Q&A with Local Artist, Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith shares his background and experience as an artist as well as his inspiration behind his work. We love speaking with the artists that contribute to Affordable Art of Charleston!
Tell us about yourself:
I grew up in South Carolina surrounded by art. My mom had a gallery and frame shop in Spartanburg. I helped her frame and enjoyed studying art and art history in high school. After attending Hampden-Sydney College, I began working for an advertising agency and moved to New York in my twenties. I spent seven years in New York and frequented museums and gallery openings weekly. After returning to my home state, I began taking painting classes. I’ve been so lucky to have learned from many wonderful teachers along the way.
What was the initial idea that led to starting your business?
It actually happened by accident. After taking a weekly workshop for several years with friends, four of us decided to rent a studio together. I thought this would merely be a place to paint and store my supplies. It wasn’t too long before decorators were dropping by to pick out artwork for their clients. Those clients and other friends followed, and I started to sell my work. That was nine years ago.
What is the biggest challenge of owning your business?
Time. I’m a partner in a marketing and communications firm, so that keeps me busy during the week. I’m mostly a weekend painter, so it’s difficult for me to generate the volume of paintings I’d like. I struggle with photographing my work and maintaining a website. I’d rather spend my time in the studio painting. That’s why I so appreciate Carol’s representation.
What is the biggest reward of owning your business?
Every now and again I see a photo of my work in someone’s home or office. I’ve turned the page in a magazine and thought: “Wait a minute, I did that painting.” It’s an honor for someone to like one of my paintings enough to have it in their home or office.
What inspires you?
What I like most about painting is that it changes how you see the world. Inspiration can happen anytime. Driving down the road and seeing the light come through a set of trees. Walking down the beach. Seeing a photo in a magazine. It’s great fun not being able to predict when inspiration will happen.
How do you manage it all?
I don’t know that I do, at least not all the time. I try my best to focus on the task at hand and not let my mind wander. That’s another thing I love about painting. You can’t paint and worry about something else.
Who are your favorite artists?
I’m crazy about my teacher Brian Rego’s work and am grateful for his video series “On Painting.” Emails from daily painter Carol Marine brighten my day. I haven’t met her, but I continue to be inspired by Barbara Flowers’ work.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
It’s always evolving, but I try and stay loose and spontaneous as much as I can. I work with a limited palette and like thick brush or palette knife strokes.
What is your least favorite art/design trend?
Everyone should do and have what makes them happy, but I’m not much on the trend away from wood furniture. Nothing’s better looking than a four-drawer mahogany chest of drawers.
What is the best tip you can give when it comes to designing a space?
Let artwork and rugs lead. Everything else can be a neutral backdrop so the colors of your paintings and rugs can shine. Oriental rugs are just paintings for the floor.
What do you love about working in the Charleston community?
South Carolina is such a special place. The people here care more about one another than anywhere else I’ve lived or visited. We’re wonderfully unpragmatic. Perhaps it’s the humidity?
Why do you find working with a personal framer to be beneficial?
The right frame improves a painting. The wrong one can wreak it. A good framer like Carol can see things more objectively than the artist.
Any new exciting projects coming up?
I just finished a fairly abstract family portrait this weekend, so I’m excited to do something different. I’m planning a large painting of a beach pavilion I found on a vintage post card.