One Step Closer – International Association of Astronomical Artists

One Step Closer – 9×14 oil and pastel on paper;2021 – With each failed attempt we gain understanding that takes us one step closer to our goal. Here, SpaceX’s Starship SN9 lies on the landing pad after a ‘nail-biter’ landing, another skyward leap and an explosion. Starship SN9 was but one of many “failed” launches of the Starship. Several in a row ending quickly on flames and explosions. Never giving up, SpaceX simply took a deep breath, gathered data, and moved on to better and better attempts leading to inevitable success.

Published by

Priscilla Thomas

Priscilla Thomas captures the human touch within the setting of our reach for the stars.
Her depictions of transformative and encouraging human moments both reassure and warm the spirit. A member of the International Association of Astronomical Artists, she has a reverence for the awe inspiring capabilities of the explorers and adventurers of our future.
She is a juried member of:
*American Women Artists
*Oil Painters of America and
*American Impressionist Society

Her activities include travel to NASA rocket launches, NASA open houses and, as media, to NASA media events. She also participates in crowd-sourced space image identification and classification of NASA images.

The artist uses an alternating sequence of graphite sketching and digital sketching, followed by addition of color through oil painting and details with pastel. This allows her to create denser and more highly detailed images with subtlety and rich accuracy.

Her Space art was selected for a solo exhibit "Space and Soul Together" at Main Street Gallery in Ketchikan, Alaska (2021) and to the juried Art of Planetary Science (2019 &2020) art shows. Her art has also been accepted into, and appeared at a booth at, the juried show for Norwescon 2021 (Norwescon is the Pacific Northwest’s premier science fiction convention).

Priscilla's art and illustrations have been featured in print publications by Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Times Publishing in Virginia, Feral Cat Publishing, and has been featured in Clover & Bee art magazine and Trend & Tradition magazine.

Her art education includes a program through Maine School of Art, graphic design through CalArts (California Institute of the Arts), Art Techniques & Appreciation through Saylor Academy, and independent classes such as Narrative Concept Art instructed by Jama Jurabaev, a major artist for the film industry.

She has also taken numerous classes in aerospace engineering & astronomy and is a NASA certified Aerospace Technician.

Priscilla's most recent 'highs' have been:
- to participate in presenting at The Mars Society's annual conference (2020)!!!
- to participate in studio figure drawing session instructed by ROBERT LIBERACE
- to act as docent for NASA's traveling “SOAR - NASA Art Program/NASAs 50th Anniversary” exhibit. She shared back-stories, history and artistic technical details about pieces by Rockwell, Wyeth, Warhol and many others who participated in NASA's art program.
- to see, and actually stand in, the NASA Langley wind-tunnel depicted in "Hidden Figures"; while it was operating (at low velocity) testing aerodynamics of NASA's new Space Launch System as part of an event for media.

Works/Shows:
* Solo Gallery Exhibit "Space and Soul Together" Main Street Gallery, Ketchikan, Alaska 2021
* Norwescon (Pacific Northwest’s Science Fiction convention) 2021 - juried show, booth
* The Mars Society's 2020 annual convention - Presenter – illustration presentation/discussion
* Art of Planetary Science 2020 and 2019 - juried show
* Cover and featured artist, Clover & Bee Art Magazine, Autumn 2021
* Magazine illustrations and Foundation marketing materials for Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
* Book Design/Illustrations for The Moon Society and for The Mars Society
* Graphic Design and illustration resulting in multiple awards from Virginia Press Association

Space Art Activism:
* NASA Art Program: SOAR, 50 years Anniversary Exhibition - Docent Apr 2017 – Jun 2017;
including 30 works of art from the NASA art program. Artists included Robert McCall, Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz,
William Wegman, Jaime Wyeth. Giving back-stories on pieces, art technique details, Q&A
* Active member as artist in Mars Society Education and Outreach team
* Adler Planetarium- ‘Tag Along with Adler’ – identifying and adding metadata and tags to
Adler Planetarium images 2021
* Martian Surface Feature identification- ‘Cosmic’ Martian Terrain Images identification.
NASA Mars HiRise. 2019
* Martian South Pole Image - Planet Four/Terrains - Martian South Pole Images, terrain Identification. Sept 2017

NASA/Space coverage:
* LADEE Launch - Moon Launch - art/illustration/reporting
* Mars Curiosity Launch story for newspaper- art/illustration/reporting
* SME(Subject Matter Expert) Interviews and on-site coverage at NASA Langley for numerous events
art/illustration/reporting
* Cover Orion space capsule testing , splash basin at NASA Langley's historic gantry - art/illustration/reporting
* Antares rocket construction /
Moon launch coverage, NASA Wallops - art/illustration/reporting
* NASA Langley Open House, including historic wind-tunnels - art/illustration/reporting Go to the artist's portfolio