Nina Westaway
For The Morning Star
Holly Smith is a mature artist who continues to evolve with new styles, materials, and subjects. Looking at her paintings is satisfying — the viewer feels that there is an integrity and competence.
Smith is the guest artist for the Village Gallery in Lumby. As a visual artist and resident of Coldstream, she has exhibited in various North Okanagan venues. The Gallery is pleased to exhibit Smith’s work for the month of July.
But it wasn’t until 2008, when she retired from her career as a teacher in Vernon, that Smith began to paint.
“It still amazes me that for nearly 40 years, I did not know that I would love painting,” Smith says. “How could I miss that? The blessing in being a later bloomer is that I actually had the time to paint once I finally got started.”
Her introduction to painting started with instructor Gail Short in a watercolor workshop for painting flowers in the garden. Smith’s first acrylic teacher was Tina Siddiqui. Her initial small canvas boards and cheap acrylic paint were challenged by a fellow student executing a 5x7 commission.
In the nine years she has been painting, Smith has gained a following for her landscapes, portraits, floral subjects, and abstracts that are colorful, dynamic, and textured. In some of her paintings, she has evoked the style of the mature Van Gogh.
She has exhibited at Artsolutely (December 2016), North Okanagan Federation of Canadian Artists juried show Diversity (October-December 2016), Paddlewheel Park with the Okanagan Artists of Canada (October 2016), Art Walk (September 2016), and Midsummer Eve of the Arts (July 2016).
She is building up inventory for a new art show partnered with Linda Hunt, Okanagan Palette, at the Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Art Gallery Sept. 7, where she hopes to capture the new Okanagan Rail Trail from various perspectives.
A sampling of her work is on display during the month of July from Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lumby’s Village Gallery, 1975 Vernon Street (Highway 6).