Departments



Articles

Less

Arts and Entertainment: Cedar Key Arts Center News
January 2nd, 2003

Arts and Entertainment: The Flora La Florida Exhibit
January 1st, 2003

Arts and Entertainment: Fritz Seyfarth Memorial Exhibition
December 27th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: First Annual Open House at the Gernhardt Studio
December 17th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: Exquisite Simplicity - The Art and Artistry of Ed Levin
December 15th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: Doubled Pleasure at the Cedar Key Arts Center
December 8th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: Cosmic Tips to Holiday Shopping
November 23rd, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: Art Exhibit and Competition
November 16th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: A LIfe in Photographs
November 3rd, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: Action at Robbie Blake`s Quarternote
October 7th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: Plein-Air Exhibit Opens
October 6th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: The Art of Henry Gernhardt
September 6th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: Poetic Pairing
August 26th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: Jazz at the Quarternote on August 18
August 15th, 2002

Arts and Entertainment: A Love Story Beyond Forever
August 15th, 2002

More

The Bold Imagery of Artist Willie Smith

The Bold Imagery of Artist Willie Smith

Maureen Landress

Remember as a child how you'd lie back on a patch of soft summer grass and watch the clouds pass by over head? In their billowing, windswept countenances one could see the most amazing things. Each child saw something different; here a rabbit, there a knight on horseback, and over there a soaring eagle. Local artist Willie Smith has managed to capture that fleeting imagery in the abstract canvases that he paints.

art


The uniqueness of each painting makes it difficult to describe Willie's work with mere words on a page. They must be experienced one-on-one. Each canvas is a one-of-a-kind impression capturing light, shadow, texture and imagination. The layered paint seems deceptively random at first glance; but look again and you will see rich bold strokes give way to more subtle hints of color. It is the expert layering of those colors that give the work its depth and meaning. They draw the eye and cause one to linger in deliberation of the thought behind the creation. Each viewer walks away with their own interpretation of what they have seen, just like those cloud images of childhood.

art


A graduate of York College in Pennsylvania, Willie spent a number of years running his own graphic design firm. The company was very successful, but he dreamed of one day concentrating on his art, and not limiting his creativity to the needs of the job.

art


Willie ended up in Cedar Key like lots of others do, by mere chance. A friend had asked him to lay down some blues tracks (he is an accomplished guitarist) at his home studio here, so Willie came to Cedar Key and fell in love with it's beauty, slow pace and friendly people. Every visit it was harder and harder to leave, so one day he just didn't.

art


Willie is a member of the 12artists@cedarkey group, and his work is currently on display as part of their exhibit at the Island Hotel on 2nd Street in Cedar Key.

Click for printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

 

 

© 2013
Cedar Key News

cedarkeynews@gmail.com