Biography

Dave Thomas – Biography

Dave Thomas is an American painter whose five-decade career has been shaped by the landscapes of California, Montana, and Idaho.

Born in Fresno in 1949, Thomas began painting at fifteen and has maintained an uninterrupted studio practice ever since. His early exposure to the California coast — surfing and sailing throughout adolescence — established a lasting framework for his artistic thinking, drawing a parallel between the instinctive, responsive decision-making of navigating open water and the act of working on canvas.

Thomas went on to earn both his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts in 1974. Thomas’s paintings have been exhibited and collected in galleries across the United States, from Beverly Hills to the East Coast, and are held in numerous private collections.

A move to Montana introduced the open spaces and expansive skies and Rocky Mountains of the American West into his visual language, an influence that continues to define his work today. Thomas maintains an active studio practice. He lives and works in McCall Idaho, sustained by continued engagement with the wider contemporary art world.