Inside the Studio: Margi Smith
In the vibrant world of abstract art, Margi Smith emerges as a unique voice, capturing fleeting moments of beauty and emotion through her expressive paintings. With a deep connection to nature and the human experience, Margi’s work invites viewers to embark on a journey of reflection and joy. In this interview, we delve into her artistic process, the influences that shape her work, and her insights on the relationship between art and emotion.
Read on to learn more in an exclusive interview with Margi Smith :
1. Your paintings are described as capturing moments of beauty and expressing emotion through abstraction. What sparks your inspiration for these expressive moments?
Sparks of inspiration can come in the tiniest of moments; a breeze that hits my cheek and makes my eyes tear up, the way the earth crackles under my foot when I walk along a path quietly, the ripples and gurgles in a stream I walk by, patterns I see in nature, the way a person looks into someone else’s eyes they love. Quiet moments of noticing slowly what surrounds me in nature can spark a feeling that can start a sparkle and build a way to approach a new creative idea.
2. You speak of embracing the ‘messy middle’ in your process. How do you overcome challenges during the creation of a piece?
Overcoming challenges we face in our work and life makes us beautiful, complicated, feeling humans. Paintings also need layers that are ugly and beautiful, simple and complex. I know when I reach a stage of messy, loud, complicated, twisted blocks, that it is time to let the piece rest, sometimes for months or just until the latest layer dries. I’m just not afraid of how loud or ugly it gets. I know I can go back to the work and quiet down the harshness to make the piece more approachable again—like we do as humans. We have ugly layers that also hold gracious, generous beauty. Like nature, which inspires me in those slow noticing moments, when I look closely at something “ugly” in nature, I wait till I find the beautiful moment it too offers.
3. Nature and friendships seem to be important influences in your work. How do these relationships manifest in your paintings?
When I walk in nature with a friend, the conversation flows freely and unplanned. One moment we pour our hearts out to each other, and the next we see something so beautiful that we stop and just look. It’s like dancing with words in the wind. We walk; we are with each other in tandem just to spend time and be. It’s like that with the paintings. I make a mark with a color and see how it reacts to the rest of the painting. By stepping back and listening to what just spoke to me in that mark, I can see what the conversation will be next. It’s a back-and-forth dance speaking with the paint and marks and then listening to the response: “Dancing with the wind.”
4. Your work invites viewers to feel something deep inside. How do you use color and form to evoke these emotional responses?
Color evokes feelings; colors that sit side by side can stir emotions. When color is layered and peaks through, it brings up other feelings. On any given day, the same person can feel something different in a piece depending on what’s going on inside them. Are they angry? Maybe the bold slashes make them nod in recognition and feel heard. Are they blissful? Maybe the soft, fading lines blurred beneath give them pause to breathe in and feel calm. Maybe red represents fear, anger, or action to one person or love, warmth, and care to another. Someone spending time in front of a piece will see and feel what is reflected inside them. That’s the magic of art. The artist speaks in one language, and the viewer interprets it as they need to in that moment.
5. How has your approach to painting evolved as you've explored abstraction and expressive techniques?
When I started painting, I was trying to make something representational: “this is a vase,” “this is a landscape.” But I found I was so critical of the outcome. It was flat and didn’t make me feel what I was feeling when I painted the piece. Years of studying color technique, composition, and the mechanics of putting paint on substrates have given me the base knowledge of the “rules.” Now I can question all “the rules” I learned and bring myself unapologetically into the work. The result is a much looser form with layers of color that harmonize into a conversation in many languages.
6. What role does spontaneity play in your painting process, and how do you balance that with intentionality?
PLAY. Letting myself play and keeping it fun, putting it all out there with joy, anger, frustration, ease, and annoyance. I put it down with paint when I feel it; I can always quiet the conversation by editing down to a final presentation for public view. Some of the canvases start with words or poems or messages to those no longer here—a place to be heard, a place to feel. The beautiful part of painting is that the piece morphs into something else every time I bring it back to some balance that will make it a pleasant painting to be with for others.
7. Can you talk about a piece where you felt particularly connected to the mood or story it was telling?
In the last two years, I have been in the process of building a new home and downsizing all my possessions held onto for the last 35 years. Letting go of a place I called home and living in a variety of spaces with just the essentials and my husband brought up the concept of “home.” I painted a series called “A Sense of Home.” I came to realize that home means different things to each person, but when you drill down, it’s not a structure; it’s a place where you feel at peace with yourself. Home is inside you; you make your own sense of home.
8. Your art emphasizes bringing joy to every space. How do you hope your work transforms the spaces in which it is displayed?
I hope my work brings lightness, playfulness, and joy. I hope it gives people the space to feel heard and the time to stop, breathe, and look—noticing and listening to what their heart is telling them at that moment. I hope my paintings help viewers notice the quiet, small moments of joy because even in the hardest moments of life, there can be joy and childlike playfulness in our hearts.
Margi Smith's artistic journey is a testament to the beauty of embracing the messy middle and allowing nature and relationships to inform her creative process. Through her work, she invites us to pause, reflect, and find joy in the simplest moments. We are grateful to Margi for sharing her insights and look forward to seeing her vibrant paintings transform spaces and touch hearts.
You can learn more about Margi Smith and her work via these links:
Instagram: @margismithartwork
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