Michael N. Thomas
Safe Space, 2024
Acrylic and Oil on Canvas
40 x 30"

About the artwork

This particular painting reflects my constant struggle with mental health. Being able to find your safe space inside your heart and mind is an important place for me. A safe space should allow you to relax when things are beyond control.

When I start to paint, sometimes I try to imagine what that safe space feels like. I want to envision what it looks like and how it's being built. I try to see what the colors are, what the materials of the building, or what they lack. This painting really represents how I build boundaries that help keep me safe and focused in my life.

Bio

Michael N. Thomas, is a painter, designer, and mixed media artist hailing from New York City. Growing up in a multicultural household in Queens, New York, he began to use the city as his muse. The son of an Ecuadorian immigrant mother and an American free-spirited father, he learned the importance of creating art at a young age. Now a father himself, he speaks through each piece he creates.

Michael's use of color and line are both poetic and powerful. Growing up in the 80's and 90's, surrounded by the culture of New York City, inspired his abstract and textured style. Post-punk music, graffiti art, and Nuyorican poetry helped to shape his perspective. He also channels human existence into each piece leaving the viewer to question how art, culture, and life become one.

Michael relocated to Philadelphia in 1998 to attend art school and further his independent growth. He studied at the Art Institute of Philadelphia and private ateliers.

Michael maintains his primary studio, TigerHorseArt Studio, in Philadelphia. His work appears around the country and is held in many private collections.

https://tigerhorseart.com