Laughing Waters 2020
oil, acrylic, and spray paint on canvas 24 x 24 inches   Birdwatcher 2021
oil, acrylic, and spray paint on canvas 50 x 60 inches     Through figure and portrait painting/drawing, Patricia looks to remedy lived and inherited experiences, calling back to her Black girlhood to rewrite memory and create the opportunity for reflection and rest. Her work has been manifesting new places from old places, manipulating socialized racial rules that even creep into the spaces we so injudiciously deem racially neutral. Memory is peeled down and rebuilt as a place in which she can frequent the woods without fear, where she can dare lay in any space, where nature and her body are not policed, colonized, raped, shot, or poisoned and immersion into a femme safe haven is encouraged. Patricia prefers her hair in short, fat twists. Patricia's favorite color is Pink.

 

Patricia Renee' Thomas is a Philadelphia-based painter, drawer, and art educator, with a BFA from Tyler School of Art and Architecture and a current 2021 MFA candidate at University of Pennsylvania's Weitzman School of Design. She is recently a 2021 recipient of the Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art in collaboration with The Colored Girls Museum and Main Line Arts Center. Thomas was an arts educator at Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia; a Black History and social justice community staple and is currently an oil painting and drawing instructor at Tyler School of Art and Architecture Continuing Education.