Sunlit Glass Color, Patterns

 Certain times of the year the sun shines on the stained glass we have in our kitchen and the color and patterns show up on the shade I have in front of it.  I never tire of seeing this, it excites me, calms me, mesmerizes me. I love the way the texture of the glass and other aspects show up on the window shade.

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.

Story of My Artwork

 I have been in the process of having the story of my artwork be edited by myself and another person over the last couple of years.  Whenever an artist applies to juried shows, applying for art shows, etc. one has to submit Artist Bio, Artist Statement or other information pertaining to her process and other information.  I have always had a difficult time with these until recognizing that synesthesia is the underlying source of the visual imagery I put on canvas and glass.

Here is the current version of a short bio that has been revised over several years. Bio is written in 3rd person and usually has info such as education, awards, art influence and process, etc.  I tend to stay away from indicating these things and try to produce a story pertaining to the artwork that will connect with the viewer:

Born in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1970, Isaac D. Smith is a visual artist now based in Washington State, where he has lived since 2004.  His creative vision is shaped by a rare sensory phenomenon: the ability to see colors and images while listening to music.  Only recently realizing the uniqueness of this experience, Smith has embraced it fully in his artistic practice.

Working in both oil painting and glass, Smith translates sound into visual form, producing compositions that combine luminous transparency with bold opacity.  His works explore movement, rhythm, and the emotional resonance of music, often described as "nourishing the soul through a symphony of light and color."  Each piece serves as a bridge between auditory and visual experience, allowing viewers to enter a world where music and imagery converge.  Smith's art invites reflection, contemplation and joy.  His canvases and glasswork evoke harmony and vibrancy, encouraging audiences to consider the profound connections between sound, emotion and vision.

Autumn Equinox and Bonding Glass

Today is the Autumn Equinox and it was the perfect day to start bonding the beveled color glass pieces onto the clear bevels of the large glass panel I had been working on a few months ago.  I am finally at a good point with all that has been happening to start this part of the project.

 My goal is to bond 1 - 2 pieces on the days in which I work 12 hr nights and then on my days off I will do more.  I plan on installing this door panel by mid October.  This is a tedious process and will take considerable time.  The 2 red/orange color pieces took 45 minutes.  The outcome is definitely worth the effort.  

"Pianist" is in a Show in NYC!

 At the end of May I submitted 5 paintings for a Digital Art Show in New York City titled FLOW put on by ARTHOUSE.NYC.  There were 6 curators and my painting "Pianist" was accepted into the show!

The show runs from June 8-22 with a reception that occurred on the 12th.  At the reception the Best of FLOW is displayed on a large outdoor screen in the Big Screen Plaza. To my surprise, my painting was one of the pieces shown!

 This is absolutely amazing!

Following is a description and dates of the show:

The curators are:

Artists in the show:

I am excited to be in this show and honored that Pianist was selected as part of the Best of FLOW!

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.

Traditional Stained Glass Process- Puttying / Cementing glass panel

 I have been working on puttying the panel and just completed the back side.  This is a traditional process in using either lead came, zinc came, or other type of came that the glass fits into.  There is a space that the putty/cement fills in that used to be for weather proofing a stained glass panel as well as making the panel more secure, stronger.  

I will be cleaning up the excess and let it set for a couple of weeks as it dries.  While that is setting up I will be beveling all the color pieces that will eventually be bonded on top of the clear bevels.

Completed Piecing Together Glass Panel

 Finally completed piecing together the stained glass panel for the Interior Door!

I really like this design, the flow, movement, color!

Far from being completed, next up is soldering all the joints front and back then putty both sides, followed by cutting color glass the size of the middle section of each clear beveled piece. While the putty sets for a couple of weeks I will bevel each color piece, then clean the panel and lastly bond the color pieces on top of the clear bevels.  Once that is all completed the installation will happen soon after. 

Sunlit Glass!

This morning when the sun was rising, the glass in the kitchen lit up and the image appeared on the window shade.  I love the effect of this!  I noticed this on a window in a different house we had many years ago and I make sure I have this same type of shade that I purchased in Japan to get this type of effect.

 Fun how the textures appear on the shade!

Current Masters 7 Book

The online version of the book Current Masters 7 is now available!  Following is the link:

 https://wwab.us/cm-7/

The printed books come out in a couple of months.

Current Masters

Recently, my work was juried and accepted into a book titled Current Masters 7.  I just approved the proof for the 2 pages that I will have in this book:

 The editor did a wonderful job editing the bio which I usually avoid.  The typical bio is in third person and tells of background info such as education and awards, etc.  I figure if someone really wants to know that kind of information then they can ask me and I will send an artist resume which has all that in it.  

The book will be released online sometime this month with the printed version in March.

Story Behind Spiritual Tuning

I've been looking at Spiritual Tuning quite often since completing the varnishing and am now at a point where I can verbalize different aspects of this painting, what was going on while painting it and where the imagery originated from.

This was created over a two year period from 2021-2023 as indicated from earlier posts.  The pose of the figure really captivated me- don't think I understood why fully at the time, definitely the overall shape and form of the pose as well as the light/dark aspects of it.  After reflection I feel the pose has an introspective quality which I was going through at the time- healing from the past from religion, relationships, hurts, etc.  Throughout the 2 year period I listened to a lot of music which allowed me to see so many colors, shapes, movement which all came out in this figure.  The background has a yin yang feel which came from a lot of reading, learning and understanding dynamics of relationships/marriage and my own marriage.  Learning about the dynamics of security and sexuality in a a marriage/relationship and how they are opposites.  Once I really understood what was happening internally such as emotional healing, learning, introspection, changing- along with the musical aspects creating the color, movement, etc, the title Spiritual Tuning was quite vivid in my mind- an adjustment to become more of who I am.

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!

 

Stained Glass Panel Pieced Together and Soldered

 Glass panel is coming together nicely! Top picture shows it all pieced together, 2nd image is after soldering all joints front and back, bottom two are showing the putty which fills in gaps in the came channel which will harden and traditionally was used as a sealer for the elements since these were the existing window up until a certain time period.  The last panel also shows the whiting which helps the putty to dry faster as well as absorbing oils from the putty. Have to let it set for a week before cleaning, in the meantime blue glass pieces cut in the shape of the center of each clear bevel of the star will be beveled and be ready for bonding on top once the panel is cleaned.

My Page Layout for the upcoming Important World Artists anthology

 I found out this last week that the upcoming anthology of Important World Artists Vol 6 is getting closer to being completed for the online book and the physical book will begin printing soon!  

This is my page layout for the publication:

The bio for these are typically done in 3rd person and info given pertaining to where learned the skills, awards, education, etc.  I don't like sticking to that format thus the difference in what I had written for the page.

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!

My Work in World Wide Art Magazine #14 is Now Published!

 The two paintings that won in a competition I had mentioned in a previous post are now in the World Wide Art Magazine #14 which was published and distributed a couple days ago. 

Here is the link:

https://wwab.us/wwa-magazine-14/

A partial image of one of the paintings is on the Index page and the full image as well as the other painting are on pgs 87 and 88.

I am very pleased to be in this magazine!

International Art Competition Award Winner!

I have entered my artwork into a couple different international art competitions put on by Artavita.  The first was competing for the Artist of the Year Title and Awards where there were 60 awards, the top 3 had specific prizes. I placed 35th out of 480+ entries!  My painting titled Anxiety won that position!

Here is the award certificate:

The second one that I entered was the 63rd Artavita Online Art Contest, to be selected for publication in the 14th issue of World Wide Art Magazine. I had 2 paintings chosen for this award out of several hundred entries!  These are my oil paintings Anxiety and Discovering:

Here is the certificate:

I am very excited to have won awards in both as this is the first time entering my work into International competitions!  The second award allows me 2 free pages published in the World Wide Art Magazine coming out later this month! 

I don't know what the outcome of this will be but am glad to be doing something different and experiencing a positive outcome!

The More I Observe "Spiritual Tuning" the More I See of Myself

 

I have really been enjoying looking at this painting daily, seeing how much of myself is in this piece.  So much of what I have been healing from spiritually and learning the last couple of years spilled over into the depth, color, flow.  I feel like my soul is laid bare on this canvas.  The process was amazing, painting the colors/flowing images I have from listening to different styles of music.  I am sorry that the images don't show the depth and real emotion, the texture as looking at the actual painting.  

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!