Thomas Paquette is a full-time painter whose work has been featured in over sixty solo art exhibitions at museums and prominent galleries across the United States, including in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. Paquette is originally from Minneapolis, and stepped away from his college career after a year to explore North America by hitchhiking and hopping freight trains rather than through coursework. He later returned to get his BFA in Painting from Bemidji State University and MFA on a full fellowship from Southern Illinois University. 

Paquette has been awarded residencies in many places, including Miami, Yosemite, Greece, and Rome. His work has been exhibited in museums such as the Erie Art Museum, Georgia Museum of Art, and the Rockwell Museum, with notable solo exhibitions. His paintings have also been selected for display in the U.S. embassies worldwide as a part of the NATO permanent collection.

In addition to his exhibitions, Paquette has completed major commissions for works in institutions, and his work is held in many private, corporate, and public collections. He has lectured at universities and museums in the U.S. and abroad. The artist currently lives and paints on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest in Northwestern Pennsylvania, where he continues to explore the landscapes that have inspired his work.