The Daily Muse: An Exclusive Interview with Painter Jennifer Smith

The theme of my artwork explores concepts of the self. I explore these concepts through aspects of morality, faith, sexuality, time, space and movement. My goal is not the external appearance display, but the physical reality of the human form and its psychological value.

…and now for our exclusive interview

How would you describe your art?
I work with both oil and acrylic paint on paper and canvas. I prefer to work on large scale images. The female nude dominates my work.
The theme of my artwork explores concepts of the self. There is a suggestion of a loose narrative which explores these concepts through aspects of morality, faith, sexuality, time, space, and movement. My work is intuitive and negotiates between ideas and feelings of emotional empathy, the application of paint following the same pattern. Exploring the human condition in painting seems most true to me when working with the naked human figure, a nakedness heavy with meaning while also remaining ambiguous. The female figure dominates my work because the work is partly autobiographical.

How long have you been an artist and how did you become an artist?
Although I graduated with a Bachelor Degree of Fine Art, Honours, (painting), I consider myself an artist since 2012. After studying I spent 4 years traveling around the world. I traveled through Africa, South East Asia, New Zealand and Australia. I’ve also traveled to Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and though many European countries. It was during my time in Australia that I met my now fiancé, who is Dutch. We now live together on the grounds of an old windmill in The Netherlands. When I first moved here, adjusting to life in a new country with a language I couldn’t speak, I started painting one day and never stopped. At the beginning, I worked in a tiny shed in our back garden but now we have moved to the windmill and I have a beautiful studio/gallery. In retrospect, I think the painting helped me during a time of my life when I had no idea what direction my life would take.

What is your favorite medium and why?
I work with both oil and acrylic paint on paper and canvas. I prefer to work on large scale images. I am interested in investigating how work is created in terms of structure, composition, colour, and mark making. I use the properties of the paint to create desired textures and layers. Quite often the type of paint dictates the overall appearance and feel of the painting.

Pick one work of art from your portfolio and tell us the story behind it. Why does this piece have meaning to you? What steps did you take to create the piece?

This painting has great meaning for me because it was the first female nude that I painted. When I had finished it I immediately knew it had opened up a whole series for me which I created titled Scape(s). I painted this during a period of grief. I feel that you can see this kind of directness from it. This painting also changed my thought process of image making as it was the first painting where I found a way of merging my ideas and painting techniques together successfully.

It started as a line drawing using charcoal and then I worked creating layers of watercolor and acrylic paint.

Tell us about one medium, technique or style that you would like to try working with (that you have not tried before) and why you would like to try this.
Printing techniques have always been appealing to me. During my time at college, I experimented a little with screen printing but etching is something I have never tried and would love to explore. In my own art, I like to draw, all my paintings begin as line drawings. I also use the paint to create layers so in this way the technique and visual appearance of etching really appeals to me.

 How do you make time for art?
I am in the very fortunate position to be able to dedicate myself to my art full time. Also, my studio is on the grounds of the windmill so I only need to step outside and I am there. Usually, in the morning I answer emails, do research, applications, work on ideas etc. and around noon I am ready to start working.

If you could imagine the “perfect art day” for yourself, what would it be like?
My day always begins with a walk over the dykes with my dog. Then I like to have lots of coffee while researching and creating and working on ideas. The perfect day would be to bring these ideas to the studio and have one of those days where everything seems to make sense and just work. These days do happen but not all the time. There are days when it just doesn’t work and at the end of the day I repaint the canvas white and start again. I have a tendency to add layers of paint and can work on a painting, sometimes for weeks until I am satisfied. A good day will be the day I feel it is finished and there is nothing more I can add. Only then can I move on.

If you could spend 24 hours with one artist, living or historical, who would you want to spend the day with and why? What would the two of you do?
This is very difficult, but I think my decision would have to be Jack B. Yeats. He was an Irish artist and brother of the more famous W.B Yeats. He was the first artist that created an interest for me in art. His painting ‘He sings to the night’ really created an emotional response and understanding that in words I cannot explain. His visual way of storytelling and his fearlessness in painting still leaves me in awe. We both come from the West of Ireland so I imagine a day walking over hills and looking at stunning rural landscapes while sharing our life stories. This would be followed by lunch and coffee and a trip to his studio for a masterclass. Later I think we would go for dinner and I see us drinking Guinness and whiskey while dancing, singing and listening to traditional Irish music until the twilight hours. During these hours all sorts of stories and questions about life and art would be discussed.

Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring artists?
As an aspiring artist myself I can only share the best advice I have been given by another wonderful Irish artist Liam O’Neill whom I was lucky to meet and speak to. He simply told me ‘to keep going’. I think the image of the struggling artist is quite a romantic one. In reality, it is quite difficult and sometimes a lonely occupation. Dealing with rejection is just a part of an artist’s life so try not to take it too personally.