NEW C-VILLE COVER STORY: Art v commerce?

Can the pounding tide of Charlottesville development be held back with a paintbrush? Oil painter Edward Thomas thinks maybe so, or at least it’s worth a shot. A tireless chronicler of Charlottesville area land- and cityscapes, Thomas is driven as much by inner personal demons and aesthetic concerns as he is by his social and political outlook. Meet this intense, singular painter and view a gallery of his work in Sam Witt’s feature story.