Hey there!
I wanted to take a second to say hello and introduce myself. My name is Shaun Thomas and I am an Artist who creates coastal modern wave art.
Whether you are seeing my work for the first time, a new fan or have been following my journey for a while, welcome! I am truly excited you have stopped by to check out my work.
To give you more insight with a little backstory, my career as an Artist started about 9 years ago…
At that time I was running a small design firm as an experienced Graphic Designer. From logos to websites I tackled any and all design work.
With a move to San Clemente, I found myself with empty walls and rooms to fill with furniture.
As someone who is passionate in all facets of design, I seem to constantly challenge myself outside of work, whether it’s interior design, restoring cars, painting surfboards and skateboards, etc. I would get lost in it and absolutely loved it.
In need of furniture in my new place, I decided to challenge myself and build a few pieces. Bringing the pieces to life by applying different stains was my favorite part. You never knew exactly how it was going to turn out but I remember loving the process.
After finishing up the furniture pieces and realizing how much I enjoyed working with wood, I started looking around at all the large empty walls in my place.
At the time I was Surfing daily, twice a day when the waves were up. The overall theme that I wanted to create in my home was fairly obvious. Incorporating wood was the real challenge.
My original style as a Graphic Designer was simplistic and minimalistic. I like organization. There was a reason, a purpose, and a balance for all items in each design.
Naturally I started picking apart how I could simplify various coastal scenes and waves. I broke down section by section seeing how simple I could take each piece while still being able to make out what the image actually was.
From the get go, I went big. I had the wall space, so I started designing pieces that were 6, 7 and even 8 feet wide. Creating something at this size has a bigger impact on a room. How it ties into the environment and makes you feel when viewing the piece all are important factors.
After creating my first wave sculpture, “The Curl”, I then created a few more works, got featured in a few local San Clemente and Laguna Beach Art Galleries, and my career as a full time artist truly began.
There is something truly amazing from taking a concept or an initial design and bringing it to life. Especially in this digital age. Each and every piece brings me a feeling of joy. I get lost in it.
There is much more to my story, but I’ll continue to share as we go along.
If you are interested to hear more about my journey, updates on new modern coastal art, gallery event announcements, and more. Make sure and sign up to my newsletter. P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook and or Tiktok.
- (Pictured above, “The Curl”. My first piece.)