Laurie Smith was born in Little Rock and lived in Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana before settling in Tullahoma, Tennessee in 1981. After blending families and various work experiences while raising four awesome boys, she picked up a paint brush to begin a new journey. She found that while life can bring pain, trauma and loss, art can steady the soul, open the heart and establish balance in an ever changing, uncertain world. Art is a reminder that connections and community still thrive. Laurie is self taught through trial and error, videos and online painting events. Her personal explorations dip into various styles and tastes, usually nature inspired, in acrylics and watercolors on canvas and paper. She now enjoys a world of endless creative possibilities and invites you to step through the portal with her.

Beauty and mystery in nature attract and inspire me. Spiritual elements in astonishing skyscapes, effects of natural light, the magic moments of stepping into a forest or along a wooded path, riverbank, lakeshore, ocean beach, that feeling of osmosis, blended energies, the electric excitement of a storm, the calming of lapping waves, entertainment of bird and animal activities are all transporting! They spark a generative response, a desire to represent and share. Like the ancients who decorated caves and carved petroglyphs - why did they do it? We can guess, but no one truly knows their motivations or purposes. My own reasons for wanting to paint are almost as mysterious to me, but the reason I keep doing it is crystal clear.

It’s the joy!

If my artwork evokes a smile or feeling in the viewer so much the better! My hope is to leave a legacy of artwork that celebrates the gift of life on this wondrous planet and then beyond.

smithlaurie32@gmail.com

@lartie2js