Jeff Thomsen
I paint representationally and mostly in oils, both scenes observed and those imagined. I am sometimes inspired by music, often by animals, and always by the atmospheric play of light falling throughout the day and drifting away at night. I like a sense of narrative and feeling of place and character, and so I attempt to manipulate my paint to realize these feelings. I often see the world in deep, vibrating layers, and I do my best to paint in a way that reflects this.
In this current exhibition, I have included five paintings and some of their preliminary studies for a project that I had embarked on more than two years ago. The project was to make a painting that corresponded to each of the five movements of a piano suite by Maurice Ravel called Miroirs (Reflections or Mirrors). These would be imaginary works, four landscapes and one seascape, shaped not by external stimuli, but by my responses to the music (specifically, the music as performed by several wonderful pianists set down on CDs). The imagery would also be significantly shaped by the titles Ravel had appended to each movement: Noctuelles (Night Moths), Oiseaux tristes (Sad Birds), Une barque sur l’océan (A Boat on the Ocean), Alborada del gracioso (Morning Song of the Jester), and La vallée des cloches (Valley of the Bells). The imagery would be nothing more than my own personal “reflections” of the music.
As to why I decided to do this, let’s say that I wanted to challenge myself to not only stretch my powers of imagination and sensitivity, but to also seek out new ways to manipulate paint and color in order to help realize what I feel. I hope you enjoy the results!
QR Codes in the exhibition will link each painting to a performance of the movement that inspired it.
Jeff Thomsen's most recent solo exhibition Miroirs and Other Paintings was on view January 15 - February 9, 2025. A selection of works is currently available at the gallery as indicated below. For inquiries on all others, please Contact Us.
Miroirs Booklet by Jeff Thomsen
Miroirs: Noctuelles (Night Moths), oil on linen, 24" x 30" Available
Miroirs: Oiseaux tristes (Sad Birds), oil on linen, 24" x 30" Available
Miroirs: Une barque sur l'océan (A Boat on the Ocean), oil on linen, 24" x 30" SOLD
Miroirs: Alborada del gracioso (Morning Song of the Jester), oil on linen, 24" x 30" Available
Miroirs: La vallée des cloches (Valley of the Bells), oil on linen, 30" x 24" Available
Summer Night in a Quiet City, oil on linen, 30" x 24" Available
Night Moths in Chestnut Hill, oil on linen, 30" x 24" Available
Street Scene with Leaf Bags, oil on board, 16" x 16" Available
July 2023, oil on linen on board, 11" x 14" SOLD
The Lafayette Sycamore and Gilpin House, oil on linen on board, 10" x 14" Available
Early March, oil on linen on board, 8" x 10" Available
Snowbells and Carriage House, oil on board, 10" x 10" Available
Rose Bush and Historical Marker, oil on linen on board, 8" x 6" SOLD
A Corner Yard in April, oil on board, 8" x 8" SOLD
Fall Street Scene, oil on linen on board, 9" x 12" Available
View from South Ardmore Park, oil on board, 8" x 10" Available
Winter Vines by a Spring House, oil on board, 12" x 9" Available
Study for Summer Night in a Quiet City, oil on linen on board, 20" x 14" Available
Study for Noctuelles and Oiseaux tristes, oil on linen, 12" x 24" Available
Study for Noctuelles, oil on linen, 12" x 15" Available
Study for La vallée des cloches, oil on linen on board, 9.75" x 7.75" SOLD
Grisaille Study for La vallée des cloches, oil on linen, 15" x 12" SOLD
Charcoal Study for La vallée des cloches, charcoal on paper, 30" x 24" Available
Charcoal Study for Oiseaux tristes, charcoal on paper, 24" x 30" SOLD
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Cerulean Arts Collective Virtual Tour & Talk - March 29, 2023
Toward Evening, oil on linen, 30" x 40"
Keeper, oil on linen, 30" x 20"
Young Jaguar, oil on linen, 24" x 30"
Six Young Jaguars, oil on board, 13" x 15"
Study for Toward Evening, oil on linen on board, 16" x 20"
Cat on a Fence, ink & watercolor on paper, 6" x 7.5" SOLD
Midsummer, oil on board, 10" x 10"
Quiet House, oil on linen on board, 14" x 18"
Perhaps Five Trees, oil on board, 8" x 16" SOLD
Summer Walk, oil on linen on panel, 9" x 12"
View to the Yard, oil on panel, 8" x 8"
First Leaves and Last, oil on linen on board, 11" x 14"
Midday, Spring, oil on board, 10.75" x 10.75"
Morning in the Shadow of the Yew Trees, oil on board, 8" x 13.5"
Small Pavillion, oil on board, 6.5" x 8.5"
Ball Field Study, oil on board, 12.25" x 18"
Return in the Summer, oil on linen, 24" x 30" SOLD
Rocks at Beavertail, watercolor on paper, 7.5" x 12" SOLD
Cove Off Conanicut Island, watercolor on paper, 7" x 10"
Rocks at Fort Wetherill, watercolor on paper, 7.5" x 11.5"
Jamestown Harbor, Showers, watercolor on paper, 6" x 12"
Rhode Island Windmill, ink wash on paper, 9" x 8.25" SOLD
Notating Nature, oil on linen, 24" x 36" SOLD
Summer Night in a Small Yard, oil on linen, 18" x 24"
Cat in Yellow Room, oil on linen mounted on panel, 16" x 20"
Night Scene with Cat, oil on panel, 12" x 16"
By a Quiet Road, oil on linen mounted on panel, 12" x 18"
The Light Across the Street, oil on panel, 11" x 14"
Lemur Looking, oil on linen mounted on panel, 9" x 12"
A Rumor of Spring, oil on panel, 14" x 11"
Bright Morning along Karakung Creek, oil on panel, 12" x 16"
Things Which Grow in Early Spring, oil on panel, 12" x 9" SOLD
Morning Study, oil on panel, 12" x 9"
Playing in the Creek, oil on panel, 9" x 12" SOLD
Flowers after News of Tilda, oil on panel, 18" x 12" SOLD
Summer Morning in Cathy's Yard, oil on panel, 8" x 16" SOLD
On Athens Avenue, oil on panel, 7" x 10.25"
Warm Morning, oil on panel, 8" x 12"
Red Tree Fall, oil on panel, 10" x 10"
Lynx, oil on panel, 9" x 12"
Step Study, oil on panel, 8" x 10"
Study for Return in the Summer, oil on paper, 11" x 14" SOLD
A Cat's Journey, oil on linen, 24" x 30" SOLD
Day Lilies, Hot Afternoon, oil on panel, 10" x 10"
A Mississippi Nocturne Study, oil on linen mounted on panel, 14" x 11"
Winter Bank, oil on linen mounted on panel, 9" x 12"
Community Garden, oil on panel, 9" x 12"
Midday, When People are at School or Work, oil on panel, 12" x 12"
Overgrowth and Undergrowth, oil on panel, 10" x 10" SOLD
Late Winter Thaw, oil on linen mounted on panel, 6.25" x 10" SOLD
February Dog and Walker, oil on panel, 8" x 8" SOLD
Sasha, charcoal on paper, 4.5" x 8" SOLD
March Snow Shadows, oil on panel, 8" x 8" SOLD
Study for Early Morning in a Small Town, oil on linen mounted on panel, 8" x 12" SOLD
Field Patch, August, oil on panel, 8" x 8" SOLD
March Daffodils, oil on panel, 10.875" x 18.375" SOLD
Corner Daffodils, oil on panel, 6" x 11" SOLD
Corner of a Yard, oil on museum board, 8.25" x 9.5" SOLD
Midsummer, Mill Grove, oil on panel, 8.25" x 13.125" SOLD
Bartram's Garden, oil on panel, 8" x 8" SOLD