About Gwyneth

Nine months after graduating from the Colorado School of Mines with an MS in Engineering Systems, Gwyneth decided to return to her first love, painting. Supporting herself as an adjunct instructor of math, she earned a BFA from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, tried to follow Michelangelo’s advice—“Draw, draw, and do not waste time”—and walked the Chartres Pilgrimage four times.

In 2013, Gwyneth relocated to New Hampshire to study under Paul Ingbretson and copy from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. From 2015-2018 she was Artist-in-Residence and Visiting Fellow at Thomas More College of the Liberal Arts. In 2017 she was asked to create a painting for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Relocating to St. Louis in 2019, she and her husband launched Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs Sacred Art as their full-time family business. Her process was profiled in a 2022 episode of Artful for BYU TV.

Seven of her paintings have been selected as finalists for the Catholic Art Institute’s Sacred Art Prize; four paintings have received honorable mentions, and St. Martin de Porres won third prize in 2023. The same painting, along with its companion piece, St. Rose of Lima, was a top-ten finalist for Christian Art’s inaugural Laudamus Prize in 2024.

Gwyneth has illustrated two books, Christmas Blossoms by Priscilla McCaffrey (Sophia Press, 2021) and A Very Little Office by Bo Bonner (TAN Books, 2025). Her altarpieces, St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, were selected for The Catholic Home Gallery (Ignatius, 2023). Her art and commentary have been featured in National Catholic Register, Catholic Answers and J.S. Paluch calendars, Dappled Things, St. Austin Review, and Latin Mass Magazine. She has been a guest of Ignatius Press Podcasts, The Brooke Taylor Show, and Catholic Faith Network Live.

2025: Study for Pieta, Napa Institute Art Show, Napa, California

2024: St. Francis de Sales receives honorable mention, Catholic Art Institute’s Sacred Art Prize; St. Thomas More in the Tower and Flight into Egypt Side Altars selected as finalists

2024: Ss. Rose of Lima and Martin de Porres selected as top-ten finalist, Christian Art’s inaugural Laudamus Award

2023: St. Martin de Porres awarded third place, CAI’s Sacred Art Prize; St. Rose of Lima and Sacred Heart selected as finalists

2022: Christ the King receives honorable mention, CAI’s Sacred Art Prize; St. Charles Borromeo and Bapistery Cycle selected as finalists

2021: St. Peter Damian receives honorable mention, CAI’s Sacred Art Prize; St. Lawrence selected as finalist

2020: Madonna of the Crown of Roses awarded honorable mention, CAI’s Sacred Art Prize

2018: Spoils of War receives honorable mention, Art in the Age of Anxiety Juried Exhibition, Arts Guild of Sonoma, California

2026-27: Seven-painting mural cycle, private high school, St. Louis, Missouri

2025: Entombment with St. Joseph of Arimathea, private collection, Powell, Wyoming

2025: St. John Fisher, private collection, Sydney, Australia

2025: Three watercolors, Latin Mass Society of England and Wales

2025: Three oil paintings, Our Lady of Victory Cathedral, Victoria, Texas

2024: Our Lady of Champion, National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, Wisconsin

2024: St. Thomas More in the Tower, St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Centennial, Colorado

2024: Twin altarpieces, Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Maryland

2024: St. Vibiana, Gaudent Angeli Institute, Claremont, California

2023: St. Martin de Porres and St. Rose of Lima, St. Rose Catholic Church, Roseville, Minnesota

2023: Triumphal Entry of Christ, private collection, Lisbon, Portugal

2022: Baptistery Murals, St. Joseph Cathedral, Jefferson City, Missouri

2022: Eleven oil paintings, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana

2021: St. Edmund Campion, private collection, London, England

2020: St. Benedict and St. Scholastica (twin altarpieces), Benedictine monastery, Perugia, Italy

2020: Ascension, Ascension Catholic Church, Chesterfield, Missouri

2019: St. John Fisher, Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church, Jasper, Georgia

2025: Illustrator, A Very Little Office of Compline: Night Prayer for Children by Bo Bonner, Gastonia, NC: TAN Books, 2025.
2023: Contributor, The Catholic Home Gallery, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2023.
2023: Co-author with Andrew Thompson-Briggs, “If Thy Right Eye Scandalize Thee: What Should Be Done with Father Rupnik’s Art?” National Catholic Register, January 10, 2023.
2021: Illustrator, Christmas Blossoms by Priscilla McCaffrey, Manchester, NH: Sophia Press, 2021.

Mothers often ask me for advice when they notice that one of their children has a particular gift. Their concerns often include the difficulty of finding training, expense, and the moral dangers of the art world. These are all valid concerns.

I would never recommend becoming an artist as a practical career. The investment of time and money is akin to that of becoming a surgeon, but without any assurance of financial security. In addition to the difficulty of acquiring the many skills necessary to become a professional artist, many people are temperamentally unsuited to the level of self-discipline required or lack the ability to approach their practice from a detached business perspective.

Despite the challenges, however, if a young person is called to be a visual artist, I think it would be a denial of his vocation if he does not seek to develop his natural gifts to the highest possible level. Indeed, it is often in responding to the call of beauty that one discovers the call to a particular state in life.

How do parents form their children so that they can have a true knowledge, love, and respect for art and beauty? What are the practical steps for fostering a vocation to the arts in the very young?

Baby and Toddlerhood

Begin by seeking out good-quality toys, books, and clothing as your budget permits. Regularly discard cheap toys, ugly children’s books, and vulgar pop-culture clothing. Encourage long attention spans by eliminating screen time for your children and limiting it for yourself. Spend copious amounts of time in nature and going for walks in beautiful neighborhoods and visiting attractive architecture if possible.

Childhood

From pre-school through elementary school, children should be encouraged to experiment with a variety of media. As they mature, the subjects they draw should shift from being purely imaginative to those observed from nature. They should also look at many masterpieces and copy those that they love. Frustration is a good thing. It will lead to an appreciation for instruction later on.

Adolescence

By middle school or junior high, students should work on the virtues of fortitude and humility so that they can develop drawings to a higher level of finish – gradually correcting proportions and shading. One of the best exercises is to copy plates from the book Charles Bargue: Drawing Course by Gerald Ackerman and Graydon Parrish. This period of time is essential for beginning to train the eye to see correct proportions and accurate color. It is advisable to begin searching for a master artist at this time.

High School

Children who are self-taught tend to plateau if they are not placed under the guidance of an instructor. Find an artist whose work you admire unreservedly on a technical level and seek regular critiques and assignments. Use professional-level art supplies. Art is hard enough without having to fight inferior materials.

College

The discernment to pursue a career in art should involve several frank conversations with professional artists, one’s parents, and even one’s confessor. Like a doctor, the art student must study the anatomy and gesture of the human body inside and out. If this is a significant occasion-of-sin, then that might be a clue that one is called to a slightly different field – perhaps craftsman rather than fine artist.

Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution for aspiring Catholic artists at this time. Some of the best technical training today is through un-accredited, non-Catholic ateliers. It is best preceded or supplemented by a solid moral and intellectual formation at a Newman Guide Catholic College. There are a few opportunities specifically geared for Catholic artists, but none seem to demand the same rigorous training as that required by the atelier movement.

If there is no money for college or art instruction, it may be necessary to pursue a third area of training for a practical way to make money. Although getting a side-job may seem to distract one from the goal of becoming an artist, a real-world knowledge of money, business, and professional experience will be beneficial in the long-run.

Marriage and Children

It is hard to make a living as an artist. Male artists should either be fairly well established, independently wealthy, or have a back-up career before attempting marriage and family. The responsibilities of children, marriage, and a home are so considerable that most female artists I know are compelled to cease all serious work for a time. I would advise trying to work at least one or two hours per week if at all possible – it is easier to get back into regular practice if you don’t stop completely. Even if it is completely impossible to have delicate art supplies and projects in the house with small children, this time should be seen as a fallow period of life experience which will make one’s work richer in the long-run. As parents, we are called upon to craft a beautiful environment for our children. It is a noble calling, and all of our artistic skills find frequent and unexpected outlets when we bake, clean, build, sew, and garden. The most important element during this period is a supportive spouse who respects your artistic vocation and insists on its pursuit.

Conclusion

I am always happy to provide suggestions for individuals who have particular questions about art training. Please feel free to contact me and I will do my best to help.

Sincerely,

Gwyneth