Collection: Kerry Thomas

Artist Bio

Kerry Thomas is a Kent-based painter whose work explores emotional transformation through floral and symbolic imagery.
Oil painting on black canvas exploring transformation, shadow, and light.

Artist Statement

There are moments in life when everything familiar falls away—when stepping forward means leaving behind not just a place or a person, but a version of yourself. Choosing that path was terrifying. I didn’t know what would come next, only that I had to move through the unknown to find something more honest, more alive.
When I began painting again, I started with black. Every canvas began in shadow, as a way to honour the fear, the grief, the silence that shaped me. But from there, I added light -not to erase the darkness, but to let it speak, and then transform.
This body of work is a reflection of that process. It lives in the in-between: where shadow holds its weight, and light begins to break through. Each piece is a step toward rebuilding, toward returning to myself.
In the Light of Shadow is not just about healing - it's about finding beauty and truth in the contrast. It's about the quiet strength of choosing yourself, even when the way forward is unclear.

                       In the Light of Shadow -  Paintings Collection
This collection began quietly, with a single peony painted on a black canvas. What started as a return to painting soon revealed itself as the beginning of a deeper journey — one where darkness was not something to avoid, but something to work within.
Each painting in In the Light of Shadow explores the delicate relationship between shadow and illumination. Flowers, fruit, and abstract forms emerge from black ground, carrying colour, tension, and movement. They speak of fragility and resilience, of uncertainty and hope.
The works were not conceived as a series at first. Instead, they grew organically, each painting reflecting a moment in time — a question, a feeling, a shift in perspective. As the collection evolved, it became clear that the paintings were charting a path: from stillness and reflection, through turbulence and doubt, toward acceptance, strength, and light.
At its heart, In the Light of Shadow is about transformation. It suggests that beauty, clarity, and growth are not found by escaping darkness, but by allowing light to emerge from within it.