New Orleans Artist, Melissa Smith
Artist Statement

I fell for the lush, flat landscapes of South Louisiana and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, for marsh and fields, bays and bayous, when I moved to New Orleans after college. There was more sky in the landscape than I ever saw growing up in the hills of North Carolina or at college in western Massachusetts. The vastness of sky over the landscape opened up a spiritual dimension. I’ve never lost that feeling. I use light, weather and perspective to describe it.

I began painting landscapes in an extended horizontal format in the late 1980’s while pursuing an MFA in Painting at Tulane. Rembrandt’s horizontal landscape etchings inspired me to explore perspective, and Van Gogh’s double square paintings inspired me to think about horizontal canvases. I have never found the words to express what I feel looking at the landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich—I am in awe. The spiritual dimension he brings to landscape paintings inspired me to study painting in the first place.

The study of painting at Mount Holyoke focused upon ‘painting from life,’ the idea of the deep intrinsic value of painting from what you see, that there were essential truths to be found there. I still believe that. My work is almost entirely plein air. I work outside with my dog, from the back of my SUV or from my old pontoon boat. Occasionally a photo is used to add something to a work, usually at the end, but I find it very limited as a tool. Drawing, in particular, I must do directly and on the spot itself, as the perspective of the camera’s eye is so very different from the way our two eyes see. That said, the main reason I work plein air–and always will–is that I really HATE to work inside. I would always rather be on the spot, painting outside with my dog.

When I find a view that speaks to me, I rough it out in a small sketch book. The compass tells me where the sun will be at different times of day, and determines when the view will look most interesting. I return to that view with my folding French easel and paint under the shade of the back gate of my SUV or set up shade with an umbrella. I paint on plywood boards I have cut, primed, and tinted, usually something on the red side of the color wheel. I draw the scene in detail, in pencil, playing with perspective to enhance the sense of distance, and then paint over this in oil. Specific times of day and kinds of weather are key. I return to the same spot many times at the same time of day and in similar weather.

Shortly before Katrina, I began playing with the idea of breaking the paintings apart somehow. In a panoramic view, it is not unusual for one end of the view to be beautifully lit, while the other end might have more interest at a different time of day. How could I incorporate different times of day into the same painting? I developed the idea of cutting a long painting of one view into parts, depending entirely upon the under drawing to hold the work together. Thereby time enters the work, as a painting can now contain different hours of the day and types of weather in one view.

Over the last twenty-five years I have painted many private views from and of fishing camps, beach homes, country homes, docks and fields and welcome inquiries. My work can be found in the permanent collection of the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Mississippi.

Artist Resume

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

LOUISIANA CONTEMPORARY, juried group show, OGDEN MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN ART, Aug-Sept, 2015 (http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/961010)
SHORELINE AND WETLANDS, MELISSA SMITH, RHEA GARY, Jean Bragg Gallery, NOLA, April, 2015
SOUTHERN WINTERS, MELISSA SMITH AND LAURA ADAMS, Hall Barnett Gallery, December 2014
HALL BARNETT GALLERY GRAND OPENING SHOW, May 2013
EARTH, SEA AND SKY, PAINTINGS OF THE GULF COAST, 3 person show, Jean Bragg Gallery, May2013
LAND AND WATER, THE ART OF MELISSA SMITH, Rosenzweig Art Center, Columbus, MS October 2012
MELISSA SMITH AND LISA CONRAD: NEW WORK, Newman School, NOLA, March 2010
LOUISIANA WOMEN ARTISTS, 1965-2010, New Orleans Museum of Art, Feb.-Sept., 2010
GEORGE OHR RISING: GULF STATES JURIED EXHIBITION, Ohr-Okeefe Museum of Art, August, 2006
Second Annual GRAND ISLE JURIED FINE ARTS EXHIBITION, Grand Isle, LA, May2004, Award of Excellence
MELISSA SMITH PAINTINGS AND WATERCOLORS, Heriard-Cimino Gallery, NOLA, Jan.-Feb., 2004
REAL WOMEN, an invitational show, SLU in Hammond, April and May 2002
MELISSA SMITH SEASCAPES, Heriard-Cimino Gallery, NOLA, June 2001
MELISSA SMITH LANDSCAPES, Heriard-Cimino Gallery, NOLA, June 1999
ARCHITECTURE IN ART, a juried show at the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Aug.-Sept., 1998
MELISSA SMITH LANDSCAPES, New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, New Orleans, May 1998
LOVING THE LAND II, THE SOUTHERN LANDSCAPE, Blue Spiral One Gallery, Asheville, NC, June 1998
ADJUNCT FACULTY EXHIBIT, Tulane University, February 1998
LOUISIANA LANDSCAPES, Contemporary Arts Center, October 1997
ENTERGY OPEN, a juried show of Louisiana artists at the Contemporary Art Center, May 1997
LOVING THE LAND, THE SOUTHERN LANDSCAPE, Blue Spiral One Gallery, Asheville, 1996
FACULTY CHOICE, an invitational show at the New Orleans Academy of Fine Art, September 1996
ADJUNCT FACULTY EXHIBIT, Tulane University, October 1993
One Person Show: PAINTINGS OF AVERY ISLAND, Hall-Barnett Gallery, N.O, April 1992
ART IN BLOOM, an invitational show at the New Orleans Museum of Art, April 1992
Hall-Barnett Gallery Group Shows, New Orleans, 1989 – 1994, including a three-person show (September, 1989) and “Five Young Stars” (March 1991)
TULANE FACULTY SHOW, Bea Fields Scholarship Fundraiser, April 1990
NEW ORLEANS 1989: A VIEW OF CONTEMPORARY WOMEN ARTISTS, a juried show sponsored by the New Orleans Women’s Caucus for Art, May – June 1989

SELECTED PRESS

“The Sugar Mill, Smithfield, Louisiana,” cover image for the September 2015 issue of Country Roads magazine
“Directness, Spontaneity, and Challenge,” Melissa Smith paintings of the Gulf Coast, by John R. Kemp, PLEIN AIR MAGAZINE, April-May 2013
A UNIQUE SLANT OF LIGHT, BICENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ART IN LOUISIANA,pub.2012 by the LA Endowment for the Humanities, entry by John R. Kemp ( http://www.leh.org/a-unique-slant-of-light-the-bicentennial-history-of-art-in-louisiana/)
“Extended Horizons, Melissa Smith’s Paintings of the Gulf Coast,” John R. Kemp, LOUISIANA CULTURAL VISTAS MAGAZINE, Winter 2004-05
“Seascapes are Long on Detail and Color,” by Doug MacCash, THE TIMES-PICAYUNE, June 15, 2001
“Melissa Smith, Avery Island,” by Jessie Poesch, Ph.D., Hall-Barnett Gallery exhibition catalog, April 1992
“Melissa Smith: Within the Tradition,” by Douglas MacCash, NEW ORLEANS ART REVIEW, October, 1991

PUBLIC ART COLLECTIONS

New Orleans Museum of Art
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, Laurel Mississippi

EDUCATION

TULANE UNIVERSITY, New Orleans, LA, M.F.A. degree, Painting, 1989
MOUNT HOLYOKE COLLEGE, South Hadley, MA
B.A. degree, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna cum laude, Major: Studio Art
Concentration: Painting/Drawing, 1987

COMPETITIVE GRANTS

Pollock-Krasner Foundation Emergency Grant, November 2005
Contemporary Art Museum Houston KAT Fund Grant, April 2006
Joan Mitchell Foundation Katrina Grant, May 2006

TEACHING

Tulane University Art Department, New Orleans, LA
Instructor of Painting: Taught an introductory painting class of 20 students, 1993-95, Spring and Fall, 1998, Spring 1999
Instructor of Drawing: Conducted a two-semester introductory drawing class of 20 students, 1988-1991
Visiting Artist: One day workshop in landscape painting, March 1993
Delgado Community College, New Orleans, LA
Instructor of Painting: Taught painting—introductory, intermediate, advanced, Spring, Fall, 1996

LINKS
http://www.knowla.org/entry/1183/&view=summary
http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/961010