Painter and draughtsman, born in India. She went to school in Edinburgh and later attended the College of Art there. She studied stained glass at the College and in Paris under a scholarship, but on her return to Edinburgh could not get work so turned to her first loves, drawing and painting. At College she had won several prizes and scholarships. In 1965 spent six months in San Francisco, Tahiti and Australia, from which a body of work stemmed. She had five solo shows at Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, between 1950–68. Other solo exhibitions included University of Hull, Kettle’s Yard Gallery in Cambridge, Talbot Rice Art Centre in Edinburgh, and abroad. Thwaites’ was subtle, tonal work, with a strong linear structure; within a small space and using carefully placed highlights she was able to evoke an infinity of space.