Gene Smith Pastel Artist

Artist's Statement

I have studied under many teachers in Colorado and New Mexico. I started drawing my children when I was about thirty. Since then, I have drawn and painted in charcoal, oil, acrylics, watercolor, and pastel. I fell in love with pastels about 20 years ago and have seldom used other mediums since. I like the closeness to the paper I feel with pastels, almost like finger painting. I like the mixing of colors on the paper and that I can make broad strokes with the side of the pastel or sharp strokes with the end of the same stick.

I have both a scientific and engineering degree and have spent my time in diversified occupations. I have worked in a zinc rolling mill, an iron foundry, and a fire-clay business. I have worked with orthodontic production and with high-speed production of soda can lids. These may seem unrelated to visual art, but they have taught me to develop multiple approaches to art. My paintings show diverse subject matter and approach while maintaining the use of the principles and elements of art.

I work rapidly and am prolific with over a thousand finished paintings done in the last twenty years. Even with this many paintings, I constantly look for new ideas and techniques. I teach drawing and pastel painting and give painting workshops and demonstrations. I prefer painting from life but find it also useful to paint from my own photographs. In painting, I seek simplicity, richness, and mystery. And am thankful for the divine guidance I receive.


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Artist's Statement