Best Art Awards 2025

 I had forgotten that I had submitted artwork to a huge international competition with multiple categories.  I received an email today stating that I am a winner, Honorable Mention,  in the Open Theme Category !

Considering there is a ton of entries for this competition globally, I am very grateful to have my painting "Spiritual Tuning" in this list of winners.

The link to the site is:  http://www.bestartawards.com/  

The first page is the Open Theme Category and I am in the Honorable Mention section.

There is no financial award for this or many other awards I have been receiving, just the acknowledgment of placing in these international juried competitions and that my artwork is competitive among so many amazing artists.

Glass Colors all Polished!

 Very excited about all of the glass color pieces now polished, completed!

One thing I really enjoy about beveling glass that has different color that is fluid through the center of the glass is that whatever color is under the top/bottom layer pops out in the bevel.  The above pics show how the purple is on surface and is clear underneath which shows up in the bevel.  The next few images show how the white which is fluid through the center of the glass comes out in the bevel sections indicated in yellow. The white flakes on surface of glass is the powder left over from the polishing process.  It will all be cleaned off later.

Side note:  The bright white in the bottom left corner is light reflecting off the glass. The same thing in bottom image left of the yellow circle.

Glassy Bevels!

I was told that I needed a catchy title and this is what I came up with.   

Following are close up images of the 1st stage of the beveling which will be easier to see each bevel.  I am showing these to explain how the bevels that I create are different from anything you have seen.  Typically when you see bevels in glasswork such as in entryways, mirrors, bevel clusters that stained glass artists can purchase, etc.  each bevel is a particular width and remains that width all around the shape.  

Quite a few years ago I was taught how to hand bevel and the width had to be the same all around the shape.  In the mid 1990s I was piecing together a panel with bevels that I had created and the design was flat due to each bevel being the same width all around the shapes and each one next to each other. I wanted more movement and depth to the design so I started playing with the idea of changing the width of the bevel from one side to the other and different widths from opposite sides of the shape.  This created much more movement and depth throughout the design.  This can be seen in many of the images I have throughout this blog as well as in my web sites isaacdsmith.com and stained-glass-creations.com

This additional light play as well as increased depth and movement adds to my purpose to Nourish Your Soul Through a Symphony of Light and Colour!

 

Important World Artists award winner!

 I recently submitted artwork into a competition for an anthology to be published of Important World Artists curated and published by Artavita.  The following email was sent out the other day and I am excited as well as absorbing and processing the information!

Out of 1598 works and 389 artists I was selected as one of the 82 finalists!

I am grateful to be selected at this level!

Completed Oil Painting! "Spiritual Tuning"

 Took quite awhile and I have finally completed the oil painting!

Since the paint is not dry there is quite a bit of sheen to it and taking a good picture with a camera phone is nearly impossible.  Here are a few images at different angles to capture some of the background details.

I have been thinking about different titles and the one that fits is "Spiritual Tuning"

I have been in process on this painting for 2 yrs and during that time there has been a lot of healing spiritually, as a person, and being in tune with the images/colors in my head while listening to music.  The yin/yang implied feel to the background represents a lot of what I have been learning in regards to so many aspects in life.  

There is so much of my emotion on this canvas!

Oil Painting- Moving Along

 My family had different emergencies that pulled us away for awhile. I have been able to paint in-between different things and here is the progress so far.

A couple sections in bottom hand and then start on background.

Oil Painting- Upper torso completed

 I have been able to get more time in to work on this painting.  The colors are flowing nicely! I feel like I am capturing the movement of what I am seeing when listening to different music instead of just focusing on the technicality of painting- composition, repetition, balance, etc.

Very much enjoying this painting!

Freeing Up My Mind!

I was able to spend a little more time painting and am really enjoying what is sections are coming together. When I was painting the foot, my mind let go of trying to paint sections just right, i.e. where the tendons are flexed, raised veins creating shadows, etc and it became more about the music and how it flows and what colors appear in my mind as well as the shapes. I was very freeing and I was the raised tendons, veins ended up in certain areas after all.

Revisiting Alanis Morissette

 As I had discussed in a previous posting, when listening to music I "see" images of different colors and shapes.  I also tend to have physical sensations of the movements of these colors and shapes.  

With this in mind I have been revisiting Alanis Morissette's music which I had not really listened to in several years.  I hear snippets here and there but not really gone through and listened to whole songs in quite a while.  I had enjoyed hearing her music in the 90s but now that I am understanding more of what I experience it is fun to really listen and enjoy the sensations and visuals.

The one that is really in tune with my spirit is Uninvited.  The harmonies and the instruments used in the song are really producing wonderful imagery.

I find that these colors and fluid images are reflected in my artwork.

Here are a couple images of where I am at currently on the painting I have been working on.

Finally- Time to Continue Painting!

I have had a very busy 4 months with taking care of children, household and other obligations. I am now able to continue on with the painting which feels good!

Why Nourish Your Soul?

As I have been weak and in pain from the Shingles I thought I would share a few thoughts as to the mission I have to Nourish Your Soul Through a Symphony of Light and Colour!

I love how glass and painting can transform a space or at the least subtly tie into it so that it feels pleasing, stirring, touches the soul, nourishes you.  Watching someone's reaction after I have installed my artwork into their home and hear them say how it touches them, moves them,  is very rewarding!  I heard from a client I had from 19 yrs prior who told me they still love to just sit and look at the artwork I had created for their home.  
What I create, either in glass or painting, is not about me, it is not about who I am or what I am feeling, or any of the typical stuff that is in artist statements.  It is so much more than that.  

Over the years people have asked what is my art about, what is my style, what do I paint? I had a difficult time answering because I intuitively felt what it was all about but could not really describe it.  I would see the responses from clients after installation and looking back I can say that they were having responses from their soul, from some spiritual connection.  I was unable to really put it all together in my head.  

Before I could understand fully my mission I had to understand what my purpose is.  In order to do that I had to do some reflecting on 3 emotionally painful moments in my life and 3 emotionally joyful moments in my life.  I ended up doing this through a course taught by Ann Rea.  In doing this process I found a huge thread throughout my life that was connected from childhood.  I found that the painful moments in my life were about not being accepted for who I am, rejected at times, told I was wrong in what I thought or believed (I grew up religious and at times what I thought/believed conflicted with what was taught and if I vocalized it I was condemned or told I was wrong).  The joyful moments were times when I was doing something that fed or nourished my soul such as painting, bicycle ride, having sex, staring at a stained glass window, sitting by the ocean, listening to symphonic music (Beethoven specifically for me).  These are more examples than what I did in the month long reflection but they came to mind later.  

In tying the painful and joyful moments together briefly I saw that I am to accept who I am and nourish or feed my soul.  If I did not then I would continually be in pain, feel rejected, feel empty.  I am not the only one, many people need to nourish their soul, do things that make them whole.  So, what can I offer through my art?  I offer to Nourish Your Soul Through a Symphony of Light and Colour!

Why the word "symphony"?  A couple of reasons.  A symphony unifies many different instruments that have different parts to play.  There is depth, movement, dynamism. I do the same with both glass and painting.  I combine different types of glass, color, texture, beveling technique, elements of the client's home/office to create depth, movement, dynamism that ultimately provides the client nourishment for who they are, what they enjoy, for their soul.
Secondly, the Viola has a sound that reaches into and moves throughout my spirit.  I played the Viola in middle school through a couple of years in college and was mediocre at best.  I am ok with that, painting and creating in glass are more of what I am drawn to. Give me record or CD with a Viola sonata to listen to and I am in heaven!
Lastly, I enjoy being with others in a symphony listening.  Many are there for the same reasons, I believe that it is ultimately to feed and nourish their soul. 

So, basically, this is what my art is about.  There are other details that I could go into but not at this time.  If you want to know more feel free to ask.  
I look forward to having the opportunity to Nourish Your Soul Through a Symphony of Light and Colour! 

My Artist Mission

I have been going through a course called Making-art-making-money by Ann Rea which covers how to have a successful art business.  Years ago I realized that the standard business model/business plan really does not work for artists.  I had been working so hard and for quite a few years with some success but not enough to allow me to do it full time.  I showed different business people what I was doing and they kept saying that I was doing everything right and they did not understand why I was unable to do it full time. 

One main problem I have been discovering is that the standard business model pertains to selling a product.  Artists are selling emotion rather than a product and figuring out how to do that has been difficult.  Another issue for me has been the question of what am I selling? Is it the art itself, the style, am I a figurative painter, landscape artist, stained glass artist, etc?  Intuitively I have felt like what I am creating is more than the product, I would see what emotional impact it has had for clients and technically what I have been doing that is different than anything else out there, but I was having a hard time describing what it was and tying the emotional and technical aspects together.  

In going through this course I have been able to figure out what my purpose and mission as an artist is and can begin the process of narrowing down who my audience is. My mission is to Nourish Your Soul Through a Symphony of Light and Colour! 
Getting to this point has been a journey of self discovery, looking at many different emotional impacts throughout my life and seeing a distinct pattern since childhood.  The result is seeing how my purpose is accepting who I am, nourishing who I am/my soul and realizing how other people are seeking or doing things to nourish their soul or who they are.  I am using my skills as a glass artist and painter to help others attain this.  

I played the Viola from 6th grade through college and loved the sound of the instrument and enjoyed being a part of an orchestra.  Looking back, it was a good experience but the performing and playing the instrument was not the part that really nourished me.  Listening to symphonic music, hearing the many layers, instruments, sounds, melodies, communicating with each other and coming together, is what really nourished my soul.  I find that this comes out in my artwork and I feel such a deep connection.  I am working with many different elements, each one playing a different part in creating something that ultimately nourishes the soul.