About The Artist

Oliver Thompson, well known as Olly,  is a self-taught oil painter from Turlock California, currently established in San Francisco, California. Olly has been behind the easel since his college days studying Anthropology at UC Santa Barbara, and is currently a member of the Artists Guild of San Francisco. Olly began his painting career with the drive to produce 5 paintings per week for 10 weeks, as it was the only way to receive entry to Hank Pitcher's advanced painting course at the College of Creative Studies in 2020 as a non-art major. It was at this time, he received great criticism and praise, which led him to adapt his painting style, as well as switch to oil paint. 

Since then, Olly has been crafting his own style, called Dreamscape Impressionism. In his mind, he is writing a fiction story, but describes it as a dream of a place you once knew, but altered in a way that adds complexity, and attention from the viewer. The way that a dream is never a perfect version of a memory, but draws just enough emotion from you that it enables reflection. Olly’s style is only this way because he does not use reference photos for almost all of his paintings, being rare for primarily a landscape painter. 

The beginning of his career as a painter came mainly due to invitation. Olly is known throughout San Francisco as a guy who brings a massive canvas to the park, a popular DJ set, gallery shows, pop-ups, and generally anytime he can when it’s sunny out. His popularity with the locals gave him opportunities to paint in more places, and at one point had all of his paintings displayed in the gold vault room of the Historic San Francisco Mint. Most days Olly paints as a means to keep the oath of ‘paint more,’ but his unique gift has brought notice, and has sold artworks that now reside across the world.

His reach is beyond the paintbrush, as he is an advanced science instructor, neuroscience and chemistry focused, but also is an honorary guest at the Pacific Union Club, where most of his fourth autoethnography has been written in the library. Olly has been focused on keeping his mind busy, and in doing so has captivated his growing clientele and art appreciators. For now he is working on some large scale paintings, and nearing the end of his 250 page book, which will be posted about in 2026.

At 28 years old, it is likely that he will be a prominent figure in the modern impressionist landscape.