Will Smith

" 'He took off his clothes and stepped into the picture.'

"This is how a collector’s two year old child reacted to one of my first beach paintings and it confirmed to me that paintings should have a physical effect on the participant, not evoking a memory or nostalgia, but a communication of senses and emotions that are unique to its inspiration.

"The beach offers the figurative painter humanity at its most innocent and exposed, and offers the landscape artist the interfaces of earth, sea and sky in their most active states, reflecting, merging and dissolving.

"Some of these beach scenes are studded with the synthetic colours of man made materials and paraphernalia - for example the menagerie of heraldic windbreaks and parasols that defend countless golden plots.

"The beach is a place where we impulsively become creative and curious again, though the initial intention is to soak in the sun, sand and the sea and relax.

"The overriding emotions I want to convey are of warmth, energy, freedom and natural harmony, but these often belie elements of struggle and danger. The texture and dynamism of the paint surface are critical to the endurance of the painting’s communication."

Will Smith studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London.

Exhibitions

2006
Hot Paintings, Bear Steps Gallery, Shrewsbury
1996 - 2006
Hidden Art of Hackney, Annual Exhibition
1989 - 1994
Whitechapel Open, London
1993
Stations Of Akdamar, Gallery Café, London