Artist Profile: David Smith

Artist: David Smith
Websites:
Artistika Gallery
Artistika

What is your training and work experience, David?
I was trained as a graphic designer at Cooper school of Art in Cleveland, Ohio for two years and went on to Kent State University School of Art where I received a B. F. A. in studio art, majoring in Painting, Drawing and Sculpture, with a secondary focus in Art History. Over the years I have worked in Theatre, Ballet and the Puppetry Arts, creating and restoring props and sets, which led to painting commercial murals with Luis Maza a well known artist in Atlanta, Georgia. I went on to spend numerous years in the custom sign industry as a designer, creating all types of signage in a myriad of different media.

In 1989, I won best lighted sign and logo design in the Signs of the Times Magazine for client Dan Tebor. I executed numerous sign and logo designs for small and large corporate businesses along with various printed media in a freelance capacity. I am still involved in graphic design at this time. All these experiences in these different art related pursuits gave me an opportunity to work and learn from people with art backgrounds I didn’t have, and contributed to my development as an artist every bit as much, if not more than, my formal studio training. I believe either art is in your soul or it isn’t.

What is your creative process, what inspires you, what do you listen to if anything, and what keeps you going when things get tough or frustrating?
My process is open, I don’t have a set procedure. I do a lot of sketching, which allows my mind to wander and be playful. I do this in a number of media, most of which start with or are in pencil ,which for me is a flexible and fluid medium.

The eraser becomes a spontaneous drawing tool that transforms images quickly. I never do a detailed preliminary drawing of any idea or concept then create a painting or sculpture using it as a blueprint. I did that all the time in my commercial work out of necessity to appease the client, so I avoid that in fine art pursuits unless it is a commission, then you are obligated in some respect to provide that, but I like to keep it open. I also find it limits the possibilities that emerge while I am physically assembling a work using various materials that I have on hand.

Many of the materials I use are scrap building materials that I have left over from various home projects or found objects and rocks twigs, or sand from our property. Packaging materials from household purchases can be quite interesting elements to consider using in a mixed media work along with photos and drawings. I also make a lot of starts with paintings and sculptures and put them aside and come back to them later. I usually have at least twenty to thirty works at different stages of completion at a given time. Some are part of an ongoing series and others are totally independent and not related to any series.

I’ve finished works as long as two years after I started them, and other works I’ve worked several days in a row to complete or finished in a day. I work this way because of all the possibilities it offers to solve visual problems and if a work gets tough or frustrating, it usually stems from difficulty in achieving a harmony with the various materials I am working with in a single piece. I can shift my mindset to others pieces, and in doing so I can usually discover the solution to achieve that harmony I was struggling with at the time.

Inspiration for my work comes from day to day observations of nature and people. In other words, we are all extremely complex creatures and are profoundly affected by the world we live in and the life process, even more today than in the past because technology and advances in the sciences have made the world much smaller and accessible. We truly live in a global community and as an artist this is a good thing, it gives an endless flow of creative fodder to select from and use in the making of art. The door is wide open and the beauty of art is, that in my opinion, when art is open to interpretation it becomes as interesting as the complex world we live in and opens dialogue with people who are sensitive to it. Mixed media art lends itself to this, because you are fusing together bits and pieces of the life experience and selecting material from the tangible world and orchestrating it together in a single work.

I believe images mean different things to different people. Images and the materials selected can stir a spiritual whirlwind of emotion and thought based on the life experience of the individual viewing a work and the person who created it, which gives a work of art a life of its own. This establishes common ground between people of various stripes. I believe if art isn’t open to personal interpretation it is rather pedestrian and unimaginative. I don’t think most people want everything spelled out for them and every detail included in a work of art, mystery plays a very important role and draws people into being part of the work.

I never approached art as a hobby, because a hobby is something one does on the side for relaxation. Art doesn’t relax me, it has quite the opposite effect. Art stimulates my senses, it challenges my intellect, and it gives me purpose and a personal reason to get up in the morning. I wouldn’t be whole without it. It’s like being addicted to drugs–you are always looking for your next fix. The obvious difference is drugs will destroy your life and eventually kill you. Art will make your heart dance and will set you free.

I was raised in a musical family my father played the piano as did my sister. My brother Clifford Smith is a professional musician, an accomplished concert pianist and composer and I am a drummer. So I listen to music when I work, specifically Jazz and Classical and often listen to National Public Radio. Visual art for me is a solitary pursuit, so I consider these my companions and often a inspiration, especially music.

What advice would give to artists?
None! I wouldn’t assume they would need any from me. An artist ultimately will find his or her own way. What I found works for me is to always be open to change and something different, follow your instincts and your heart and temper things with your intellect and life experience. Be yourself and don’t follow trends or pander to an audience or try to figure out what the general public will like, it’s dishonest and a waste of time. If you stay true to yourself most people will respect that. If not, at least you will please yourself and enjoy the journey.

What takes up the majority of your time other than art?
My family, my wife Lisa, who I’ve been married to for thirty three years and together with for thirty six. Our two sons Ryan and Sean, eighteen and fifteen years old respectively. Ryan is a freshman in college and Sean is a sophomore in high school.

Do you have any other favorite activities?
I enjoy hiking and shooting photos of nature and Tucson offers quite a spectacle, with all its canyons and mountains. I like to read biographies, especially on artists I admire. Also I have been investigating buddhist philosophy over the last several years so books by the
Dalai Lama and periodicals by other buddhist leaders are of interest.

In closing, I want to thank you for the opportunity to share some of my thoughts and processes in making mixed media art. I think I speak for a lot of artists that may have similar creative processes that I do. We all create art, that I believe has a common goal–to touch people, evoking their own personal thoughts and emotions.