Featured Artist Wyanne Thompson

Artist Wyanne Thompson paints what makes her happy, in the hopes that she will bring happiness and joy to those who see her art. Learn more about this fascinating artist and her work by visiting her website.

 

 

I’ve been called indomitable by the art world, and I suppose that I am. As a kid, especially in my teen years, it drove me a bit crazy when people mispronounced my name as “Wayne.” For the record it is “Wyanne” pronounced Y-Anne.

 

 

In college, I worked my tail off to achieve a BFA in Fine Art. I minored in photography, a love that came more easily, so my initial vision was to achieve art imagery success with film. That was 1987.

 

 

When my first child turned two in 1996, I picked up a paintbrush again. I have been a full-time professional artist ever since.

 

 

Over the last decade, my work has moved from whimsical to somewhat complex and more colorful statements of life and its events.

 

 

I use many different techniques with my paintings. Watercolor is my first love, but I also use acrylic, encaustic and resin.

 

 

In late 2013, I was diagnosed with stage four oral cancer with months to live in spite of never having used tobacco or alcohol in my life. This devastating news was nightmarishly real, and lead to amazing surgeons and extreme specialists who reversed my death sentence.

 

 

I lost my entire tongue and a lot of tissue on my neck in the process, but I’m alive and cancer-free and painting like a bad-ass.

 

 

Within days of my 13 hour surgery, I was sitting up in the hospital and painting. It was the art that got me through that ordeal, with over two years of treatments, chemo, radiation, and healing again. With a living “flap” of skin, grafted from my forearm, the surgeons sewed my new tongue where my old tongue used to be and I had to learn to speak all over again. This was the most incredibly difficult challenge I had ever faced in my life.

 

 

For a time, I had to put my art classes and students on hold, and learn to form words all over again, without a tongue that moves or swallows. I now have a permanent speech impediment, but I’m doing wonderfully well and simply place subtitles on my art videos and classes.

 

 

My artwork now is much larger than in the past. I am painting on canvasses and wood panels that range from 36” x 36” up to 48”, 60” or even 72” in size. My challenges inspire me to create art that makes art that’s fun, playful and joyful. I hope it makes people happy and reminds them not to live life on autopilot.

 

 

My newest business cards on the front side say “friggin’ cool, badass happy art.” On the back—“painter, jewelry maker, badass cancer warrior with a speech impediment,” as well as, “life’s too short – BE HAPPY LOVE BIG.”

 

Artist Wyanne Thompson invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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