About
Jack Smith is a self-taught artist born in 1995. He works mostly with acrylic paint on canvas and enjoys painting everything from portraits to townscapes. His talent comes from many hours of practice throughout his youth; a painting can take him several weeks to complete.
Towards the end of 2016 he made the big decision to drop out of his University Architecture degree in order to pursue his aspiration of becoming a full-time artist. He has since been working on exhibition pieces as well as commissions. From the age of 15 he has been painting commissions to a professional standard. Coming from a large family of 7, he is used to people and enjoys working with clients to make their ideas come to fruition.
He has had several exhibitions in Oxford, which is a city of great significance to him- having made many friends there while at University. He moved back to the city in June 2018 and is constantly drawing inspiration from its beautiful architecture, its meadows and parks, and the people who make it.
His artistic approach is to capture the splendour of life, or to search it out if not apparent. Although the subject matter of his work varies widely there are themes which run through his paintings; taking inspiration from J M W Turner, he paints light and the effect it has on determining the mood, from dramatic sunsets to brooding fog to hot chiaroscuro, he conjures atmosphere with paint. Also influenced by L S Lowry, many of his paintings are inhabited by figures which add vibrancy and make his paintings come to life. His work tends to be highly detailed, at times photo-realistic, but his technique is constantly developing; the subject matter is what determines his style, and due to his interest in techniques of applying paint, the texture varies from smooth to impasto or heavy brushstrokes.
Exhibitions
2019: University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford- Holdtight Oxford Pride Exhibition
2019: Vaults and Garden cafe, Oxford- Portraiture
2019: Ark-T Centre, Oxford- portraiture
2019: St Matthew's Church, Oxford- Oxfordshire Artweeks
2019: Jam Factory, Oxford- Roses still life
2019: Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford- 'Oxford Now' portraits
2018: Taurus Art Gallery, Oxford- 'Oxford Scenes' townscapes
2018: Turl Street Kitchen, Oxford- 'Oxford Scenes' townscapes
2018: Red Brighton Blue Guesthouse, Brighton- Brighton Pride townscape
2018: Artists Open House, Brighton- various
2017: Old Fire Station Gallery, Oxford- 'One Size Fits All' still life
2017: Old Fire Station Cafe, Oxford- 'Still Life Chit Chats'
2017: Cafe Plenty, Brighton- portraiture
2017: Greens cafe, Oxford- still life
2016: 1855 wine bar, Oxford- still life
Towards the end of 2016 he made the big decision to drop out of his University Architecture degree in order to pursue his aspiration of becoming a full-time artist. He has since been working on exhibition pieces as well as commissions. From the age of 15 he has been painting commissions to a professional standard. Coming from a large family of 7, he is used to people and enjoys working with clients to make their ideas come to fruition.
He has had several exhibitions in Oxford, which is a city of great significance to him- having made many friends there while at University. He moved back to the city in June 2018 and is constantly drawing inspiration from its beautiful architecture, its meadows and parks, and the people who make it.
His artistic approach is to capture the splendour of life, or to search it out if not apparent. Although the subject matter of his work varies widely there are themes which run through his paintings; taking inspiration from J M W Turner, he paints light and the effect it has on determining the mood, from dramatic sunsets to brooding fog to hot chiaroscuro, he conjures atmosphere with paint. Also influenced by L S Lowry, many of his paintings are inhabited by figures which add vibrancy and make his paintings come to life. His work tends to be highly detailed, at times photo-realistic, but his technique is constantly developing; the subject matter is what determines his style, and due to his interest in techniques of applying paint, the texture varies from smooth to impasto or heavy brushstrokes.
Exhibitions
2019: University Church of St Mary the Virgin, Oxford- Holdtight Oxford Pride Exhibition
2019: Vaults and Garden cafe, Oxford- Portraiture
2019: Ark-T Centre, Oxford- portraiture
2019: St Matthew's Church, Oxford- Oxfordshire Artweeks
2019: Jam Factory, Oxford- Roses still life
2019: Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford- 'Oxford Now' portraits
2018: Taurus Art Gallery, Oxford- 'Oxford Scenes' townscapes
2018: Turl Street Kitchen, Oxford- 'Oxford Scenes' townscapes
2018: Red Brighton Blue Guesthouse, Brighton- Brighton Pride townscape
2018: Artists Open House, Brighton- various
2017: Old Fire Station Gallery, Oxford- 'One Size Fits All' still life
2017: Old Fire Station Cafe, Oxford- 'Still Life Chit Chats'
2017: Cafe Plenty, Brighton- portraiture
2017: Greens cafe, Oxford- still life
2016: 1855 wine bar, Oxford- still life
Making Sketches for 'Dreaming Spires'.