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Featured Artist: Rhonda Hartis Smith

By Ronnie Jaggers
Thursday, August 28, 2008 4:13 PM CDT

Rhonda Hartis Smith

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Artist Rhonda Hartis Smith is a very committed artist. She has taken her art very seriously and dedicates a lot of time and energy on the continuing advancement of her talent. Rhonda Smith loves portraiture using Oil and charcoal. Her works range in size from 4x4 to 30x40 and she usually paints 8x10, 9x12 & 12x16, however she will paint any size.

Ms. Smith is a 4th generation Kentuckian. She and her parents traveled extensively in her youth because of her father’s career in the United States Navy, boasting that the only state she has not visited yet is Alaska. She said, “My two greatest passions in life are oil painting and travel. Each inspires the other within me. Some of my earliest memories are of hours spent drawing ships and sailors on a big blackboard”. Rhonda’s style is painterly and although she admires the work of many artists, she is particularly inspired by the works of Everett Raymond Kinstler, John Singer Sargent and Joaquin Sorolla.

At the age of eleven, Rhonda and her family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where she graduated from Western Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business. Her formal art training started in college when she took classes in drawing and design.

Ms. Smith said, “Many times when I begin a painting, I have a plan in my mind of what I want to accomplish but when I get into it my plan evolves and the painting takes on a life of its own”. She told me that she is particularly in tune with the light, examining the source whether it is in life or a photo and its patterns when preparing her subject matter even in her portraits. “One of the things I am attracted to is light. The light has to be a high contrast and reflection”. Rhonda said that portraits are the most challenging because she insists not only on the likeness but also to capture the essence of the person.

One of the enduring elements of her works stemming from being very family oriented and sentimental is that she used memorabilia that is dear to her heart, either from memory or from her collection to use within and as part of the background in some of her paintings. While most of Rhonda Hartis Smith’s studies have focused on portraiture, she has taken many classes on landscape and still life, stating that the background is an important part of her portrait work. She usually works at night, due to having a day job.

What strikes me about Ms. Smith is her perseverance to learn as she studies with other artists. Through the years, Rhonda has developed her interest in the arts by studying oil painting with artists Angela Kuprion, Marian Pacsuta and Evelyn Law. In 2001, she began studying with nationally known artists Michael Shane Neal, Dawn Whitelaw, Joy Thomas, John de la Vega, Ralph Oberg, Skip Whitcomb and Jeanne Mackenzie. In February 2008, Rhonda went to New York City to study with America’s premier portrait artist, Everett Raymond Kinstler, at the Art Student’s League of New York. A consistent and dedicated student of the arts, Rhonda continues to evolve as an artist by studying with modern day Masters and by painting from life on a regular basis both in Franklin, Tennessee and in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

“For the past three years, I have attended a live model session at Southgate Gallery at the Factory in Franklin, Tennessee. Once a week we meet and paint for three and a half hours. The session is not instructional but we do critique each others works. The model is sometimes in costume, we've painted Buffalo Bill, a belly dancer, a 1920's diva, a cowboy-you never know. There are seven of us that all share the love of portrait painting. Painting from life has really helped me to capture a likeness of the model faster and better than before. I have kept most of my Monday night paintings and sometimes I compare where I am now with the first painting that I did”, stated Rhonda

Ms. Smith also shows her devotion by getting her work out there. She enters shows and has a blog. “I began my blog last June as a means to promote my art until my website was complete. But I enjoyed it so much I've decided to incorporate my blog into my Website. I have blog friends all over the world that help me name my paintings, offer critiques and of course give me many, many words of encouragement. I find that I am painting more now to have posts for my blog, which is a good thing. I've had a very positive experience blogging".

Her list of exhibitions for the past 2 years is impressive. In 2008 she has shown at: 18th annual Summer’s End Art Show for Scottsville Art Guild where she won a first place ribbon for Quiet Moment in the professional oil category and a first place ribbon for Central Park in New York City in the professional photography category. She was featured at The Gallery at 916, Bowling Green, Ky. She exhibited at the US Bank Celebration of the Arts at the Kentucky Library, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky where she received an Honorable Mention, the Artworks Members first annual juried exhibition, Bowling Green, Kentucky, the All Kentucky Juried Art Show at the Capital Arts, Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Wellness Center Exhibit at Greenwood Mall, Bowling Green, Kentucky and the Women in the Arts Exhibit, Medical Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

In 2007 she exhibited at the Southgate Studio, Franklin, Tennessee annual Student’s Art Show, the Sweet Night of the Arts, Hendersonville, Tennessee,

Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, Bev’s Studio & Gallery, Bowling Green, Kentucky with photographer Bev Stephens, and the World’s Greatest Studio Tour, Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Rhonda is also a member of such professional artist organizations as the Oil Painters of America, Associate Member and ArtWorks-A Visual Arts Coalition, Inc. in Bowling Green, Ky.

Rhonda Hartis Smith stated, "being an artist is more complicated than just painting a pretty picture; the challenge is to also capture the spirit and the essence of your subject-on your canvas”.

You can view Rhonda’s paintings at her upcoming shows at: the World’s Greatest Studio Tour and Art Sale, Bowling Green, Ky. on November 1st. and 2nd., at The Gallery at 916 where she will be showing through November and at the Lost River Arts Festival on Saturday, October 4th. You can contact Rhonda Hartis Smith by email at rsmithstudio@insightbb.com and be sure to visit her web site at: www.rhondahartissmith.com.

Ronnie Jaggers is a seasoned sculptor, fine artist and master crafter. Her work can be seen on ChiseledFeaturesStudio.com. She reminds other artists “Trust the beauty of your art, for if you see the beauty, others will too.” To be considered for the featured artist call Ronnie at 791-3505 or email ronnie@ChiseledFeaturesStudio.com