instead of hiding cracks, Kintsugi highlights them, transforming damage into beauty. For Kati, this isn’t just a metaphor—it’s a manifesto.
“We are all beautiful disasters,” she says. “The traumas, the victories—they create our idiosyncrasies, our contradictions, strengths, and flaws.”
Her paintings remind us that resilience isn’t about erasing scars but about wearing them like jewelry. It’s a perspective that feels both ancient and urgently modern.
The Style: Classical Roots, California Soul
Kati’s figures begin with a classical foundation, but she doesn’t stop there. She pulls threads from Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and the bold traditions of the California art world. The result? Paintings that feel like they’ve lived a thousand lives before arriving on the canvas.
Her process is gloriously layered: acrylic, cold wax, graphite, chalk, and finally oil paint. The surfaces are thick, textured, and alive with color—sometimes evoking collage, sometimes finger painting, always unmistakably hers. Amid this exuberant chaos, finely rendered details of the figure emerge, grounding the work in the human condition.
It’s as if Rembrandt went surfing in Santa Cruz, then stopped by a Fresno studio to finger-paint with Pollock.
The Journey: From Stethoscopes to Strokes of Genius
Before art, there was healthcare. Kati spent years as a nurse, caring for others, listening to their stories, and witnessing resilience firsthand. That experience still pulses through her paintings.
But storytelling tugged at her in other ways too. She wrote novels (unpublished, but every artist has a drawer full of ghosts), poetry (some published, some “decent,” in her words), and even produced films like It’s So Easy and Other Lies and Sunset Strip. Eventually, the brush called louder than the pen or the camera, and she found her true home in visual art.
The Training: Self-Taught, Yet Deeply Schooled
Though largely self-taught, Kati sharpened her craft through workshops at the Art Students League of New York and mentorships with artists like Arthur Gain, Mia Bergeron, Randall Sexton, and Steven Assael. She’s proof that “self-taught” doesn’t mean “untutored”—it means fiercely curious, endlessly learning, and unafraid to experiment.
The Reach: From Clovis to Collectors Nationwide
Kati paints from her studio in Clovis, California, but her work travels far. Her paintings live in corporate and private collections across California, Seattle, Scottsdale, and New York. She’s exhibited at the San Francisco Art Fair, Seattle Art Fair, LA Art Show, and more.
She’s also contributed to public art projects, including a striking installation at Fresno Yosemite Airport and murals with the Davis Mural Team. Her portrait even appeared in the PBS documentary Living Harriet Tubman.
The Person Behind the Paint
Kati is a California native, a storyteller at heart, and someone who has lived enough lives for three artists. She’s a nurse, a writer, a producer, a painter—and somehow manages to make all those threads feel like one continuous story.
Her art is exuberant yet tender, chaotic yet precise, deeply personal yet universally resonant. In short, she paints like someone who knows that life is messy, but also knows that mess is where the magic happens.
Where to Find Her Work
🌐 Website: www.katithomson.com
📸 Instagram: @katithomson
📖 Publications: Del Sol Review
🎨 Represented by: The Door Gallery (Fresno), John Natsoulas Gallery (Davis), Fig Tree Gallery (Fresno) and Ahmad Shariff Art Gallery (Claremont)
Why We’re Excited
Kati Thomson doesn’t just paint figures—she paints resilience, humor, and humanity. She reminds us that imperfection is not something to fix, but something to frame. Her work is a mirror, a balm, and sometimes a playful wink at the absurdity of it all.
So here’s to the cracks, the gold, and the glorious disasters that make us whole. Welcome, Kati.