Yield, 54″ x 72″, oil and varnish on canvas, 2014.
When encountering paintings by artist Samantha Keely Smith (previously) it’s nearly impossible to escape the mystery and gravity depicted by a violent clash of abstract brush strokes. Ocean waves crash atop foreboding bodies of water, plumes of fire seem to battle clouds in the sky, and swirling storms shield distant secrets just over the horizon. Smith refers to her paintings as ‘internal landscapes,’ part of an ongoing examination of an externalized inner conflict. “My newer works try to boldly portray the struggle I’ve always tried to address in my work between order and chaos, dark and light, and positive and negative impulses,” Smith shares, “along with addressing what feels like a shifting and unpredictable landscape due to global warming.”
You can see a gallery of her most recent paintings on her website and follow progress in her studio via Instagram.
Headlong, 56″ x 72″, oil and varnish on canvas, 2015.
Crux, 50″ x 60″, oil and varnish on canvas, 2015.
Interference, 56″ x 60″, oil and varnish on canvas, 2015.
Manifold, 60″ x 72″, oil and varnish on canvas, 2015.
Clearing, 56″ x 72″, oil and varnish on canvas, 2015.
Issue, 60″ x 72″, oil and varnish on canvas, 2015.
Pulse, 60″ x 72″, oil and varnish on canvas, 2016.
Samantha in the studio working on Kindred, 2011. Photo by Thomas Feiner.
http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2016/02/samantha-keely-smith-internal-landscape-paintings/