"I cannot remember a time in my life that I was not creating art.
My first medium being a box of crayons and a Big Chief pad"
~Sandra M. Smith

My earliest memories as a child are of a large secluded attic in my grandparents' house in Great Falls Montana, where I would take refuge with a box of crayons and a Big Chief tablet and create a world filled with a child's view of happiness on blank pages. Early in life, my grandparents, whom supported the young artist in me, gave me a gift of pastels. I worked in pastels as well as dabbled in a few mediums before I took up oil painting in 1972.

Oils became my passion and I have worked with them ever since. My art "Education” is much like that of Vincent Van Gogh. I have attended art classes, but primarily my learning has been from the "Doing". I have exhibited in a number of galleries and shows. I have done exhibition painting in my community, which I have very much enjoyed as well. I like bringing art to the youth and perhaps giving them the nudge needed to express themselves’ through art. I started as a child doing pastels of horses, which were even then my passion. Blessed to have the artist Charles M. Russell’s works on display near my home, I made many trips to study them. Once in doing so I wandered into an artists studio located in the Demale’ building, I was entranced as he mixed his oils and placed them to canvas, it was a painting of Gibson park pond with waterfowl swimming and bobbing on its surface. I knew that park well. I spent many quiet times just watching that artist paint, I hope he knew the impact he had on my life.

I have painted many subjects. Putting images on canvas, to move viewers to invoke change to make a difference in our world was my goal.
Once again, I am as many times before drawn to the horse, my passion and their excellence, I strive to paint the here and now.

Exhibitions

• Black Springs Gallery 1977

• Valley Center (best of show) 1978

• Tower Gallery of Art, Oakland 1991-92

• Center Gallery 1993

• Yorba Linda Art Center Gallery 1993 (one woman show)

• Java Arts 1994

• Riverside Community Arts Gallery 1994-99

• Also a lithograph series

Still in progress, above

1994
And in the whisper that speaks softly to the spirit....
Our lives like wings once touched....
Ache from losses we can not reclaim....
Flutter weakly...then stall and fall silent in regret.

S.M. Smith

In memory of my daughters, Jennifer and Shawna

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