Location: United States
My name is Pauline Thomas and I am an artist living off the highway leading to the Haul Road and the wild northern lands of Alaska. While the road is covered with snow and ice for half the year, the area is always blanketed with beauty, no matter the season. I use this beauty as inspiration for my artwork. In recent years, I've focused my attention to what I call 'playing with color', creating collages made of snippets from magazines, catalogs, etc. I don't use images as much as patches of color with interesting texture or shading. These little clippings come together in new expressions of color in my collages - up to hundreds in a single piece. I often feel like simply the medium through which these pieces make themselves - (I apply the glue!). The ideas seem to jump onto the paper and I'm along for the ride.
Now that I'm retired, I am privileged to devote more of my time to artistic endeavors which in turn feeds my soul. My hope is to convey the vastness and richness of this special land blessed with God's majesty.
Scenes of central and northern Alaska
The sun offers light, but not much warmth, in the spring. The low light softens the surroundings and makes the most interesting shadows.
The northern lights often pass over our house in neon green bands resembling tire tracks.
The life cycle of the fireweed is fascinating to me year after year. It 'morphs' several times over the short growing season. Here it is in its full-bloom glory.
A view looking northward to the lands of the Alaska caribou.
The weekly trip on the Elliott Highway to get spring water is breathtaking even under heavy clouds for weeks on end.
This is a view northward as we drive toward the spring for our weekly water. On this cold day, the moon was setting ahead of us while the sun was rising behind us (at about 11:00 am!). The moon was this beautiful pinkish color as was a far peak catching the light just right.
This features the bird 'cafe' that is just outside the sliding glass door on the deck. I have come to love these birds and look forward to their return each year. After the piece was finished, I ended up adding the redpoll. The redpolls are unpredictable in their visits - some years, we get gangs of them; other years, they stay away. This time, they arrived half-way through the season after being elsewhere for a couple years and they too were welcomed home. I love the way that the chickadees, grosbeaks and redpolls all get along together.
This hillside is one we pass each trip to town. The starkness of the black trees against the white snow looked very striking. This is the first winter after the big wildfires in the area during the summer of 2024. Amazingly, there are a few trees untouched by the flames, although they are surrounded by burnt trunks.
Hot on the trail
A renewal of hope during a bleak time inspired this piece.
Many a morning have I watched the day begin through this window.
“Among the Flowers (Ode to Belle)”
This scene is what I see outside the window to my 'studio' in the summer. Fireweed grows naturally in these parts. The delphiniums were a gift from a friend who warned me that they grow like this: first year: sleep; second year: creep; third year: leap. And that's just what they did! Now that they're well established, they've spread around to mingle with their pink sisters. Each blossom opens from the bottom up - so you know that when the top is reached, there are only a few short weeks left of summer.
Recently, we laid our sweet dog to rest among these flowers - close to where two of her companions lie. I can't think of a better place for them to be - close to the house and surrounded by the beautiful nature of our little refuge. As the blooms of summer remind us, time is short - but what a time it is! Rest in peace, baby girl.
“Sleeping in the Snow: Scenes of Early Winter”
As the first snows fall, the various plants which lived their lives during a short summer settle down for a winter's sleep.
This is a winter scene at the spring where we get our weekly water.
As the light mellows during the fall, the sunsets are delicious.
One day in July 2017, we came home to a very dark cloud hanging over the house. But at the same time, the sun was shining from a different angle, lighting up the birch trees. The color combination of the neon green against the stormy gray really caught my eye - not a combination I would probably have thought of. The contrast was striking. Add a few touches of bright white tree trunks and happy magenta fireweed and it was a scene that had to be preserved. This is one of my favorites of all the collages.
This reminds me of a flamenco dance in the sky: the black lace against a background of dramatic color.
Magical moonshine on the shortest day of the year.
This is a sister piece to the other half of the horizon which went with a friend who was moving away.
After creating a very detailed collage, I relax and play with scraps that often form themselves into their own works of art.
A beam of light shows secret jewels
Imagine looking up under thick ice, as a seal of course - otherwise it'd be way too cold and scary!
Using up scraps
. . . in all their glory
A dog who thinks he's a wardrobe advisor
The geese are calling it a day.
This is a scene as seen by me (see what I did there?) as I looked out my car window one afternoon. As we were driving home through a winter storm, this caribou decided to race us for a while. Through inches of snow over compact ice, it reached a speed of almost 35 miles before we left it! No wonder some people think reindeer can fly. True story!
Every kid - and dog - ought to have at least one day like this in their lives.
King of all he surveys
Snowflakes dress up for a night on the town.
. . . is wearing an understated yet elegant gown to this year's Christmas Snow Ball.
This one started the series. After seeing up-close photographs of snowflakes, I imagined what they'd look like in color. This is still my favorite one.
A Christmas princess
Expressing themselves through bold color
sparkling like a star
calling up some warmth in its colors
As I recovered from ankle surgery, I couldn't imagine pushing my foot into a boot again. But boots were on my mind, and I made a list of all I could think of to use as a future project. Years later, they reminded me that they wanted their portraits done.
You can tell a cowboy boot by its toe,
pointed so it slips into a stirrup,
then you can make the horse go.
bunny boots, funny boots
white as the snow
keep your feet warm
down to 40 below
These boots are magic for those who believe
that they may make an appearance on Christmas Eve
mukluks are made of canvas or fur
they keep your feet and legs warm
so they don't say 'brrrr'
When you want an adventure
with a friend by your side,
hop into these boots,
and ride, and ride, and ride, and ride
I love quilts - but even more, I love the idea of quilts, something handmade with love and prayers handed down through the family. The humble 9-patch is one of my favorites - easy, but with almost endless variations. This project gave me an opportunity to mix different prints and colors in an unusual way.
This reminds me of a New Year's Eve party - cheers!
A watery scene
too much stimulation
something's about to erupt!
a trip to space
can the sprawl be contained?
Here's what I've been making recently . . .
“Stripes in the Driveway”
“Heavenly Highway”
“At Home With Fireweed”
“The Big Picture”
“Cloudy, With Rain Likely”
“Moonset at Sunrise”
“Welcome Home”
“Not All Black & White”
“The Race is On”
“Landscape of my Heart”
“Looking East”
“Shadow Stripes”
“October Sunset”
“Sunny Storm”
“Birch Lace”
“Solstice Moon”
“New Horizons”
“Shaft of Light”
“Under the Ice #4”
“Homespun”
“Collapse”
“Geode”
“Arctic Haze”
“New Horizons”
“Abstract Thoughts”
“Turquoise Weave”
“Tropical Weave”
“Boing”
“Aurora”
“Dreams Fly Up (back)”
“Wave of Flowers”
“Horizon”
“Another Way of Looking at It”
“Weaving the Sky”
“Beautiful Bark”
“Blended Families ”
“Blended Family”
“Block Party”
“Broken Pottery”
“Falling into Christmas”
“Dreams Fly Up (front)”
“Crash”
“Christmas Tree”
“Chips”
“Flight of the Golden Leaves”
“Gather all the Pieces”
“Glow with the Flow”
“Grotto Maze”
“Jumble”
“In the Woods”
“Nesting Instinct”
“Popsicle Trees”
“Thinking of Summer (in the middle of winter) ”
“Tidal Pool”
“Under Water”
“Under the Ice 1”
“Under the Ice 2”
“Under the Ice 3”
“Where are we going”
“Jackson in the Closet”
“Day is Done - Settling Down”
“Cruisin' With the Caribou”
“A Dog and His Boy”
“Lion King”
“Snowflake #22”
“Snowflake #1”
“Snowflake #5”
“Neon Snowflakes”
“Snowflake #8”
“Snowflake #2”
“Patriotic snowflakes”
“Snowflake 3”
“Snowflake 4”
“Snowflake 6”
“Snowflake 7”
“Snowflake 9”
“Snowflake 10”
“Snowflake 11”
“Snowflake 12”
“Snowflake 13”
“Snowflake 14”
“Snowflake 15”
“Snowflake 16”
“Snowflake 17”
“Snowflake 18”
“Snowflake 19”
“Snowflake 20”
“Snowflake 21”
“Snowflakes of a Different Color”
“Sunny Day Snowflakes”
“Cowgirl Boots”
“Bunny Boots”
“Magic Boots”
“Mukluks”
“Motorcycle Boots”
“Special Night Nine-Patch”
“Underwater Blues Nine-Patch”
“Nervous Energy Nine-Patch”
“Magma Nine-Patch”
“Cosmic Nine-Patch”
“Urban Planning Nine-Patch”
“Snowflake #23”
“Birch Lace”
“Solstice moon”
“Slippers”
“Baby pillow”
“Praise for the morning”
“Turkey tracks 9 patch”
“Mesmerized”
“Jewels of the earth & sky 9 patch”
