DONOVAN ornament by artist Nora Thompson

On June 29, 2006 Nora hiked her first overnighter. She took along a small sketch book and knew before she pulled it out of her pack what she wanted to draw. Until the evening of the 29th, she was a pretty traditional artist. She never stepped too far outside the box and unapologetically blamed fear for the oversight. During the weeks leading up to her hike she imagined the kind of characters she wanted to play with, and that evening she put fear aside and finished drawing the first page in half an hour. They were pretty raw, but eventually they developed into what became The Rots. The very first character she drew was named Rodney, and he’s come to symbolize the anniversary of the birth of The Rots.

Many of the paintings and drawings you’ll find here began as an unassuming marker doodle on a restaurant napkin. Nora has been creating art for Cactus Gallery for 7 years.

Watch for her solo show in May 2026.