Hi! My name is Rose Thompson and I was born in the Philippines. This is one of the reasons why I always place a #pinayartist every time I upload any of my paintings on my Instagram page. In my own way, I am honoring my heritage and the fact that I am proud to be a filipina artist. I am also presently residing in California with my husband Will, and our tuxedo cats Sammi and Bruce.

I am a Space Planner / Interior designer professionally and a graduate of Advertising from Maryknoll College in the Philippines. You see, I wanted to take up architecture then, but ended up in another course, stuck through it, became a Copywriter for an ad agency and then ended up with designing anyway. Cliche' I know, but life happened!

I am also an all-around artist and craftswoman with endless hobbies, like cross-stitching, knitting and crocheting. I also love reading and writing novels. Might be surprising to some, but I am a fan of young adult books. I try to cram all of those hobbies in one night. I say night, because I have a reverse sleep cycle. I am awake at night and asleep during the day. Always have been. Being awake at night where it's quiet and peaceful helps me to think and create.

It was in one of those nights that I discovered painting. Year was 2020 - pandemic, quarantined and bored. We all were. I was watching a show where the person was painting and I told myself, "I can do that!" (See the quote above?) So, the next day I ordered acrylic paints and canvas panels. I started with panels because I wanted something a bit inexpensive to start on. I painted a picture (Hey, I love photography, too!) of a pier that I took in 2016. The next morning, I showed it to my husband and he said it was "nice," which is what he always says when he likes something. So, I painted a few more. After a few weeks, I got it into my mind to try oil. So, again, I ordered oil paints and canvases. The first time I tried to paint in oil, I was watching a show and saw a nice view. So, I took a picture of it and started painting. Again, the next morning, I showed it to my husband and he said, "Wow! You can paint." And I answered him with "Yes babe, I can paint!" I was so happy and can't believe what I did that I was staring at it the whole day. I know. It's weird!

And so started my journey of passion and (more) artistic discovery.