Polly Thompson
“Although dogs have been the subjects of my paintings for twenty years, I don’t consider myself a painter of dogs, per se,” observes oil painter, Polly Thompson. “Dogs provide us with some of the clearest physical expressions of a lot of feelings, such as suffering, jealousy or joy. My paintings are symbolic statements about the nature of what we share with them.”
Polly made her first oil painting at the age of 17 when she discovered her mother’s paint box full of ancient oils and a palette knife. She pushed color around on canvas and was immediately hooked. Still, she didn’t choose it for her career when she began college. She studied geology at Oberlin College and began a pre-med program at Bennington College in Vermont. When she began hospital rounds she realized the importance of seizing the day while she was healthy enough to do so. She left medical school and embarked on her painting career.
Polly has resided in Vermont for 30 years. She and her husband Julian, a novelist, divide the year between the city atmosphere of Burlington and the country isolation of West Rupert, Vermont. “Living with a writer inspires my narrative work,” Polly observes. “We entertain each other with the stories we create.”
Her Burlington home studio overlooks Lake Champlain and is a large utilitarian space bathed in light. In the country, Polly’s space is in a cramped corner of their old house. The large trees shade her windows but she has access to “the heavenly outdoors of Vermont summers.”
Though her work is narrative, Polly doesn’t have a story in mind when she begins a sketch. She draws small sketches and blocks in color ideas with pastels. Then she puts pencil to canvas to work out the drawing, and the story reveals itself. When she is happy with the sketch, she paints a thin oil layer and then adds colors for the undercoat. She gradually builds up thicker layers of color until the work is complete. “I am sometimes asked if I use an air-brush to create my smooth surfaces,” she says. “I don’t, but I do use soft brushes that allow the paint to blend on the canvas.”
Galleries throughout the U.S. carry Polly’s paintings, and she has received numerous awards. Her work is part of private collections in the U.S. and abroad.
Reggie, Polly’s dog of 14 years, was her constant companion and model. With his recent passing, she has to rely on her memory of his expressiveness and physical qualities. Meanwhile she’s taken in two cats and continues to puzzle out their aloof behavior and experiment with painting them. There will, no doubt, be another dog in the picture someday.