Maine Arts and Culture: Interview with Landscape Oil Painter Holly Smith

I have with me Artist Holly Smith. Thanks for coming in today. Oh, thank you for having me. This is wonderful. Well, I'm glad you think so. And I thought it was wonderful to read about you and your family and some of the work that you sent over because you've, You've got some, you've had some fun family backstory happening, starting with the, uh, Having a relative who came over on the Mayflower. Yes. Yeah. My, my, um, grandmother kept telling my dad, I were related to someone on the Mayflower. And so in my dad's retirement years, he decided to pursue that and ended up traveling all over the state. And the only way that he could find a lot of the factual information was actually to visit a lot of the grave sides and, or graveyards and find the stones and find the dates because to become a member, you have to have documentation. And, um, lo and behold, we ended up, um, we are related to an Edward Dody that came across, um, as an indentured servant, um, on the Mayflower. So that was kind of cool. Your family also has a long background in a seafaring way coming up from the coast of Maine. Yes. Yes. I, um, have a, uh, great-grandfather captain George Lane and he sailed, um, from Rockport, uh, to the west Indies and, uh, he carried, uh, lime and lumber. And, uh, one of the ships that he said sailed on was the EDW Hinckley. And, uh, my grandmother told stories of she had, um, a brother and two sisters and they would travel to the west Indies with him and, or with the, with the family. And they were not allowed to come out of their cabins, uh, because they weren't allowed to see the seafaring man men without their shirts on it was improper. Wow. So that was one of the stories she told us. And then remembering when they landed in the west Indies that they met up with one of her girlfriends whose father was also a sea captain. And, um, talked about, you know, how it was fun to have that happen. You still have a pretty strong connection with the sea as well. I understand that you love to visit Monhegan. You live of course, off of, uh, chicken walkie lake. Yes. Right in Rockport. And you also like to go to Eagle island every summer when you can. Yeah. Yes. Very, very fortunate. Um, my sister-in-law has family there, uh, the Quinn family and they have, um, uh, they have a business there where you can go and rent, um, cottages them. And so we make a Trek out there at about the end of June, right before the 4th of July and my husband who loves to putter and my brother off, they go to help Bob Quinn work on the generator or fixed the float or whatever else might need to be done. And, um, I take my paints and go down to the beach or down the road to the lighthouse. And, um, interestingly, the timeout there, You speak of your husband's do as puttering, but he also, he built your house Yet. Yeah. He's, he's quite a Jack of all trades. Yeah. Yeah. He's a man of many talents. Yes. Yeah. He even built furniture in our home, so, and, and currently he, um, makes the framing for my paintings and which is great. Yes. Leave a little bird told me that, um, he will actually go into your studio and look at your pieces and start kind of thinking about how to measure them and create frames even perhaps before you think they might be done. Yes. Yeah. He, he's always saying, you never know that that may be a finished painting and you're going to need a frame like that. So I've got to make it, so we have many spares. We usually get it right though. Does he usually have a sense as to when things are just about ready to be framed? He's pretty good at it. Yeah, he is. And he has small numbered and he marks all the backs of every canvas. So what number is that? Then down, he goes and finds the frame and pops it in and it comes in handy because I'll post things on the Portland art gallery site and, and lo and behold, something has an inquiry or, uh, you know, there's the one that has, you know, an interest. And he'll say, what number is that? Now he goes, finds a frame and it's ready to go. It actually is A pretty big deal because getting things framed, especially right now with labor shortages, isn't always easy. Yeah. That's true. That's a nice that they can leave your home and they're already ready to be put on someone's wall. Yes. Very, very fortunate. Yes. This behind us is, um, obviously full frame. So shout out to Stu, thank you very much. Tell me about the piece itself, Holly. Well, um, this is a view, uh, down to the port Clyde area and, um, it's a popular beach where a lot of the locals can go swimming and it's a public area, but, um, it make a loop around from the Marshall point lighthouse. And, uh, you can get a beautiful view along the road either way. And, um, so to go down there, I love low tide to me, low tide. It's much more beautiful than high tide. And so what I love is all the eddies and all the different, um, patterning and design that forms from the water. And so that's what I try to put into the painting as you're describing The low tide, I can absolutely see that. And I was commenting to you before about the remarkable detail in the front of the work, how much time that must've taken. Well, I love, I love rocks. I don't know why. I just think they're great. I love their, all their different shapes and forms. And I have to be careful that I don't go overboard with too much detail. Um, and so with this one here, I, those rocks have come and gone several times and it finally, I muted the, a middle ground to not have it as detailed so that your eye doesn't have, you know, can work a little bit and see how to travel into the painting that the foreground, you know, if I, you know, I could get out the brush and make those even more detailed, but I, I decided no, I have to stop. Yeah. So you're talking about the process of subtracting, which isn't something that all of us consider when we consider art, we think about adding to, but you've very thoughtfully gone back and said, okay, I know I need to, in order to make this a more cohesive scene, I need to take some things away. Yes. Yeah. I, I think all artists are our own worst critics, but for me, um, I'll start a painting and, and it will be going around long, just wonderfully. And then I come back and I work on it a little bit more. And the next thing, you know, when I stepped back, I go, whoa, you know, I've, I've just gone overboard. And I've started to photograph some of my work in the process. And it's interesting to look back and see, um, maybe a first or two beginning steps and then whoa, that was pretty good. I should have kept going. Um, so I have that thought is sometimes I'll look at what I've done and if it needs to retract a bit, I will do that. So Will you then go back to one of the photographs that's done earlier and see what you can do that might match it, simplify it back up again. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, that's interesting. I know that when we were talking with Dick Alden recently, and of course he's a sculptor, not a painter, he was talking about the idea of negative space and how important that is obviously in sculpture, but there is some sense of needing that even with the work that you're doing. Yes. And I think that also comes from, um, watercolors that I like to do. And with that, um, you have to always save the light areas. Um, and you do do negative space painting a lot. And, um, and I think that technique, uh, I tend to try to use also in my oil paintings, if the trees over in the upper, um, I'm trying to think from my view, it'd be the upper left-hand corner, but the light areas, um, that are there, I ended up having the light there, but then I went in with another darker value so that those would pop. So in the sense I'm painting the negative around the positive to make that come forward. That's very interesting. I mean, I can't help, but not that this is in any way related to art, but I, the chigong instructor that I worked with, who's a Chinese medicine, uh, physician. He used to talk about the importance of space when placing needles on the bodies. So this idea that, um, it's not just what is, but it's also what isn't and how, what isn't can help define what is yes. Yes. And that's very much what you're talking about because as I'm looking at these trees, I can absolutely see what you've, what you've done and how you've done it, but I wouldn't have known to look before you pointed it out. Yeah. I love this idea that, uh, your parents encouraged you from an early age. And in fact, actually, uh, they bought you the learn how to be an artist by what was a drawing, a pirate, um, that came out of an ad of the back of a magazine. Yes. That was very, very popular. If you ever flipped through any of the magazines back in the seventies, and there would be this pirate, and can you draw that? And, and I would draw that and then everyone would look and say, oh, my word, you're so talented. And, um, the high school that I attended didn't have an art program. So my parents were wonderful giving me private art lessons, which was great, but with the pirate of story, they decided that they would go ahead and let's send in the pirate photo and a drawing, then see where it goes. And we got a call from the correspondence people, and they came to the house and interviewed me and looked at what I could draw. And so my parents ended up, uh, you know, subscribing to the whole pro correspondence program, but it was, it failed terribly. I was in high school. I was dating my husband at the end of my high school years. And I was, you know, busy with my friends. And my dad would say, you've got that to do, remember you've got that to do, but it was so impersonal because you would, you would draw something and, and then you'd send it in the mail and then you'd wait a while and it would come back and they would, you know, mark it up, what you could do better, but it was so impersonal and I needed to have that person, like I did with the private art lessons. It was right there that could comment when needed. And, um, so that whole process just failed miserably. Well, this is, it's interesting to even be thinking about this because anybody who's watching who is beyond a certain age, you will have no idea what we're actually referring to, but this is something that they would put an ad in the back of a magazine and you'd flip through. And it was an ad for this correspondence scores, but I actually had never met anybody who actually was signed up for this. Yeah. And, and, and my dad was so nice. I mean, he didn't, uh, you know, he wasn't angry that I didn't finish it, but I think he was disappointed that I didn't finish it. And then I felt disappointed that in these later years, well, I could've done that, but it just was not a good fit. Well, thank goodness. You came back around and you showed your appreciation for his early support of your art by becoming an artist in your own way. Yes. And prior to that, you also taught art, I think did, um, growing up, I had a great aunt Bert who taught in the massive Massachusetts school systems. And, um, I would go to her house and, uh, see her paintings. And she was always so encouraging of me to keep doing my art and, um, graduating from high school and the seventies choices for women weren't as, um, prevalent as they are now. Now my, like my daughters had so many choices of careers, but it was pretty limited there, you know, the teaching nursing or secretary almost. And so, um, teaching seemed good for me and knowing that my aunt Bert was successful with it, I thought, why not? Um, and so I went to, um, the university of Maine and it was called at Portland warm. It had been a state, uh, teaching college, um, prior to the university, um, taking it over and they only accepted 30 students, um, to the art program that year that I first went and, um, and then had a wonderful time and, uh, took a lot of classes and, um, graduated. And then art jobs did not come readily, uh, openings. And I ended up working at a clothing store. I worked at a bank and then, um, eventually my mom got a call from a good friend of hers who worked in the school system that I was hired in and said, there's an opening coming apply. And so I did, and I was there for 31 years. You described this as the era of the art in a cart. Yes. Yeah. That's where my waitressing days in college came in handy because, um, my first five years there, I taught elementary and it was art on a cart. And you had a time limit, you had to have all your art supplies prepared. You went into the classroom, you passed them all out. You talked about what you wanted them to do. They had a wonderful time doing it. And then you had to be out of that room at a certain time and into another room. And so you had a time limit as to delivering. I was like waiting on a table. It felt like I was delivering what I needed to and cleaning it up and leaving and going somewhere else. Well, I Actually think that I had art on a cart when I was, uh, when I was growing up, so I can very much relate to this. Um, and then eventually it went to, there would actually, there were enormous art rooms that were, that were built and there was pottery. And by the time my kids graduated photography and all different manner of art instruction. Uh, but you're right. It absolutely was not a focus, um, not so very long ago. Right, Right. Um, and again, I think it was all with the budget and what they could afford and art music and phys ed always seemed to be the extras. And, um, so it did, my career did expand and I ended up, um, teaching high school art and photography. And I started out with a little dark room that I think had been used for tire storage. And, um, I ended up getting a ventilation that you needed and, uh, the class grew, I can remember. I, I started out, um, with a, you know, a good size group of people that wanted to take it students. And then the next thing, you know, I had 90 students one year had, that had signed up for my class and they just love going in that dark room. And just, you know, it was, it was so rewarding and, and teaching art was great. And at the end of my career, I ended up, um, getting my credentials for AP art, which, uh, was wonderful to see students that were just pushing themselves to do the best that they could and to get a high score. And it was so rewarding when they did, it really Seemed to evolve over the years, um, to the point where it, where students are now, if they apply to go into an art program, they actually need a formal portfolio. And it's often done in a, in a digital manner. And I mean, that's such an interesting concept compared to what you're describing starting out 31 years before I could come in and do a little project. And then you're on your way. What, why do you think That we as a culture have kind of evolved towards the importance of art education? Um, more generally, Oh, I, I just think that they understand, um, more about how our brains develop and that you need the music, you need, the art, you need all those other parts of thinking in order to develop with a much more rounded view and, and to be able to do much more with your, you know, with whatever you're going to do with your career as you get older. So Was it difficult to Make the transition from being a full-time teacher to being a full-time artist? Not so bad because during my whole years of teaching in the summer months, I would, um, go and, uh, do outdoor shows. I started, um, with watercolor when my children were young, because I could take and, um, get out the mess and it, and I didn't have to worry about any of the toxic materials that might be with, uh, painting an oil now. And, and so I had a good friend who she and I both enjoyed painting, and we said, why not? Let's, let's try the outdoor shows. And they, the ones that we entered were juried and we got accepted in. And, um, my husband built me a wonderful, uh, setup, you know, cause you had to, it was, and also the practice of getting your work finished and completed and then getting it set up at whatever show you're going to. And, uh, I can remember going up to bar Harbor though, um, one beautiful day and set up my, our booze and not being prepared for weather. Uh, the wind and the rain came up at the late at part of the afternoon. And it was so strong that some of the, uh, booze around us like the pottery boozed, the pieces were going over and things were breaking. And I had to quickly grab all my things off the screen and lean them up against what I had and we made it through the day, but I ended up eventually getting better setups for that kind of event, but outdoor shows are hard and a lot of work. So I moved to, um, trying artists co-ops and pur participated in those. And that was a great business experience. Uh, because you had, you basically rented your space, you had to prepare your work, you had to price it. You had to, um, have a price point of, um, small items to bigger items and, um, you had to work your days. And so you, you've got a whole idea of what it was to, if you ever had your own business or building or, uh, you know, set up, you'd have to what you have to do. So, um, I did that for awhile and then eventually I thought, okay, well let's try some galleries. And, um, I was very happy to be in some locally. And, um, and then at the very end of my teaching career, uh, I think, uh, it was then called art collector Maine. And they came to speak at, um, uh, Denver SCADA at the river arts, um, organization. And they were promoting, you know, getting involved. And I said to a coworker, I think I'm going to see what happens with that. And so I submitted my images and again, it was juried and accepted and, um, off I went. So when I retired from teaching, uh, that's where I next stepped, You mentioned that One of the things you've enjoyed about art, well now it's called the Portland art gallery, um, is the creative approach that they've taken to getting artists work out there and particularly the, the virtual openings that they've done during COVID. Oh, it's, it's wonderful. Um, because it's almost like remembering a storm's coming and you could hear how COVID was going to be a threat and I'm thinking, okay, how's this going to impact everything? And I can remember, you know, hearing it on the news and seeing it, seeing it coming, coming, coming, and tell here it is. And then of course everything closed down and I'm thinking, oh, I wonder what it's going to happen. Now. I was so, so impressed with the Portland art gallery and their, uh, openings that they did virtually and, or, and how you could still walk around the gallery if you wanted to using the Matterport that they have. And, um, so a lot of my friends, I, you know, I said, well, that's where I'm exhibiting my work. Oh, I'd like to go see, but COVID night would say, well, you can, all you have to do is go to their site and, and check it out. And that was, that was great. And, and then, you know, it gave, um, some of my friends a chance to see what I was doing. And, um, I think with that whole process, it, I kept the gallery going and kept saying, I believe the sales were just great through everything. So I'm very happy. Well, I think You've touched on something a few different times, which I'm not sure everybody really thinks about when it comes to art. I mean, we think about art and creativity and, um, kind of the process of art, but art truly is. I mean, art done well is really, it, it is also a job. It's something that you need to it's work. You need to promote it's work that you need to sell. Yes. I think it's, um, sometimes romantic to think I'm going to paint and I'm going to have my work at a gallery and I'm going to just be an artist, but there's a lot that goes under that cap. Um, you, uh, with again, you may finish the painting, but then you have to think about, um, how you're going to keep track of it, how you're going to, uh, present it. How are you going to price it? Um, who it's going to be, uh, maybe more, who's going to be more interested in it than someone else and why. And, um, and, and then as an artist, do you paint only on what you want to paint? Do you paint what you think others want you to paint? And so those are a lot of things that go back and forth in your head. Yeah. Well, explore that, that last a bit bit with me. And how do you balance out the painting? What you want to paint versus painting, what you think other people want you to paint? Yeah. I try to be careful with that because, um, there's so many times I start a painting and my husband would come up and go, that's a great painting. And then he'll come back a couple of hours later and I've totally painted over it. It's like, where'd it go? And I've discovered that what I was trying to paint or what it was that the, what the image was, it wasn't, uh, what I felt was something I wanted, um, or felt was important for other people to see. And it's like, when I go out to play an air paint, I enjoy, um, I feel like I try to gather in what energy is there, the day, the feeling, the mood, and then paint that. And if my painting at home as I'm going, and I'll bring in my studies from what I'm playing their painting with, and if I'm painting that bigger painting and it's not giving that feeling or whatever the energy is, and I want people to have aye, aye, aye. That's it. I cover it up In the, in the, um, work that you gave us so that I could learn more about you before you and I sat down to talk. You described one of these situations where you were doing some plan, our work and your painting fell on the ground and into some leaves. And, uh, I guess you must have felt like it had the right energy. Cause you brought it back to the studio, you pick the leaves off it and you reworked It. Yes. Yeah. I was out on vinyl Haven and um, we had, uh, boated over there with my brother and sister-in-law and we were staying there and we had a few days and I had my paints with me and off, I went to, um, paint for the afternoon and, uh, yeah, I was real happy with the day and what I had gotten for an image. And so gathering up my stuff and you know, you have to walk over a bunch of rocks and uneven ground. And the next thing you know, I lost my balance over. I went and the painting went face down and just got covered with all these leaves and twigs and anything else. And so I knew not to do much with it until it dried. So, uh, once it did, I was able to pick off everything and then I could bring back what I had If somebody ended up buying that, That one, I can't remember where that image is ever gone. I'm not sure I'd be interested to know, because obviously you felt like it was successful enough that you took the time to actually put it out there in the world. And I'd love to know who has that now on their wall with potentially a little bits of twigs and sticks, like a little piece of the Maine coast. Yes. I'm not sure where it ended up. So those of you who have some Holly Smith pieces, you might want to look a little closely, see if there's something in there that's a surprising for you. So when you're thinking about who might like, um, the work that you're doing, so for this piece behind me, cause it sounds like you think about what's kind of the energy, what you like to put into it, what other people might to like to get out of it. So this piece that we were talking about earlier, what comes up for you? What do you think people would like about this piece? Well, I think there are so many people that travel to our coastlines and, um, just can sit on those rocks and just stare out at that ocean for hours and just soak in the sun and the salt air. And, and so what I hope that there's going to be someone that has been there and maybe, or has had that feeling of being on a beach in Maine and walked it, picked up the seashells and found the beach glass and they want to bring home just a little bit of what they experienced. Well, my understanding is that, uh, your work has done very well at the Portland art gallery. So I'm, I'm guessing that the, um, kind of the, the essence of what you're describing, you've put out into the world probably is actually occurring. Well, I'm very, very pleased with how my sales are going. And, um, yes. And I think the, that isn't as important to me is knowing that someone, well, I have someone, you know, people that will come up and go, oh, I could just be in your painting. I just love your art. And I think that's more, what I'm thrilled with, that someone, someone really wanted to look at that and have it on their wall and, and just be with it. So that's important. Well, I looking at this painting, I can say for sure, even though I don't think I've been to this particular spot that I have a sense of, of place and being part of that place. So from, from my standpoint, I think it's been very successful. Oh, great. Thank you. I have enjoyed our conversation today and I know that people who are interested in learning more about your work can go to the Portland art gallery and also to the Portland art gallery website. And I hope that you will indeed, if you've been listening or watching to this episode of radio, Maine, take that opportunity because if you love Maine, the way that I love Maine and Holly loves Maine, um, you will really enjoy her work. I am Dr. Lisa Belisle. You've been watching or listening to radio, Maine and Holly. I really appreciate the chance to talk with you today. Thank you very much for having me.