Painter of the Desert

Posted By Toyacoyah Brown November 14th, 2013 Last Updated on: November 14th, 2013

One of Chip Thomas’s first works was an image of World War II Navajo Code Talkers. He pasted it at night on the wall of an abandoned jewelry stand. ”When I drove by a week later, I was surprised to see a family repairing the stand.” Chip stopped by to chat and learned that tourists had begun to stop by to photograph the stand. The family had decided to start using it again.

When Chip revealed that it was him who had pasted the image there, the family asked him to place a picture also at the other end, to stop traffic coming from that direction.

This was the first validation from the community to Chip’s art. It was also his first insight into the potential of art to support roadside vendors’ income. “More importantly, I appreciated the potential of this work to bridge cultures and races of people.”