Featured Artist Teresa Smith

The lush colors and dreamy, painterly images of Teresa Smith express the sensuality and atmosphere of the forest. To see more, visit her website.

 

 

After a big rain, droplets of water spill from wet foliage. As the sun streams in through the cathedral of monster cedars, a mist rises in a thin veil as if illuminating an alternate world. Little pieces of ochre cedar fronds fly off in the wind and mingle with alizarin, raw sienna and burgundy leaves from big leaf maple, willow and alder. It looks like it is snowing colored glitter.

 

 

I encounter a dad with his little girl in the woods today. The little girl says, “There are lots of fairies in these woods.” I answer, “Yes, there sure are.”

 

 

I hike the trails around Jackle’s Lagoon on San Juan Island almost every day. The farther I walk into the deep woods, the more peaceful and protected I feel. I like the solitude. It is cathartic—just me and Griffin, my Irish wolfhound, and all the creatures of the forest.

 

 

Slowing down gives me time to pause and consider. I notice colors and shapes, smells and sounds. The moldy scent of leaves gone by reminds me of an eight-year old walking home from school in a small town in Quebec. The brilliant fall leaves fallen after a storm. Finches are chirping and hustling in the undergrowth and eagles chortling in the distance.

 

 

The colors are intense this time of year. Damp brings out the richest and lushest of color, like stones under water. Cedar trees appear green but when I look closely I see alizarin, gold and blue. There are thousands of shades of green. Where sun strikes foliage the light glistens white. The deepest shadows are as dark as a raven.

 

 

I ponder, daydream and make up stories. I meander and walk for the sake of walking, drinking in the grace and abundance of the woods. Later in the day, and in my studio, I recall shapes, colors, lines and form. I remember the smells and the sounds. I memorialize the place with paint and words.

 

 

I begin with thin layers of oily warm transparent hues, then mutate into thick painterly brush marks. The paintings take weeks to finish with each layer stamping the recollection of that day’s walk. I work on five to ten paintings on any given day and allow the pieces to unfold in a contemplative manner.

 

 

I graduated from Naropa University with a degree in contemplative visual art. I am enthralled with the work of The Canadian Group of Seven and Emily Carr, maybe because I grew up in Quebec, maybe because I just love their work. I relate to their naturalist beliefs and how they appreciate the spirit of a place. Like Emily Carr, I strive to paint the space between worlds.

 

 

My schoolteachers told my parents that I would have done a lot better in school if I would stop daydreaming. Ha! Yes, I did spend most of my time imagining. I dreamed about the woods and the lake. I imagined myself galloping through the woods on a beautiful horse. I dreamed of gardens and deer and foxes, rabbits, dogs and cats. I fantasized about the house where I would live, surrounded by beautiful pastures and trees and animals. I conceived drawings and conjured paintings of my invented personal paradise. I shaped my future out of sand. I dreamed up this life that I am living. I believe in dreaming. I believe in appreciating the small things, and I believe there are fairies that live in the woods.

 

Artist Teresa Smith invites you to follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

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