Thomas O'Brien

NEW INSTRUCTOR! Thomas O’Brien is a landscape painter living in San Diego, California. He received formal art training during his undergraduate studies at the University of New Mexico. Upon graduation, Thomas joined the United States Marine Corps and is currently serving as an active-duty engineer officer.

His work often leverages a full-spectrum value scale while incorporating as much color as possible. He emphasizes key elements of a subject through deliberate design choices and thoughtful composition. His aim is to create evocative compositions by combining the major tenets of representational painting.

Thomas frequently paints on location to capture the local color and mood of a scene, then further refines and develops the work in the studio. He strives to create artwork that draws in the viewer and connects them to the natural world in a meaningful and unique way. His artistic direction is influenced by a range of contemporary painters, as well as the great landscape and portrait artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

For the Spring 2026 Session, Thomas is teaching the following class:

• 20. Waves of Color: Gouache Techniques for Coastal Landscapes (La Jolla Studio)