Famed for his river-wall work, Craig Thomas has spent 30 years on art in a variety of media

Long before he went to work on the river wall, painting historic scenes and famous Missourians on the long concrete canvas that protects downtown Cape Girardeau, Beth Wilson recognized the talent of Craig Thomas.

She was doing caricature drawings of patrons at Six Flags Over Mid-America when the Southeast Missouri student showed up for a job interview. Thomas also was looking to sketch out caricatures, but shifted gears when he discovered air-brushing T-shirts was a tad more lucrative.

He had experience in air-brushing, with partial thanks to Harold "Butch" Meyer, who turned Thomas loose on appliances, ones Meyer used to teach refrigerator/air conditioning repair at Cape Girardeau Vocational School. It was a trade, a direction Thomas' father encouraged for his son, who was dyslexic with attention deficit disorder, to pursue.

Thomas had taken pictures of some of his refrigerator artistry, which he brought to the interview along with paintings.

"I got to see his portfolio," Beth said. "I got to be there for his interview. That was pretty impressive with me."

Cape Girardeau artist Craig Thomas sketches thumbnail drafts while working on a project Dec. 19 at his home in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

Must have been. Thomas got the job, something he worked for two summers in the early 1980s.

"She was my boss," Thomas said. "Still is, I guess."

Translation: They've been married for 30 years.

Beth eventually followed Thomas' path to Southeast, obtained a teaching degree in art education and has been part of the quirky odyssey ride that accompanies a professional artist, which Thomas has been since he graduated from Southeast with an art degree and a minor in technical theater in 1985.

Beth taught art at Cape Central High School for 15 years before doing the same at Scott City High School.

Craig Thomas' degrees reflected his versatility, which he used in creating backdrops and props, as well as technical support at Southeast, and at a scene shop in Kansas City after graduation.

Since returning to Cape Girardeau in 1987, Thomas has become an integral member of the art community, serving on the river-wall committee since the 1990s and as president and a current chairman of the Visual Arts Cooperative. He cultivates the talents of others, conducting workshops and weekly figure-drawing sessions at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri since the mid-1990s.

His works can be found throughout the area, many in plain view to residents and tourists alike. He's done several panels, painted stones and other work on the Missouri River Tales on the river wall, where his name is among eight painted among its credits for the designers and painters.

He most recently added the portrait of Gen. Seth McKee to the Missouri Wall of Fame, one of several he's done.

His large murals can be found inside businesses, such as C.P. McGinty, First Missouri Bank and Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, and the outside of businesses -- such as the Pie Safe in Pocahontas.

The walls of their own home serve as a gallery to many of the local artists who have touched their lives and speak about the local art community.

"It's inspiring to see other people's work. It's motivating," Thomas said.

It extends a warmth in a humble setting.

"We're wealthy in art," Thomas said with a laugh.

It's apparent he enjoys to dip his brush in humor as he paints his way through life. He jokes about his first mural, a masterpiece on a wall in his high-school art classroom, in the basement of Jackson High School's "Old A" building, razed this year amid some sentiment to restore the structure.

"That's why there was such a demand to keep the place around," Thomas said, not attempting to keep a straight face.

His services have been in demand around the state, on display in Rolla, St. Louis and beyond. He said he's helped with about a half-dozen murals in or around Chicago, where he's painted a parking garage in vibrant colors, and his work can be found in Cincinnati.

"When you're doing that large stuff, you're changing the environment," Thomas said. "That's very interesting, I think."

His art plays out horizontally as well.

He painted a tribute to Chuck Berry on a parking lot in the Loop in St. Louis after the music legend died this past summer. It's not his most enduring work, but remnants of it still may be visible. It's street painting, another medium Thomas has immersed himself and where he does his most travel, participating in festivals around the country and beyond for years. In 2000, he and Beth traveled to Europe to paint on the streets of Grazie di Curtatone, Italy, which boasts being the home of the oldest such festival.

"Europeans all have their own opinion of who started it, but the Italians are the most prevalent, probably," Thomas said about street painting.

At the festival, he did a Leonardo da Vinci sketch, while Beth did a contemporary "Adam and Eve" by Marc Chagall at the religious-themed festival.

Thomas has worked on some street paintings for four or five days, but most are one- or two-day endeavors.

And since they're painted in tempera or soft pastel, they have a limited life, eventually erased by the first downpour or traffic.

"It's echoing life," Thomas said, shrugging off the demise of his work.

A good photo of the fleeting is enough to suffice.

In Florida, he was among a group of artists who painted a 400-foot-long megalodon shark. He said people would stand in the mouth and take on the appearance of being eaten.

"They had two-story scaffold or you would never see the end," Craig said. "That was a fun one to do."

But not all his work is on such a grand scale.

He was introduced to plein air about 12 years ago, and he's become fascinated with the approach. The art plays out in the outdoors, which Craig prefers, and is much quicker in creation.

"You're painting what you're seeing," Craig said about landscapes, structures and buildings. "You have to interpret it, you've got to interpret it quickly, you have to minimize things and make a focal point. You've got to knock it out in two to four hours."

He said the different mediums have carryover.

"They do help each other," Thomas said. "Plein air, I think I've loosened up a lot. I've let go of a lot of stuff. I think."

His freewheeling style seems to invite quirkiness, no matter the medium.

The couple opened the Black Door Gallery in 2007, and in it hangs one of his favorite plein-air works. It's a painting of a rickety, pre-Civil War barn around Augusta, Missouri, that appears to be on its last leg. Much like his street paintings, it no longer exists.

"This specific one I painted it, and the next day, it blew down," Thomas said.

Such is the spontaneous life and talent of an artist.

jbreer@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3629

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Craig Thomas exhibition

Craig Thomas has an exhibition at his gallery at 124 S. Spanish St., Cape Girardeau. It can be viewed by appointment only by calling (573) 225-7734. He expects the exhibit to be available through Dec. 31.