‘I Love the Challenge’: Artist Cari Thompson Reflects on Her Work

From the NVN:

Cari Thompson moved to Yelm nearly 35 years ago in search of “life in the slow lane” after she became a well-known artist in Carmel, California.

Thompson’s love of painting came when she was a young child. Her mother gave her the remains of a “paint by numbers” set, which included leftover paint. As a kid that was always looking for things to do, Thompson fell in love with art after she received her new paint set.

“I thought I must’ve died and gone to heaven. I was 4 years old when I started painting and I never really stopped,” Thompson said. “When I was younger, I was always amazed when I did a painting or drawing. When it was done, I would feel like ‘who did that?’ because I had no training at that time.”

Thompson said by the time she was a junior in college, she had already completed the university’s art curriculum and was scheduled to graduate a year ahead of time. She instead stayed in school to pursue a second degree in art education.

After she graduated, Thompson took several new ventures head on. She worked several years for a graphic design company, before she decided to move on to something more creative. She received several opportunities to travel to Europe for inspiration and to India for manufacturing in her new field of fashion design.

One thing stayed consistent throughout Thompson’s life: her love and passion for art. After venturing out into the graphic design and fashion design fields, Thompson returned to doing what she loved most — painting.

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To view some of Thompson’s art, go online to gallerycari.com.

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