The Bold Imagery of Artist Willie Smith

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.