Day 1 of New Oil Painting

 I started painting today!  I posted the image drawn out on canvas earlier this year and am at a point I can start painting.  Certain areas I don't quite have figured out as far as design, this will come as I keep painting.

The concept is "Letting Go" which is something I have been experiencing and having to let go of different things throughout my life such as certain emotions, relationships or dynamic of relationships, certain aspects of my job, old beliefs, patterns and other things not needed, different things I was taught that no longer fit me.  

Color scheme will be like certain trees in the Autumn that transition from greens to yellows to red which then the leaf falls off.  More greens will be towards the center of the figure with the transitions moving out toward the extremities.  

Testimonials

 I finally have a page on my website for testimonials! Glad it is finally up. Isaacdsmith.com is the website.

The following is the content of what I have on the page, but the format and explanation is different on the page:

Isaac kept our vision in focus all the time and was very easy to work

with; answering all of our questions, explaining the process, and

offering his artistic advice.  We visited his studio various times to

view progress, and together, adjust/tweak/update the work as we saw it

come to fruition. We are so pleased with the outcome and are enjoying it

tremendously! Our window is the artistic touch we were looking for in

our home! Isaac created a custom piece that reflects us!

 

Val Hambley and Kenn Wong

Vancouver, WA

________________________________________________________________________

Dear Isaac,

I want to thank you for designing and creating our beautiful hummingbird stained

glass window!  It is so beautiful and light! Your design and choice of colors are

awesome.  This is a lifetime treasure.

Having it over our entryway we see it multiple times a day.  The colors change

depending on the time of day and the beveling of the bird's feathers reflect light

and create movement.

They are exquisite!  It was a pleasure working with you! I really appreciated you

keeping me in the loop with the progress along the journey. I would highly recommend your creative work to anyone.

Thank you for the joy you have brought to our home.

 

Sincerely,

 

Susan

Vancouver, WA

________________________________________________________________________

 

Isaac,

 

We hold you responsible for us not getting anything done around the house for 4 days now: we stop and revel in our entryway whenever we pass by. We could not be more pleased! Pleased not just with the beautiful stained glass panels that now frame the door....but with the entire process we enjoyed with you from first contact through installation. You listened to us, our concept, what we felt about where we live. Added your insight and experience.....developed a design to capture what we wanted, the spirit of living here..... and executed to perfection! 

 

You've brought a constant colorful joy into the day with this wonderful piece of art you created. We'll get to those chores eventually....with a lighter heart. Thanks again for your talent and experience committed to this project.

 

Kim Rose

East Wenatchee, WA

 

Thanks, Isaac!

 

So excited to have all this light and color in our home!

 

Abby

Spokane, WA

_________________________________________________________________________

 

Dear Isaac,

 

Thank you for making these two window’s for us. They are beautiful and they help to complete my mother’s window.  It was very nice working with you, and meeting another fellow Alaskan down here in the states.

We will hopefully meet up again sometime.

 

Alan and Linda Wood

Spokane, WA

_________________________________________________________________________

 

Isaac,

Just a note to say that we absolutely love the addition to our glassware cupboard in our kitchen.  Your work and vision are spectacular.

 

Mike & Patsy Morford

Spokane, WA

_________________________________________________________________________

 

I commissioned Isaac to create a partial window for my dining area.  I wanted a design that worked with the view and had movement to it.  His initial design was great and was modified after a little more input.  After the completed window was installed he showed me how that the movement in the design also worked with the marbling detail I had on my walls.  I highly recommend Isaac for any window project for his artistic talent and detail.

 

Marvin Reguindin

Spokane Valley, WA

__________________________________________________________________________

 

Isaac was hired to design and install beveled glass in our existing raised wood panel kitchen cabinets.  We were hoping for a new look.  Isaac’s custom design and hand beveling work was superior to anything I have ever seen before.  We were absolutely blown away by the transformation.  Isaac was a dream to work with. I would highly recommend his services to anyone!

 

Kevin Guthrie

Spokane, WA

New Juried Show

 Hi all;

My artwork 'Dual Wave' is now being showcased at Mega - 2026 exhibition, organized by Biafarin and powered by @Biafarin platform.

To learn more, please go to:

https://www.biafarin.com/mega2026?AW=AW127120326

Curatorial Review

 Art Curator Despina Tunberg had gone through all of my artwork and wrote a curatorial review.

I am very pleased and excited about what she wrote! She was able to verbally say in a short time what I have been feeling and going through, striving to express over many years.

Enjoy reading! 

Drawing Started for New Painting

 I've had an idea for a new painting for quite awhile and it has been slowly coming together both in my head as well as the design being drawn on the canvas.

The size of this canvas is 60 inches tall by 42 1/4 inches wide. I stretched the canvas and have been slowly working out the design, changing certain aspects as I go.  Even though I have a good image in my head, sometimes the actual supplies I have on hand are slightly different which changes the size and thus the composition.  I am working from a photograph of the pose and have to change certain aspects because a photograph tends to flatten the image and I am drawing and redrawing to create more depth of the figure and surrounding space.

Fun to show the initial aspects of getting the design on the canvas before starting the painting.

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.

New International Online Art Show! The Big Chill

 I have a painting accepted into an online art show titled The Big Chill.  It is an international show put on by ART FLUENT out of Boston, MA.  426 entries from 5 countries and I had my painting titled Winter Tree accepted into this! The acceptance letter with the link for the show is below the image.

Media Name: Winter Tree - - Accepted


Isaac Smith:

Congratulations!

We are thrilled to inform you that your artwork has been selected to be part of our online exhibit, THE BIG CHILL. Your submission stood out from 426 entries from five countries worldwide, and we are honored to have the opportunity to showcase your work.

We were blown away by the incredible quality and diversity of the submissions we received, your work truly spoke to us. We believe that your talent and creativity will inspire others and make a real impact in the art community.

Your work is now proudly displayed on our website, www.art-fluent.com/gallery/the-big-chill/

We encourage you to share this exciting news with your friends, family, and followers and to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to expand your reach and connect with new audiences.

If you have provided us with your website, thank you. You will see your website when you click on your image to view full size. It will be on the following page. If your site is not displayed, don't hesitate to contact us by email at hello@art-fluent.com. We would be happy to create a direct link to your site.

We are passionate about supporting the arts and giving back to the community. As a part of our culture, we have donated to various art organizations across the United States since our inception in 2020, and we are committed to continuing this important work.

Again, congratulations on being selected for our exhibition, and thank you for allowing us to feature your incredible art. We wish you all the best in your future artistic endeavors, and we hope this exhibition will be just the beginning of an exciting and successful journey.

Sincerely,

Amy Matteson Neill
Creative Director

 

ART FLUENT
1 Washington Mall #1218
Boston, MA 02108
www.instagram.com/art__fluent
www.art-fluent.com

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.

New Juried Gallery Shows and Art Magazine

 I have been submitting art work for different juried art shows as well as magazines/ publications.  I have had various paintings accepted into different gallery shows as well as an art magazine.

KBM Art Gallery out of Hollywood, CA has an online gallery show titled:

Year End of Art Extravaganza 2025 in which I have 3 paintings accepted into the show. The link is https://kbmartgallery.com/year-end-art-extravaganza

I am excited to have various oil paintings accepted into several juried events!  I have entered several that will be finalizing decisions into the first part of the year and will post updates.

QR Code and Link for NUDITAS 2025

 My painting "Anxiety" is in the current online show titled Nuditas 2025. 

The link is https://www.exhibizone.com/p/nuditas2025.html?TP=artworks

Here is the QR code and my poster with the painting accepted in this international juried online exhibition:

Nuditas 2025, Juried Show

My painting titled Anxiety has been accepted into an international juried show titled Nuditas 2025!  The online show will be held Oct 11 - Dec 11.  I am grateful that this painting is part of the show.

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.

Art Comes Alive 2024

 ADC Fine Art is presenting Art Comes Alive 2024 which is a juried international competition:

I had submitted several works and had a painting accepted into the event! Pianist was accepted!

I shipped the painting to OH for the event which takes place on the 16th.  I am grateful for this opportunity and it will be interesting to see if I win anything at this event. To be continued...

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!

Showing at the 2024 Art Expo New York!

 This Thursday through Sunday April 4-7 I will be showing 2 paintings with Artavita.  

The following link https://artbusinessnews.com/2024/03/announcing-the-artexpo-new-york-legends/ explains a little background of the expo as well as lists 10 "Legends" of the event.  The company I am presenting with is listed first!  

The 2 paintings I will be showing are Pianist and Anxiety