It’s amazing how a person can transform a slab of sidewalk into a piece of art with only a little bit of paint and a whole lot of talent.
Craig Thomas, a freelance artist living in Cape Girardeau, is widely known for his fine art, murals, plein air, and more than 30 years as a professional street painter. His artwork has taken him throughout North America, Europe, the Caribbean and, of course, the city of Perryville.
Thomas is best known locally as the artist who, with Alison Rademaker's and Michael Themm's assistance, created the Houck Railroad wall mural in August 2021. The mural graces the side of the red brick building at the corner of Ste. Marie and Jackson streets.
Three years later, on the afternoon of Sept. 5, Thomas was back in town as the featured artist of the Perryville Chalk Art Festival, sponsored by the Perry County Community Foundation.
While the artist has lived most of his life in Cape, Thomas describes himself as a “military brat” who moved with his parents to various bases around the country. He took art in school and recalls that it gave him something he craved.
“I'm dyslexic and have a memory disorder,” Thomas said. “I just kept going back for the positive attention. I was like anybody else. I just practiced a lot.”
When asked how he got his start in street painting, Thomas smiles.
“Oh, gosh, it was years ago,” he said. “I saw it in the movie, ‘Mary Poppins.’ I think I also saw it on 60 Minutes back in the ‘70s. And then, Cape Girardeau used to have River Fest, so it was a working artist area, and they’d always bring me in to do something. And so, one year, I thought, ‘Well, let me just do one of those street paintings.’ Then I kept going from there, and I’ve been doing them ever since.”
According to Thomas, he has been going at it now for 36 years.
“My son’s 36,” he said. “I did my first one when he was in a pumpkin suit — so 36 years. I did anamorphic 3D street painting. Originally, you could figure it out by drafting, you know, there’s a formula. Nowadays, it’s really easy with a computer. You can stretch it on a computer.”
Pointing at the piece of art he was working on, Thomas said, “I’m actually just eyeing this one here because I’ve done enough of these, I guess, that it’s pretty fast. The event’s only three-and-a-half hours. I came in early so I could do this in a day. I try to get here early so I can have a little more detail to it.”
Thomas said there’s a reason why he still enjoys being an artist.
“Because it acts as a positive reinforcement, as opposed to doing something negative. That goes back a long time for me. I always get positive reactions. People say positive things about visual arts. There’s not a whole lot of things you can do where you get to interact with the public.
“It's not like photography or music or whatever. You're right there in front of people. I'm an introvert anyway, so coming out and doing these is not the easiest thing, but it's always good to hear positive things.”
