About the Artist

Candy Thomas is a Gastonia, North Carolina artist working primarily in soft pastel, with additional work in watercolor, gouache and acrylic. Painting both en plein air and in the studio, she is drawn to the transforming effects of light on landscapes, gardens, waterways and architecture. Her expressive paintings combine confident drawing, strong design and increasingly loose, intentional strokes of color.

Candy studied art at UNC Greensboro before completing studies in commercial art, graphic design and photography at Guilford Technical Institute. She began her professional career as a staff illustrator for J.B. Ivey & Co. in Charlotte, creating hand-drawn pen-and-ink illustrations, advertisements, posters and displays. She later operated a successful advertising agency for 15 years. That foundation in illustration, perspective and design remains evident in her architectural watercolors and continues to inform her more painterly pastel work.

After retiring from a successful real estate career, Candy returned to painting in 2023 and quickly became active in regional plein air events and juried exhibitions. Her honors include First Place at the 2024 Riverfest Plein Air Competition for Old Glory, Best in Show at Riverfest in 2025, and selection as the 2026 Riverfest Featured Artist. Her pastel Over and Under received Second Place at the 2026 Mount Holly Plein Air Festival and was selected for enlargement and public display for one year. Her pastel Just Passing Through was also accepted into the Pastel Society of North Carolina’s 2026 juried exhibition, On Common Ground: From the Mountains to the Sea.

Candy paints outdoors regularly throughout the Carolinas, where changing light, familiar places and unexpected moments continue to inspire her evolving body of work.