It’s an Ogunquit tradition. For generations, artists and friends have been meeting at Barn Gallery to share their knowledge about art and the creative process, and participate in opportunities to create new art. On August 3rd and 4th, 2022, that tradition continued as Ogunquit Art Association artist-member (and educator within the arts) Kathi Smith presented a demo and workshop focused on the art of drawing.
Smith used her eye-opening drawing demonstration and workshop: “Drawing Upon Nature” to share her experiences in the tradition of scientific drawing and study by guiding workshop participants to draw natural objects from observation using ink and graphite.
Students were taught to explore a variety of approaches to working with ink and water media as well as developing skills in observational drawing.
Smith takes a foundational approach to drawing and is always a workshop artist ready and willing to impart valuable points of engagement and inspiration.
Workshop participants enjoyed strengthening their observation skills and channeling the inspiration nature provides into finished drawings. They learned how applying Sumi ink on yupo paper is an additive and subtractive process while letting the medium work.
Through explanations by Smith about the tools, materials, and techniques used in the art of drawing — plus the joys of (and abundant opportunities for) experimentation — everyone in attendance added multiple new artistic skills to their repertoire!
Photos of Drawing Demo + Workshop by Kathi Smith.
ARTIST BIO: Kathi Smith
Born in Western Maine, Kathi Smith is an artist whose work is reflective of the landscape she finds herself within. Smith invites us to join her in close observation of familiar-seeming places, places that hold personal and universal narratives. Recent subjects include Great Cranberry Island, her family’s homestead in Nova Scotia, and her hometown of Wilton Maine. Smith works both in the landscape and in the studio to create real and remembered worlds.
Smith’s reputation and career have rapidly expanded as she has participated in numerous regional and national exhibitions and 5 significant artist residencies which include a Full Fellowship supported by the Joan Mitchell Foundation to the Vermont Studio Center. Other fellowships include VCCA, the Heliker-LaHotan Foundation, Weir Farm National Historic Site, The Alfred and Trafford Klotts International program for artists in Brittany France through the Maryland Institute College of Art. Smith was noted as “one to watch” by Dan Kany in his piece Art Review: Energetic pair of painters show in Portland, May 2018 and has been included in the Art Maine 2018, as a notable Maine artist. Previous press include Artscope Magazine, Kathi Smith’s New England, July 2013 as well as Maine Home + Design Expressive Impression, May 2016.
Formal education includes BFA in Painting & Drawing from the University of Southern Maine, and a MFA in Painting from the University of New Hampshire. Smith is an Assistant Professor of Studio Arts and Art Appreciation at Husson University in Bangor. Smith is an active participant in the Maine contemporary art scene and keeps her studio in Bangor, ME.
Learn more about the Barn Gallery 2022 Schedule: https://barngallery.org/get-ready-for-some-art-in-ogunquit-barn-gallerys-2022-season/
Photos by Deidre O’Flaherty.
