SUMMARY
In this episode of Painterly Life, host Shannon Grissom interviews artist and author Vicki Thomas, who shares her journey from fashion design to becoming a successful artist and writer. Vicki discusses her creative process, the challenges of staying inspired, and the importance of community support in the creative field. She also provides insights into her writing process and the themes of her young adult fantasy books, encouraging listeners to pursue their dreams and seek help along the way.
ABOUT
Vicki D. Thomas, a talented artist based in Mariposa, California, has spent decades exploring the exquisite world of watercolor painting. Her passion for this medium stems from its transparent qualities, allowing colors to blend harmoniously and create captivating visuals. Vicki’s vibrant floral compositions, particularly her still-life pieces, are a highlight of her portfolio. These beloved images have been licensed onto various giftware items, including teapots, tea infusers, tapestries, and music boxes, as well as prints, greeting cards, and wrap-around giclee canvases.
In addition to her watercolor work, Vicki has embraced acrylic painting, drawn to its versatility and rich texture. Her landscapes and floral artworks in this medium reflect her love for bold colors. With nearly 20 years of experience as a fashion illustrator in Los Angeles, she has honed her skill in depicting both adults and children, often infused with whimsical and fantasy themes.
Vicki has also made significant contributions to the art community, teaching watercolor to students of all ages and actively participating in local art clubs, particularly the Yosemite Sierra Artists (Oakhurst). Since moving to the Sierra Nevada Foothills near Yosemite National Park, she has enjoyed plein air painting amidst the breathtaking scenery. Vicki has exhibited her work in numerous galleries and art shows, earning accolades in juried competitions.
Beyond her artistic endeavors, Vicki is also an author. Inspired by a sudden spark of creativity, she penned seven books in the Relics Adventures series, publishing three with a traditional New York publisher. The first, “The Long Dark Cloak,” was followed by “The Golden Lantern,” and most recently, “The King’s Scepter,” released in March 2024. Currently, she is working on the fourth installment while actively participating in the literary community as a member of SCBWI and Central Valley Fiction Writers.
With a welcoming home in the Sierra Nevada, Vicki shares her life with her husband, where they enjoy the company of local wildlife, including deer, quail, and the ever-squawking ravens. Her artistic journey continues to flourish as she bridges her love for visual art and storytelling. For more of her work, please visit her website: www.vickithomasartist.net
LINKS
Websites
https://www.vickithomasauthor.com
https://www.vickithomasartist.net
Books
The Long Dark Cloak: https://amzn.to/4krQ8fT
The Golden Lantern: https://amzn.to/4hCeNLY
The King’s Scepter: https://amzn.to/3FrZqbV
Social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vickithomasauthor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vickithomas.735
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fantasybooks2022/
Twitter: https://x.com/vickith72535271
Twitter: https://x.com/vickithoma87961
Inspired and ready to paint? Check out this link to a great starter set: https://amzn.to/3EkvZrv 149Pcs Deluxe Artist Painting Set with Aluminum and Beech Wood Easel, 48 Colors Acrylic Paints, 24 Colors Oil Paints, 24 Colors Watercolor Paints, Art Paint Supplies for Artists, Beginner & Adults. Note: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
SUPPORT CREATIVITY! Are you inspired by the conversations and stories we share on Painterly Life? If so, we invite you to become a vital part of our journey by contributing to our show! https://www.buzzsprout.com/2219255/support
TRANSCRIPT
Shannon Grissom (00:05.71)
Hi, I’m Shannon Grissom. Are you looking to ignite your creativity? Or how about be inspired by a steady stream of muses?
Welcome to Painterly Life, the podcast that celebrates those who create, inspire, and innovate. So whether you’re looking to spark your next big idea, reignite your passion, or simply soak in some creative energy, this is the place for you. Painterly Life, where every guest is a new muse, just for you.
Shannon Grissom (00:50.604)
Welcome to Painterly Life. I’m your host, Shannon Grissom. I’m excited about today’s guest, superstar Vicki Thomas. Vicki is an artist and author with a background in fashion design. Welcome, Vicki.
Thank you, Shannon. I’m so happy to be here with you. Oh sure
Welcome. Yeah, I met Vicki at this old one-room schoolhouse. It was this really cool building. had woodpecker holes. You could see daylight through there. And we used to go paint from a live model every Friday. And the cool thing is that when I moved up to the mountains, I didn’t know a soul.
And Vicki just was so warm and welcoming. And so you really made my introduction to the art scene up there just so much more enjoyable. So thank you for that, Vicki.
Shannon, you are so welcome, but you have to understand that you also were very approachable. And I love seeing what you were doing and you were a new person. And I think every new person knows how it feels to enter a new arena and then to be accepted by their peers. So I think it was an excellent connection and it was meant to be.
Shannon Grissom (02:07.064)
Yes, totally, thank you. Okay, so you’ve done so many things, but you started off, well, okay, so before painting, before writing the books, you were an illustrator, but I know there was more even before that. So how did the whole fashion design artists come into play?
I remember that I was planning to be a hairdresser and my father had already sent in the money so that I could go to school and study hairdressing. And it came about as a very odd thing that a friend of mine said, Vicki, you don’t seem like you’re at all interested in hairdressing. You are always drawing and painting. I think you should be an artist. And I’m so grateful that that came from a stranger to tell me where she thought my life should be.
And that was the avenue that I took. Well, I have to say that after I graduated from high school, I went to the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and majored in fashion and minored in painting. I finished that course with what they had as a junior year abroad to Europe. And so I went to Europe and studied in Amsterdam, Holland.
and I recall that we took a trip to Paris and saw a Dior fashion show. It was so exciting. Now, to just say, I’m pretty sure that by that time, Christian, Dior was not with us anymore, and it was a man named Bowen. But to see an absolute fashion…
show on the stages in Paris. Well, I really thought I was something. That really inspired me so that when I moved then to California, I got into the fashion business.
Shannon Grissom (04:05.494)
So how did that happen?
Yes, well, let me just say that when I got my first job in California, it was for a company that did mother and children and daughter look alike. And it was a very good experience for me, but I learned very quickly that this wasn’t for me because I like drawing and I like color.
So I went to work for a buying office and a buying office for those of you that may not know it is the go-between company between wholesale and retail and I was hired as a secretary and staff artist. As it turned out it was one of the best places for me because I learned a lot about fashion and the industry. Maybe take me two years or three years ahead and I decided what I really wanted to do was to have my own business.
Some people just work better by themselves. And so in that same building, I opened my own business on the fifth floor, and now I had a fashion illustration business, which is quite a bit different than design. And it was really wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of it. But it was hard work, Shannon, as you know, to have your own business. You have to be diligent. You have to be on time. You have to do a good job.
I recall, if I can slip in a little story here that will really emphasize what I’m telling you, I know I had a job to do and it was due the next day. And I was working and working so hard and then I realized it had gotten so late that the building was locked. And I says, how am I going to get out of here and go home? And there was no way to get out. And I called a couple people. I called the manager of the building. He says,
Vicki Thomas (05:52.172)
Well, I can’t come all the way down from Hollywood to open the building up for you. I’m sorry, you’re going to have to stay there till morning. So I laid down, I laid down on my floor and I tried to sleep of my studio. But the elevators had a mind of their own and they kept going up and down and up and down. It was crazy. It was really crazy.
So the next morning, I got up early, I left the building, rushed home, took a shower, come home, I came home, and I turned in my work and I was just exhausted. But these are the kind of things that you have to be willing to do when you have your own business. And it makes a lot of sense when you come right down to it, doesn’t it?
It does. And that’s just really indicative of you. You’ve always been such a hard worker and diligent and it’s carried through your life. So it sounds like the fashion business really was a good segue into licensing your art because I know you’ve had your art on a number of products. So how did the business side of that help you with your licensing?
Well, it’s interesting really is that I was in the fashion industry for about 18 years and then the industry began to change. Perhaps a bit naive of me that I didn’t see this coming, but they changed more to photography. Well, then that left the illustrators having less and less work. So I started using my time more productively and went to classes.
I joined an art organization which was called the Mid Valley Arts League in Southern California. Great, great art club. I really loved the artists and most of them were watercolorists, so I fit right in. But I also went to different workshops and went to regular classes. If you don’t mind me saying, I took classes at Pasadena City College and had wonderful instructors like Robert E. Wood.
Vicki Thomas (07:51.82)
Jan Kunz who was a portrait artist, Corrine Hartley who probably made the greatest difference in my life because she did children and was also an illustrator at Bullocks and I just loved her to pieces. She was so fun. She was great.
Well, I mean what an amazing experience to to have studied under all those teachers.
Well, these were workshops mostly. And Charles Reid, I see some of his work coming up now more and more on Facebook. And he was a wonderful watercolorist. May I just back up and answer one of the questions that you asked? How did I get into licensing? Yeah. And I did some research about the people that put items, your work on giftware.
And I sent my work all over to various manufacturers. And some of them got back to me. And one of them in particular, which was in Cookville, Tennessee, really lovely people. And they reproduced many of my floral pieces in prints and also on various gift-ware items. And I could show a couple of those to you here right now. For example, there was this one with a sunflower. They call it a suncatcher.
And that same image went on a box, a glass box, and a few other items, including a print of that sunflower. It was so exciting that I remember going into a Walmart and I was looking in their rug section and there I saw my kitchen splice rug with my design on it. It was so exciting. Now we all deserve.
Vicki Thomas (09:40.3)
these moments of excitement for our own work and our own gifts, don’t we Shannon? A lady walked by and I says, look at this, look at this, this is my image on here. I’m the artist. And she gives me that sort of like eyebrow up like, yeah, right. Well, really, and it’s very exciting. In fact, it impressed me so much and I was so a joyed that I found a number of different gift wear people on my own that did.
yeah.
Shannon Grissom (09:56.535)
Ha ha!
Vicki Thomas (10:10.2)
beautiful wooden boxes with music and an entire tea set and one of the pieces in the tea set is here. And this is a little teapot that has my engine. It was a plein air painting that I did while I did a workshop in Italy and they did a whole set of plates and cups and saucers and it was my real pride and joy. So I love the giftware market. Now this, if I could just add on to this, this changed in the late 80s, I suspect.
it got a bit saturated. So many of the companies, including my print publisher, went out of business. I was fortunate to find another one in Pomona, California, which wasn’t so far from me, maybe 25 or 30 minutes. And they were also great people. And they went also into giftware and reproducing many of my pieces on wraparound canvases. So altogether, it was just a wonderful experience for me.
Well, you’ve had so many. do you ever get stuck creatively? Do you ever have times where it just doesn’t seem to flow as well?
think we all creative people could say that that horrible time visits us. And I’m sure it does for you, Shannon, also. You’re the various places, things that you do, and you also are an author, you are a painter, you are a musician, and you see all these things that you do and hope to be stimulated every year, every day, so that you can work on your…
your wonderful things that you love to do. And I think to keep creative and to keep doing these things, it has to somehow be, has to be a habit. And these habits can come by reading art magazines or sitting in a corner somewhere and just reading a good book and let the spiritual flow through you so that you can use this information and put it forward. I think going to workshops also helps a great deal.
Vicki Thomas (12:18.604)
watching master artists on YouTube. Now, eating chocolate and pretzels, that has never been a challenge to me. I could write into that any time. But making it a habit of getting into your art and your writing does take some extra conscientious thought.
So how did you flow from, for me, there’s always, no matter what medium I’m working in, whether it’s painting, writing, and music, there’s always one that’s going to be alpha dog for a while. And so what’s your alpha dog right now? What are you working on right now?
Well, interesting you should ask. My focus right now and has been is getting my fourth book out there, which we haven’t really touched upon. But yes, I do have three young adult fantasy books in the marketplace under the title of the Relics Adventure. And it was very interesting how that happened to me. Totally unexpected. It’s like a stainless steel baseball bat came out of the heaven.
and hit me over the head. It really did. It was an inspirational moment and drove me and obsessed me to write these books. my mentor, well, I shouldn’t say mentor, but who I admired greatly was J.K. Rowlings, who wrote the seven book series of the Harry Potter series. I read all of those books and watched those, yes, CDs over and over again until it really resonated with me.
It was an exciting time and it drove me. It was a real passion. I can’t really understand that. And I found myself writing crazily and watching these CDs until it just infiltrated my mind. You know what it was like? It was like having a theater in your brain. That you could see all these things happen between the characters and the development of the story.
Vicki Thomas (14:30.582)
As you know, there needs to be an arc from your protagonist, your main character, from the beginning. What does he want? And the arc of how does he get there? How does he achieve his goals? And so I had to work all of these things out and it’s been a true joy. So working on now is my fourth book and I’m in the editing stages of it. And when I complete that, I will send it to a reader who knows my
series quite well and she will edit it. Then I will send it to my editor at the Wild Rose Press in New York. She will edit it. She’ll send back her edits to me. I will edit it, send back to her. So it’s not really writing at all. All of this is editing. But I’m very excited about it. I’m very excited about it.
Well, I was really tickled to discover your process that you… Now, did you write all of them longhand first before you plugged them into the computer? Did they all come out that way?
Well, that was all part of the inspiration, I think, that baseball bat I told you about. I sat down to write longhand because I feel that it’s some kind of chamber up here. It rolls down my hand to the end of my fingers and there I’m holding a pen and I just started writing and writing and writing. And in two years, two years of dedicated writing, I wrote seven books by hand. Even that amazes me today.
I’m a little disconcerted because I can hardly read what I wrote. Many of the ideas and the way the book flows is there. I just have to be able to understand it. And it was quite a process. Now, this is not really that unusual that a person would write their books out by hand. And a couple of them that I did a little research on that J.K. Rawlings wrote all of her books by hand.
Vicki Thomas (16:38.216)
And another one would be Jane Austen, Neil Gaiman. Another one would be Edgar Allan Poe. And if it’s good for Edgar, it really did work for me.
It’s good.
Well, I know that when I’m writing the lyrics for my songs, those are longhand. I feel like it’s a direct channel when I’ve got the pen in my hand and I just let it flow. I’ll do the editing online, but for the dump of what I’m getting out there, I’ve got to have that pen and it just like comes through me.
I understand totally what I’m talking about. No, that doesn’t mean that doing it on a computer is wrong. Best spiritual channel for you.
No, it’s just different.
Shannon Grissom (17:30.24)
Right. Yes, I agree. And that for me, it’s it’s I’m not writing it anyway. It’s it’s all it’s all being downloaded to me. So that sounds like what happened to you.
Yes, interesting way to put it. Yes, it all goes down on your hard drive and somehow then you bring it all back to have it make sense, right?
Yes, yes. So what are your favorite ways to fill your well to help you stay creative besides the pretzels and chocolate?
Well, to stay creative, I think what works best for me, and this was something that someone told me, a teacher told me a long time ago, is that when you are painting, for example, stop when you know the painting’s going well and you have the feeling it’s gonna really turn out to be one of your better paintings. Stop, walk away from it.
And then the next morning, you’ll be really excited to get up and start working on that painting that is going so well. And I have used that device several times, and it has worked. Have you ever tried anything like that, Shannon?
Shannon Grissom (18:42.006)
Yeah, you know, I’ve, when I don’t stop, sometimes I take it too far, like it was better before if I had just left it alone. Okay, but no, I’m going to make it better. And I’m doing this and I’m doing that. And before you know it, it’s a muddy mess and I have to wait and yeah. So it’s so it is good to quit while you’re ahead and take a break and get back from it.
So do you the same thing with your writing?
Sometimes that is necessary. I think one of the hardest things, now you think it would be easy to write 80,000 words. That’s a lot of words to write. Each one of my books are. And by the way, J.K. Rowling, who was such an inspiration to me, her books were middle grade. Mine are Young Adult, which the age is about 13 to 18.
It has also had a crossover to the adults, which is such a joy because adults have come to me and said, I have loved your first and second and third book. I can’t wait till the fourth one comes out. When are you going to have that fourth book out? And I look a little bit shy and I think, well, I’m working. I’m working on it. so that’s my inspiration too. And a matter of fact, each book has come out about March of each year.
And I have already passed that, but because of various personal changes and challenges in my life, there’s been a delay. And I just feel, you know, that’s the way life is. You have to rather expect those interruptions. In fact, I have a saying that I picked up a very long time ago, and I can’t contribute who wrote it, and I’m sorry about that, because it is so excellent. And that is life intervenes and thwarts
Vicki Thomas (20:38.828)
dreams and whenever I take a look at that little saying I say this is not going to happen to me I’m going to clutch on again and get started and get going and not give up my dreams and I would certainly encourage that to everybody out there that has these dreams that they really need to come true and that’s you and me Shannon and all the friends we have.
We do get things thrown at us. And so for me, it might slow me down and I might even get derailed, but eventually I get back on the train and keep going. And you’re definitely an inspiration with not only everything you create, but your perseverance no matter what life throws at you. You’re definitely a powerhouse.
Well, that’s very sweet of you to say. And I’m really appreciative that you see these wonderful things in me as I see very wonderful things in you, Shannon. And we’re a good influencers to each other, aren’t we? And this is a good word, influencing each other and to promote each other in our endeavors and how very much that helps in our lives.
Yes, I feel like anytime somebody else succeeds, it just lifts us all up. so that’s part of why I started this podcast and have had some things thrown at me, life little things that have been thrown at me. And so by interviewing you guys, I get totally excited and stoked and I’m hoping that…
The same thing happens for all of you out there. So I’d like to hear a little bit about the themes of your books. And if you could just maybe go through one through four and just give a little synopsis. Do you mind giving a little synopsis of each one of your books?
Vicki Thomas (22:36.11)
Well, I think I could give you a little bit of an idea what it is. It’s a young man who’s 15 years old when the first book opens, and that’s The Long Dark Cloak, book number one. And he is all alone for his parents have died in a train accident. By the way, this takes place in an area that is truly called the New Forest. And I changed it to the West Forest. And in that way, a fantasy writer can change things.
however they want to change it. And for example, if they have no rivers, I can create a river. If they have no mountains, I can create mountains. And so this small area is about 90,000 square miles in southern England, about where the Soliant goes through. It’s a waterway at the bottom of Great Britain. And he lives there by himself on a farm. He has a brother that he hears.
has been seen in the West Forest. And so the character goes to the West Forest to find his brother. And that’s where the magic begins, is in the West Forest. And he finds him eventually. I shouldn’t tell you that, because that could be a spoiler. But that is what all part of what the arc is to find his missing brother who had said, gone off to the war and he never came home. So this leaves Ivan a very lonely boy.
And in the second series, then there is the introduction of other people that come into it, including witches and trolls and ghouls. And it’s very exciting. And each one gets a little bit more adventuresome. And my protagonist overcomes these things. And as he does, he begins to grow and matures and makes great friends in the forest.
Now the fourth book I don’t think I’m going to tell you about because that’s all on the horizon. But you can bet he has more adventures in the mystical forest where there are creatures that you’ve never heard of before, including a great tree. And there are serendipitous things that do happen. I took a trip to England so that I could find out what it was like to walk through the meadows and to see what the heather looks like.
Vicki Thomas (25:00.512)
and the little drawn bridges and stone bridges. And I realized that they had this huge tree called the queen. And I went to visit the queen. And I think now they have a fence around her. And she became the big tree in my book. And I picked up an acorn. And what I said to myself as a little encouragement, take this acorn home with you, plant it.
And when it grows into a tree, you will have your series done. And then you can both celebrate the tree at home and the great tree in the forest of the new forest. But unfortunately,
The acorn had a lot of holes in it. It was already damaged by bugs and insects and things. And so of course I had to throw it away. And I don’t believe it would have been a very good idea anyway to take it home with me. But it was a very good idea, Shannon.
I think it’s a great idea. And now you live in a place that’s got wonderful trees.
And oak trees, beautiful oaks and pines and it’s wonderful.
Shannon Grissom (26:14.51)
that’s great. So do you have any advice for young people starting out or anybody just starting out on the creative path? What do you wish you knew before you started?
Well, I think I wish I knew that there are a lot of people out there willing to help you. And again, those would be the influencers and influences. I believe that word actually belongs in the world of writing, the influencer, but it also is art. And it seems that you gravitate towards those things and people that can help you out to reach your goals. And I know many, many people on the way and you would be one of them.
and the teacher that I mentioned, Corrine Hartley, would have been another one. But I had a lot of art friends that I have stayed in touch with. Now, you will know this, but I also belong to the art group that is up here in the Sierra Nevada mountains where I live. And that is the Yosemite Sierra Artist Art Group. And I’ve belonged to that as long as I have been up here and have just loved the artists and things that they do. They are very active.
And you may know that we now have our own gallery located in Oakhurst the Yosemite Sierra Artist Gallery. And we’re going to have our ribbon cutting at the end of this month. So if anybody is in the area, please come by and see this wonderful gallery we have. It has beautiful artwork and great artists there.
I’m just really happy for all of you up there. It’s such a great organization. So I’m stoked that they have their own gallery now. That’s great.
Vicki Thomas (27:55.47)
Yeah, it’s too bad you couldn’t
I it. I know it. I miss you guys.
We miss you too greatly.
Thank you. So where can people find more about you, your art, your books online?
I’m so happy you asked. You can see, you can find my work, my beautiful websites, www.vickithomasartist.net and www.vickithomasauthor.com. And I’d love it if you’d go on my website and leave a little note.
Vicki Thomas (28:37.898)
And look at the paintings that I have there. It was designed by a very wonderful designer. I think she did a great job of it. And just leave a little hello and nice to see you on the podcast, Vicki. Keep up and keep those dreams, girl.
That’s great. Well, I will put all those links in the show notes. Thanks for being here, Vicki. We truly enjoyed having you on the show.
Well, Shannon, I really sincerely have to thank you too, because we have been through something to get this thing going. Your tenaciousness is just overwhelming. I love you as a friend. I’m proud to have you as a friend. I’m proud of everything that you do. Thank you so much for visiting me and allowing me to come on The Painterly Life.
Thank you, Vicki, made my day. All right, that’s a wrap for this show, everyone. Please go to painterlylife.com. You can find us on YouTube. You can find us wherever you get your podcasts, but the YouTube has all the special visual goodies that you wouldn’t get on just the audio. So thanks again for tuning in. We will see you next show.
Thank you, Shannon.
Shannon Grissom (29:55.448)
You’re welcome. Bye bye.