Read Luke Quinton's review of the 2012 show here.

My work has always been an investigation of the natural world and a response to place. The paintings and drawings are portraits of the immediate environment, of moments in time therein.

This body of work was begun in midcoast Maine in the summer of 2011; was continued in Pitkin County, Colorado in the fall of 2011; and was completed in or near Austin in the spring of 2012. Each work on paper was made at the water's edge, and the larger works on linen were created in my studio, working from memory and feelings as well as from photographs. I would set up my “studio” by the ocean, or by the banks of various creeks and rivers, and the accompanying sound of the water -- either trickling or rushing -- was a crucial element in each piece as the sound of the water determined the movement of the line. So each work is, in a sense, multimedia. I was studying the movement and flow of the water, the reflections of light on and beneath the surface, the nature of water.

I come from Texas, where we have seen water vanishing at an up-close and disturbing pace. Lakes are drying up; aquifers and wells are running dry and are becoming more and more contaminated; and trees and animals are dying as a result of the severe and seemingly endless drought. Still, flagrant water abuse and lack of awareness persist.

The urge -- or calling, really -- to paint and draw about water came out of this reality we are facing: Water as a threatened resource, not only here in Texas, but throughout the country and the world at large. I set out to capture and pay homage to something of the essence of this imperiled and sacred resource, in the hope of creating a greater awareness and sensitivity. Each work, then, though soundless, is a love song to water.

I was inspired by--and my mission is aligned with--an anonymous quote at the February 2012 “Value of Water” show at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City:

“As interpreters of the unseen, artists will help us to see what has been there all along: to strengthen our awareness of water, and to prompt our imaginations in the contemplation of water, from wells and underground springs to surging seas and mighty rivers.”

The Light On Water paintings are dedicated to my beloved grandmother, Gloria S Kabacoff. Special thanks to Christopher Zaleski, Jim Yarbrough, and Grady Roper.

web site: www.elizakthomas.com