In the Studio with Artist Stephanie Smith

Today, we’re going In the Studio with artist Stephanie Smith. Stephanie’s artwork is currently on display in the Chesapeake Arts Center’s Her Ideas, Her Stories: Women Artists Gallery exhibit.

Stephanie Smith’s portraits are filled with color and deliberate, expressive brush strokes resulting in highly emotional depictions of her subjects. Though her works are not realistic, there is a reality to them that you can feel in the way she paints them. There is movement in her strokes and depth from layering. Her use of natural light and highlighting gives her subjects an almost angelic appearance. Her work captures the essence of who she is painting.

Here’s Stephanie talking about her art, process and experience... 

How would you describe your style of work?

I would describe my style as expressive realism.

Tell me about your favorite medium.

My favorite medium is oil (paint) because it's the most forgiving and flexible. You can change your mind a thousand times and just wipe it all away. You can draw and paint and draw again.  Doing an underpainting with graphite, runny paint and turpenoid is very freeing.  There is also no medium comparable to the ability to endlessly layer with glaze and create luminosity and transparency simultaneously. That said, for lack of studio space, I am grateful for acrylics to get the job done.

What characteristic(s) about your personality shows through your art?

Empathy. I think to be able to paint another soul you have to be able to connect.

Where are you from and how does that affect your work?

I'm from the suburbs of Philadelphia in Delaware County. I grew up in front of the trolley in a neighborhood with beautiful power lines, the way the electric wires crisscross over the streets, the rails in the street, the sunsets over Baltimore Pike (in PA), the big immediate and extended, ever present family. That’s what a lot of my work is, everything you long for when you are away from the people and places that will always be home.

How have your life experiences influenced your aesthetic style?

When you are young and doing art you are sort of stuck with whatever is in the junk drawer, which is usually a drawing implement.  Then you ask for those special pens, those special inks. It’s always been drawing for me, and every painting is still a drawing.  I’ve had excellent training too, incredible teachers and other artists; all this influenced my style. 

What's your biggest barrier to being a female artist? How do you address it?

What a complex question! The barriers to being a female artist are the barriers common to female-anything. Childcare. Pay disparities. Until the last few decades, I felt like there wasn’t a ton of female representation in museums, unless it was a special exhibition that was themed, which I was always grateful for.  

I am not young now, but any young artist is always fighting to have your work find eyes. You are always conscious that you are the product too in a sense. I think that’s become even harder for young artists now, as their social media presence is having to be a lot about them as an artist in addition to their work.

And I understand that all this is necessary, that an audience desires a narrative. That’s fantastic for some types of artists, but doesn’t work for all.

What are your biggest motivations?  

For someone to look at my work and really feel something. Isn’t that motivation for any artist, actress, singer, dancer, playwright, any type of creator? To invoke emotion in another human with something you create.

When you are working through problems in your work, who do you talk to?

I talk to my husband, Garland. He's a sculptor and animator, a very skilled though very different artist.  He understands art and has been around me long enough to get it.   The others I speak to are my many teachers; I hear them in my head like they are still pacing the class and talking just behind me.

What are you working on at the moment? 

I'm working on a portrait for the Souls Shots Portrait Project, and also some mythical beasts for Fantasy Woods Festival. My studio space is limited so I’m working on a lot of outside projects.

Is there a specific environment or material that's integral to your work?

With the exception of the occasional subject, a well lit (natural light) space that's completely silent and void of people. Beyond that, very good brushes.

What did you have to develop, try or learn to create your artwork?

I had to work very hard to understand color, and I still struggle because it’s so important to my work. 

How do you prepare to start a new piece? (do you have a ritual, do research, sketch it out, talk it out…)

I always start with drawing and expose myself to as much of the subject/subject matter as possible. Not research as much as bathing in the ideas. Since I work full time, I start prepping my painting time, carving out the hours and making sure nothing gets scheduled.

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?

Odd Nedrum

What’s the best thing about being an artist?

Being able to get lost in a painting for as many hours as life allows- it’s a sort of high when it happens. And equally amazing, when someone compliments your work. It’s just a human thing to love that.

For more information on Stephanie and her artwork, check out her website.

Hal Gomer Gallery Hours: 

Monday-Thursday 10:00am-6:00pm

Saturday 10am-1pm ( starting on January 15, 2022)

*Visitors are required to call ahead to reserve a time to view the exhibit. Please call CAC’s main office at 410-636-6597 during our business hours Monday - Thursday, 10:00 am-6:00pm to reserve a date and time. Visitors will be checked in upon arrival and masks are required to enter the gallery and CAC building.