Artist’s Statement: Heaven Series What does “Heaven” look like? This is a question I’ve asked many people during the process of this creative series. I’ve asked friends, family, students that have died and brought back to life. Everyone seems to have their own unique perspective. What started as merely a way to paint a “pretty picture” became more and more of a spiritual and philosophical way to look at our concept of the world after we die. As far as techniques for these oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings, I studied old master techniques of glazing and scumbling influenced by the oil paintings of J.M.W Turner. I have used different stenciling techniques in these paintings. Also, in this collection of artworks is a multi-color serigraph that I printed years before I even started any of the other paintings. So, my question to you is “What will ‘your Heaven’ look like?
Richmond Smith- Bio I have been creating art since I was a child where I grew up in Kinston and Raleigh, North Carolina when I was influenced by my grandmother who was a watercolor and acrylic painter. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Western Carolina University in Painting and Sculpture and an art education degree (k-12) from University of North Carolina at Asheville. Mostly, I have been teaching developmentally disabled adults at the LINCS Day Program for the past six years, but prior to this I was teaching visual art in various public and private schools at various age levels. I have exhibited at various galleries locally in Asheville and regionally, most recently in 2020 at the Flood Gallery in Black Mountain. Not only do I have this series of “Heaven” artworks but also love to create mixed-media artworks and write poetry. In 2011, I wrote and published a book of ekphrastic artwork and poetry called Towards the New Heaven. For more details about artwork and poetry, you can see all this at www.richmonds-studio.com.
