Intention. Line and color must be struck with intention. Not necessarily knowing the outcome, but working with deliberate intention towards a sense of something, a feeling, an idea, a sense of purpose.
In my deliberation I work to provoke thought, with out being commanding of a singular response. Painting everyday objects, things that we live with and don't give much thought to, I invite the viewer to rest on- or meditate on the simplicity of the present. Like a repose, a moment to be quiet and find contentment.
Focusing on form and light, my paintings tend to be more suggestive than definitive. I am interested in investigating space through perspective and the architecture of line. I work to give the paintings a life of their own, to be convincing and to have a sense of presence.
Carrie Mae Smith
Bio
Carrie Mae Smith grew up in New England, daughter of a butcher. Although determined to be an artist it took years of unconventional travel to lead her to formal studies. Ms Smith always traveled with a sketchbook and drew avidly, capturing mostly pastoral landscapes and historic architecture. In addition to sketching the environments she experienced she learned to milk goats and play the fiddle in Connemara, Ireland, picked grapes in the Pyrenees and Swiss Alps, and assisted in the renovation of a stone house in a village in rural Spain. Her passion for painting culinary treasures and landscape arose from her travels and migrant farming, as well as working as a private chef during the summers on Martha's Vineyard.
After several years of living between Martha's Vineyard and abroad, she moved to Philadelphia to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. She completed the Certificate Program in 2005 winning many awards, including the J.Henry Schiedt Memorial Travel Scholarship, The Pennsylvania Governors Award, and The Faculty Award.
She enjoys a passion for food and paints still lives of culinary treasures. Her love and appreciation of historic structures and rural landscapes remain constant subjects in her work. Her style has been described as "Painterly Realism" and atmospheric. She is represented by Etherington Fine Art on Martha's Vineyard and The Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia. She currently lives and works on Martha's Vineyard, MA.
