{"id":5111,"date":"2019-05-03T09:31:59","date_gmt":"2019-05-03T13:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/?p=5111"},"modified":"2019-11-22T11:50:15","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T16:50:15","slug":"painting-in-myths-jason-smith-10-on-how-he-became-an-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/news\/painting-in-myths-jason-smith-10-on-how-he-became-an-artist\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPainting in Myths\u201d: Jason Smith \u201810, on How He Became An Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a kid, Jason Smith always had a natural talent for visual art. In his early years growing up in Newport, Rhode Island, Smith states that his family always told him he should be an artist. When it came time to attend college, that familial influence and his own passion for art influenced him strongly. \u201cI was going to go to business school,\u201d Smith states, \u201cBut I chose the more natural route.\u201d Over the next few years, Smith would have what he calls a \u201cbroken up experience\u201d at CCRI, starting his classes in 2001, then taking a gap before once again starting up, eventually graduating in 2007 with an Associate of Arts degree. <\/span><\/p>\n

Smith ended up enrolling in URI the following year, choosing Little Rhody over two schools in Massachusetts for an assortment of reasons. \u201cThe bottomline was location,\u201d he states, \u201cBut I also got scholarship money, and my instructors at CCRI were closely connected to the art faculty at URI. They told me it was a much better choice over most other in-state institutions.\u201d It was these connections to various faculty members that ultimately led to Smith\u2019s success at URI, one of which left a lasting impression on him. \u201cBob Dilworth is just inspiring in himself,\u201d Smith says about the professor of painting, drawing, design, and African American art history. \u201cGetting to meet someone who\u2019s an actual working artist and being invited to see his studio before I finished my classes was so inspiring too.\u201d He also notes that his professors at URI accepted him for who he was and what he could do, adding, \u201cThey looked at me as more than just a student. They made me feel like I could really succeed.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Graduating from URI in December of 2010, Smith received his BFA with concentrations in drawing, printmaking, and digital art. He notes how shocked he was at how quickly he was able to enter the workforce after graduation, receiving acceptances from multiple artist groups around the state. These included the Hera Gallery in Wakefield, as well as his mentor Bob Dilworth\u2019s group. Smith also adds that he\u2019s luckier than most artists due to the consistency of his shows — his average being about one a year — where he\u2019s been able to sell his work. \u201cIf you don\u2019t have something to look to next, you can get derailed,\u201d Smith explains, \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky that my shows are so consecutive. I\u2019m still living as a struggling artist, but I\u2019m able to make money doing what I love on the side.\u201d To new Arts and Sciences students, Smith has this to say: \u201cTake your experience [at URI] seriously. Granted, I had the advantage of going in as an older student, but you just have to focus on your work and give it your all. You don\u2019t always know who\u2019s going to notice you, so every moment counts, including how you conduct yourself. It might just open doors for you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

~ Written by Chase Hoffman ’21, Writing & Rhetoric and Anthropology Double Major<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a kid, Jason Smith always had a natural talent for visual art. In his early years growing up in Newport, Rhode Island, Smith states that his family always told him he should be an artist. When it came time to attend college, that familial influence and his own passion for art influenced him strongly. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1089,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[190,157],"class_list":["post-5111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-alumni","tag-art-and-art-history"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1089"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5117,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5111\/revisions\/5117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/artsci\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}