Trevor Thomas Fine Arts
Horton , AL
“I share Southern Regionalist art through an Impressionist lens, celebrating color and light to reveal the extraordinary in the ordinary for everyone.”
Message
Trevor Thomas was born in Blount County, a rural county in Alabama. Growing up, he was always interested in art, but it was often a struggle to find instruction that met his level and took art making seriously. Fortunately, Trevor was born into a family that always supported his artistic practice and helped him find educational opportunities, including workshops and private lessons with dedicated professional artists.
After high school, Trevor attended Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting. While in Mississippi, he had the opportunity to meet and study under several inspiring artists and faculty members, including Richard Kelso, Jerrod Partridge, Nate Thiessen, Jon Micah Tyson, Brittany Davis, Jacob Rowan, and Bob Pennebaker. Through them, Trevor was able to continue his education and refine his skills with additional workshops and training.
Following graduation, Trevor returned to Alabama and is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in Painting at Athens State University, which he will complete in the summer of 2026. Graduate school has allowed him to further develop his vision as an artist while gaining valuable experiences, including being a teaching assistant for a college class, mentorship under Pamela Keller and James Richards, and participation in several significant exhibitions. Among his career highlights so far, Trevor was most excited to be included in the Alabama State Biennial Exhibition in Montgomery, where he won the award for Student Artists.
Looking ahead, Trevor hopes to teach in higher education after completing his MFA. He wants to make quality education more accessible for dedicated students who share the same passion. Throughout college and workshops, Trevor has been fortunate to learn from amazing teachers and mentors who truly cared about their students’ growth and creative vision. That same spirit of encouragement and guidance is what he hopes to carry forward in his own teaching.
Statement
When it comes to my work, there are several key things that are important to me. I want to create paintings that showcase the beauty of rural areas in the United States. Even though I am a southern artist, and my work highlights the South, I believe there is beauty in rural areas across the country.
Most of my work consists of oil paintings on panel, canvas, or, more recently, handmade paper. These works explore rural landscapes, overgrown structures, still life, and figurative subjects. The main purpose and theme in my work is to reveal the beauty in the mundane, the overlooked, or the everyday. We all drive down roads and, no matter where we are, we see landscapes, run-down buildings, or people going about their lives. I think I am especially drawn to overgrown structures because of the colors and textures found in peeling paint, rust on old cars, or weathered buildings. When you look closely at these things, you can’t help but notice the beauty hidden in what many people dismiss as ordinary, mundane, or even an eyesore.
In my figurative work, I aim to show everyday people as they are. Throughout much of art history, figurative painting was reserved for the wealthy or socially prominent, while ordinary people were often overlooked or disregarded because of class, money, or education. One artist I greatly admire for his figurative work is Grant Wood. Wood, an American Regionalist painter, often depicted everyday people without romanticizing or idealizing them. He saw the beauty in the ordinary, and that is the same idea I bring into my figurative work. I believe everyone has something beautiful to offer to the world.
Another common theme in my work is exploring the effects of light on objects and landscapes. Some of my greatest artistic influences are the Impressionists, such as Camille Pissarro and Claude Monet. These artists dedicated their lives to learning how to see color and to paint the shifting light effects that fall across the landscape and often going back and painting the same scene over and over. Similarly, color and light remain central themes in my own work.
Lastly, when people view my paintings, I want them to feel a sense of nostalgia. It always makes me happy when someone resonates with my work and says, “I know that place,” or “That reminds me of…” Those moments give me satisfaction and reassure me that I am on the right path with my art.