Miller E. Smith Jr. (Eddie) Opening Reception Saturday November 7th 5pm-7pm
I was born and raised in Little Rock, AR. I was educated in the public school system and went to college at the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. I have been involved with some form of the arts most of my life. I was a professional sign painter for over 33 years and a professional musician for over 20./ have been painting art for over 60 years. The early years of my painting were mostly done as a hobby but as the years went on fell in love more and more with the painting and the joy it gave me when a project was finished. When I retired from the sign business about 10 years ago | spent my time improving my art of painting. As a result my art has become more & more detailed to the point that most of my my paintings look like photos. I joined the Arkansas League of Artists art club in 2011 and served on the Board of Directors most of that time. I'm mostly a self taught artist but had advanced instruction from my older sister who had the good fortune to study art at the Louvre in Paris, France for four years. I originally started painting with oils but my sister got me involved with using other mediums such as watercolor, pen & ink and acrylics. Most of my current paintings are done in acrylics. I love acrylics not just because of the fast drying time, but because of the similarities to both oils and watercolors. I have developed techniques that make a lot of my paintings look like oils. The key is learning how to blend the colors together smoothly before the paint dries. My style lends strongly towards realism even though I love the early impressionistic painters. I usually paint from photographs. I have a strong fondness for wildlife and nature scenes with birds being a particular favorite of mine. A lot of my paintings were done from photos I took Arkansas.