Alma Thomas Painting — Extra Ordinary

Create your own Alma Thomas-Inspired Painting!

Find the extraordinary while Creating your own Alma Thomas-inspired painting! Alma Thomas is best known for her colorful abstract paintings. She moved to Washington D.C. with her family to escape racial injustice and racial violence in 1907. It is in D.C. where she attended Howard University, became an art educator, and eventually a well-known painter. Although Thomas is no longer with us, her work continues to inspire and remain relevant. Former president Barack Obama brought Thomas’ name back to the forefront when he chose to have her work hang in the white house during his tenure. Read more about Alma Thomas here and see images of her extraordinary work here.

For this project you’ll need mixed-media paper, acrylic paint, and a paintbrush. To begin, set up your mixed-media paper and cut it down to the size you want your painting to be. When your paper is the size you see fit, grab your paints! Now, the creativity is yours! Alma Thomas is known fo her simple, organic and vibrant paintings that, with her thick brush strokes, both soothe and stimulate the mind. Thomas took inspiration from the patterns and colors of the plants and trees around her. Before you put brush to paper, you might take a careful look at your surroundings to get inspired. You can also find images of Thomas’ work below to help spark your creative juices! My final product is heavily influenced by her painting, Summer at its Best, 1968 (pictured below). This project is a great image to hang on the wall or turn into a card for a loved one! If interested in making your painting into a card, wait for your artwork to dry and then write your note on the back with a pen.

Suggested Materials

-Pen (if making into a card)

See images of Alma Thomas’ work, a photo of activity materials, a video of my making process, and a photo of my final product below.

Happy making!