Please join us for our Opening Reception
Friday, November 6,
From 6 - 8 pm
&
Meet the Artist
Saturday, November 7,
From 2 - 4 pm
Allan Thomas is a Contemporary Realist who focuses on urban landscapes. His work documents the relationship between people and their urban environment.
The work in Pigment and Pavement came from my travels to some of the major cities around Canada. I wanted to highlight the busyness and chaotic nature of city life. This is especially noticeable when compared to my last show, Flat Earth from 2025, which celebrated prairie life found throughout Alberta and Saskatchewan, focusing in on the relationship we have with nature and how we live alongside it.
Because there are so many options in these large hubs for people to eat or shop at, businesses have to try and compete for our attention, and it results in so many interesting storefronts trying to draw you in. This tough competition leaves me wondering how long any of these places will last and what may come of the buildings once they’re gone. So my paintings are an attempt at capturing these unique fixtures in Canadian history.
Another thing that will stand out to anyone who has followed my career through the years is the number of night scenes included in this show. Painting them is a new experience that opens up another side of our society I’ve not explored in this way before. A painting like SPIN IT RECORDS would not have the same effect had I not pictured it just as the sky was darkening and the glow of the store sign was starting up. The glow of these signs is a different way businesses win people’s attention.
Also included are a couple of scratchboard studies which goes to show how long some of these images stay with me before I decide to paint them. The VARIMART scratchboard was done in 2020, but it wasn’t until this year that I got the chance to paint it. Similarly, the PSYCHIC READER was done in 2020, but I have yet to paint it. I know I will eventually; it’s just waiting for the right opportunity.
