Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 15

Teresa Smith
Post-Impressionist Floral Still Life, 'Poppies', Canadian Woman Artist

2019

About the Item

Signed lower right, 'T.K.S' and painted 2019; additionally signed verso. A large and vibrant study of poppy blossoms contrasted against a background of fragmented lilac, forest green and indigo. (The following is the artist's self-description of her work and process.) Teresa Smith received her B.A. in Visual Arts at Naropa University. Informed by spiritual practice and a naturalist philosophy, her art combines the richness of oil paint as a visceral material with contemplative practice, producing paintings on ecology with nature as icon. Influenced by Turner, O’Keeffe, Cezanne, and The Canadian Group of Seven, Smith paints the soul in nature. An appreciation for aesthetics and the deep woods provide seeds for the work revealing color combinations, line, and form. Bold colors and lyrical brushstrokes, scratches and drips of oil paint mutate creating a language of vital sensuality. Teresa’s oil paintings are about the mystery beneath the surface, the layer woven between worlds. The romance and richness of beauty, earth, salt air, wild roses, cedar and tide. My Process I paint landscapes. I live on a rural island surrounded by wild creatures, huge trees, ocean, mountains and open spaces. I ride a black Arabian mare through the old growth forest trailed by an Irish wolfhound named Griffin. As we move through the woods and vistas, I notice colors as they contrast with one another. I notice color, shapes, line and form that I would never have conjured on my own. I especially pay attention to the abstract spaces and patterns. We pause under ancient cedar and listen to water falling. Feeling into the spirit of the place. The forest, especially the ancient ones are rich with a presence. In the studio I stretch canvas and linen. I do this because I want the finest of quality and workmanship but also to honor and form relationship with surface. I use oil paint because of its buttery quality and vibrancy of color. I love the smell and the feel under my brush. I love that it is the medium of my lineage of painters. I love its softness and that it is archival and in my opinion the highest quality medium I can use. I love that I can create soft edges and blend beautiful passages. I use lavender essence or soybean oil to clean my brushes and make mediums of lavender, alkyd and walnut oil for making glazes. I worked in watercolors for many years and as with that medium see the benefit of glazing. That is using layers of paint and alkyd mixtures to create luminosity and light that makes a work “glow.” I work on several paintings at one time allowing them to dry between layers. It takes weeks, months or longer to finish a painting but in the end the work and time pay off. I am a contemplative painter. My time in the woods is separate from the studio but the influence is present. I paint from the heart. What comes up as first thought is what I put down. The thought that happens before it is analyzed and translated. I don’t usually have any idea of a direction when I start a painting. I begin with a thin drippy wash in a warm color like Indian yellow, ochre or transparent orange. I let the layer dry, then the next day create some chaos. Without any pre contrived ideas throw, squish, drip, scrub or scrape some paint on the canvas. The more chaotic the better. At this point I begin making order of the chaos one brushstroke at a time. This is where knowledge of color, composition, design and painterly quality come in. I begin to embellish and refine the shapes that were formed during the first couple of washes. Color is probably my most important consideration. I now focus on what color is a perfect combination to one that is down already. I contrast texture – thin wash next to impasto, for example. I work the shapes as if they are puzzle pieces, I use thin glazes to add luminosity and create colors that are unique and luscious. If things begin to seem too contrived I will grab a palette knife and arbitrarily add thick layers of paint. I will take a sharp instrument like a palette knife and cut through the layers revealing the colors underneath. There is really no beginning and no end. The work goes on for days, weeks or months. The closer to done a painting gets the slower I go. I stop when the painting feels resolved and seems to have a life of its own. EDUCATION 2012 Bachelor of Arts, Naropa University, Boulder CO 2009-2010 Bachelor of Arts Program, University of Colorado Boulder CO 2009 Painting and Design, Front Range College, Boulder CO 1998-1999 Painting, Skagit College/Friday Harbor WA 1976-1978 Bachelor of Arts Program Champlain College, Lennoxville PQ SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 San Juan Island Theater FH WA 2017 Cynthia’s Restaurant Friday Harbor WA 2016 La Conner Arts Alive La Conner WA 2016 San Juan Island Studio Tour 2016 San Juan Island Theater, Friday Harbor WA 2015 Nyland Community Center La Fayette CO 2011 Boulder Open Studios, Boulder CO 2010 Boulder Open Studios, Boulder CO Ras Kassa's Restaurant, Boulder CO 2009 Space Gallery, University of Colorado, Boulder CO Chamber of Commerce, Louisville CO City Hall, Louisville CO County Courthouse, Louisville CO 2008 The Artful Cup, Louisville CO 2007 Equine Show The Great Frame Up, Longmont CO 2005 Equine Show Landmark Realty, Niwot, CO 1998 Island Scenes San Juan Theater, Friday Harbor, WA GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2017 Art in Bloom Juried Show Anacortes WA 2016-17 Island Museum of Art Friday Harbor WA 2015-16 Island Museum of Art Friday Harbor WA 2012 Undecim Naropa University, Boulder CO 2011 Member Show Spark Gallery, Denver CO Heat Next Gallery Juried Show, Denver CO Colorado Juried art show, Boulder CO 2010 Member Show Spark Gallery, Denver CO Colorado Juried art show, Boulder CO 2009 Student Show Space Gallery, University of Colorado, Boulder CO Open Show Spark Gallery, Denver CO 2008 Member Show Boulder Art Association, Boulder CO National Juried Show Louisville Art Associate, Louisville CO 2007 Watercolors Salud, Longmont CO 2001 Watercolor Florals Daniel Smith Gallery, Seattle WA AWARDS 2010 Visual Arts Award, CU Colorado. 2009 Cover, Natural Awakenings Magazine, Boulder CO 2008 Best in Watermedia, Boulder Art Association Member Show, Boulder CO Cover, Natural Awakenings Magazine, Boulder CO 2004 CD Cover Joe Bongiorno, Seattle WA 2003 Signature member status, Northwest Art Association 2002 Poster Selection, Chamber of Commerce, Friday Harbor WA Award, San Juan County Fair, Friday Harbor WA 2001 Award, San Juan County Fair, Friday Harbor WA
  • Creator:
  • Creation Year:
    2019
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 40 in (101.6 cm)Depth: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Santa Cruz, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3444420101
More From This SellerView All
  • 'At the Beach', Chinese-American Woman Artist, Guangzhou Art Academy
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Born in Hunan, China, Annie Peony Zhang studied at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts and, for over 30 years, has been integrating her Chinese Classical training with modern Western art styles including Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Zhang has exhibited widely and with success and her works are held in both private and public collections. Annie Peony Zhang's paintings: “Childhood”, (2018), “Wish”(2019) and “Memories” (2020), were accepted into Crocker Art Museum. Three of her works (“Beautiful California”, “Delta Scenery”, “Sacramento River...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 'Summer's Day, Wildflowers in the Breeze', American Impressionist Landscape Oil
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed lower right, 'R. Bothwell' (American, 20th century) and painted circa 1975. Framed dimensions: 37 x 1.5 x 49 inches. A substantial, American Impressionist oil landscape sho...
    Category

    1970s Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • 'The Artist's Garden', Munich Academy, Art Institute of Chicago, PAFA, Corcoran
    By Julius Moessel
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed lower left 'Moessel' for Julius Moessel (American, 1872-1960) and dated 1943; additionally titled verso, 'In the Artist's Garden'. A substantial, mid-century horticultural oi...
    Category

    1940s American Realist Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 'In the Greenhouse Nursery', Gump's, San Francisco Bay Oil, Crocker Museum, UCSC
    By Boyd Gavin
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Incised lower right, 'Gavin' for Boyd Gavin (American, 20th century) and dated 1986; additionally titled, verso, on old exhibition label, 'Painted Trunks...
    Category

    1980s Modern Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • 'Sunflower I', Canadian Woman Artist, Large Post-Impressionist Floral Still Life
    By Teresa Smith
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed lower right, 'T.K.S' and painted 2019. A large and vibrant study of sunflower blossoms contrasted against a background of midnight blue. (The following is the artists's self-description of her work and process.) Teresa Smith received her B.A. in Visual Arts at Naropa University. Informed by spiritual practice and a naturalist philosophy, her art combines the richness of oil paint as a visceral material with contemplative practice, producing paintings on ecology with nature as icon. Influenced by Turner, O’Keeffe, Cezanne, and The Canadian Group of Seven, Smith paints the soul in nature. An appreciation for aesthetics and the deep woods provide seeds for the work revealing color combinations, line, and form. Bold colors and lyrical brushstrokes, scratches and drips of oil paint mutate creating a language of vital sensuality. Teresa’s oil paintings are about the mystery beneath the surface, the layer woven between worlds. The romance and richness of beauty, earth, salt air, wild roses, cedar and tide. My Process I paint landscapes. I live on a rural island surrounded by wild creatures, huge trees, ocean, mountains and open spaces. I ride a black Arabian mare through the old growth forest trailed by an Irish wolfhound named Griffin. As we move through the woods and vistas I notice colors as they contrast with one another. I notice color, shapes, line and form that I would never have conjured on my own. I especially pay attention to the abstract spaces and patterns. We pause under ancient cedar and listen to water falling. Feeling into the spirit of the place. The forest, especially the ancient ones are rich with a presence. In the studio I stretch canvas and linen. I do this because I want the finest of quality and workmanship but also to honor and form relationship with surface. I use oil paint because of its buttery quality and vibrancy of color. I love the smell and the feel under my brush. I love that it is the medium of my lineage of painters. I love its softness and that it is archival and in my opinion the highest quality medium I can use. I love that I can create soft edges and blend beautiful passages. I use lavender essence or soybean oil to clean my brushes and make mediums of lavender, alkyd and walnut oil for making glazes. I worked in watercolors for many years and as with that medium see the benefit of glazing. That is using layers of paint and alkyd mixtures to create luminosity and light that makes a work “glow.” I work on several paintings at one time allowing them to dry between layers. It takes weeks, months or longer to finish a painting but in the end the work and time pay off. I am a contemplative painter. My time in the woods is separate from the studio but the influence is present. I paint from the heart. What comes up as first thought is what I put down. The thought that happens before it is analyzed and translated. I don’t usually have any idea of a direction when I start a painting. I begin with a thin drippy wash in a warm color like Indian yellow, ochre or transparent orange. I let the layer dry, then the next day create some chaos. Without any pre contrived ideas throw, squish, drip, scrub or scrape some paint on the canvas. The more chaotic the better. At this point I begin making order of the chaos one brushstroke at a time. This is where knowledge of color, composition, design and painterly quality come in. I begin to embellish and refine the shapes that were formed during the first couple of washes. Color is probably my most important consideration. I now focus on what color is a perfect combination to one that is down already. I contrast texture – thin wash next to impasto, for example. I work the shapes as if they are puzzle pieces, I use thin glazes to add luminosity and create colors that are unique and luscious. If things begin to seem too contrived I will grab a palette knife and arbitrarily add thick layers of paint. I will take a sharp instrument like a palette knife and cut through the layers revealing the colors underneath. There is really no beginning and no end. The work goes on for days, weeks or months. The closer to done a painting gets the slower I go. I stop when the painting feels resolved and seems to have a life of its own. EDUCATION 2012 Bachelor of Arts, Naropa University, Boulder CO...
    Category

    2010s Modern Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 'Still Life of Roses on a Tea Table', Paris, Academie de la Palette, Benezit
    Located in Santa Cruz, CA
    Signed lower right, 'A. Naur' for Albert Naur (Danish, 1889-1973) and painted circa 1955. A cheerful, mid-century oil showing a pair of leisure chairs wit...
    Category

    1950s Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • View of Prague and still life with violin oil on canvas painting
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Unframed Ramón Moscardó studied at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts and La Lonja School, both in Barcelona. In 1971 he received the Santiago Barceló prize in the young painters c...
    Category

    1990s Fauvist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Still life with the sea in the background oil on canvas painting
    By Carmen Espel
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Carmen Espel (1926) - Still life with the sea in the background Oil on canvas - Hand signed Oil measures 54x73 cm. Frameless. Contemporary Barcelona pai...
    Category

    1980s Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • The Tree
    By Katharina Husslein
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    With a contemporary perspective on landscape painting and inspired by paintings created by old masters, German artist Katharina Husslein paints in a representational manner to captur...
    Category

    2010s Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Intangible Happiness
    By Katharina Husslein
    Located in Los Angeles, CA
    With a contemporary perspective on landscape painting and inspired by paintings created by old masters, German artist Katharina Husslein paints in a representational manner to captur...
    Category

    2010s Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • 1956 original oil painting by British artist Rakoczi or a japanese garden
    Located in Petworth, West Sussex
    Basil Ivan Rakoczi (British, 1908 – 1979) Jardin Japonaise Oil on canvas Signed ‘Rakoczi ‘56’ (on the reverse) 21.1/8 x 25.3/8 in. (53.7 x 64.5 cm.) Basil Ivan Rákóczi (31 May 1908 – 21 March 1979) was an English artist born in London. He was a prominent and leading member of the Irish art group, the White Stag, along with Kenneth Hall.
    Category

    20th Century Post-Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Canvas

  • Still life with the garden in the background oil on canvas painting
    By Carmen Espel
    Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
    Carmen Espel (1926) - Still life with the garden in the background Oil on canvas - Hand signed Oil measures 65x92 cm. Frameless. Contemporary Barcelona ...
    Category

    1980s Post-Impressionist Still-life Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

Recently Viewed

View All