Welcome to the website of the artist CN Smith.

The paintings featured here are a selection from the broad range of work that Chris produces, currently figurative and semi figurative landscapes, mainly in acrylic.

Chris ran Old Town Studio & Gallery on St Marys in the Isles of Scilly for many years, but now works from home. His work is still for sale on St Marys at Tamarisk Gallery

Where to buy

To view current work please visit Tamarisk Gallery.

About the artist

I began painting and drawing as a child, and it has always been my primary interest and pursuit. I attended Leeds College of Art and Design, where a friend introduced me to the Isles of Scilly. I spent the next ten years travelling as an itinerant worker between Europe and Scilly.

I returned to Scilly in 1980 and have lived there since - enjoying the simpler lifestyle as much as the landscape - and the elemental aspects of the environment have undoubtedly shaped my work.

Early influences

At the age of 16 during my first year at Art College I was fascinated by what is termed 'abstract art'. I couldn't pretend I understood it but felt an actual physical thrill when looking at these paintings, especially the work of the abstract expressionists. Researching these artists and the ideas that led them to such painting I came across Zen Buddhism, a major influence in American painting and poetry in the 1950s and 60s.

Zen and abstract expressionism have been an ongoing concern of mine ever since. Alongside my figurative work I have always painted abstracts, not showing the work in my gallery for many years as I believed that visitors to the islands are drawn to the place, and abstracts by their very nature are not place specific. During the winter of 2005 to 2006 this long held interest came to the fore, and I decided to concentrate on this form of painting exclusively, to see if and how I could develop what feels to me to be the most honest approach to my craft.

Recent work

Concentrating on abstract work allowed me to re-engage completely with the processes and possibilities of paint. My recent work is not only a response to the landscape but also to the language of painting. Sometimes I approach each new work with no subject in mind. I find it in the painting as it evolves, using various means to apply the paint - rags, knives, cardboard, brushes and fingers. I like acrylic for its fast-drying quality to keep my involvement with the painting unbroken.

In figurative depictions of a location, more attention goes into making the mark exciting rather than descriptive. But whichever approach, the challenge is to find a presence - figurative or not - where the painting has a life in itself, beyond the suggestion of the title.

In October 2015 I closed my own gallery in order to slow down a little, and have more freedom to go out to draw and paint in the landscape.

Contact Details

Email: ku.oc.htimsnc@seiriuqne