Ron Smith

After going to college on a music scholarship to play drums, Ron received a degree in Graphic Design from Mississippi Valley State University. His instructors were very diverse in the art world, focusing on fine arts and graphic design. It was there that he gained an appreciation for both. However, he spent the majority of the past 30+ years working in the field of graphic design. His art reflects his past, present, and a combination of both. The heart of his very diverse works come from his days of old in the rural south, in the small Village of Belcher, Louisiana, to his college days at MVSU. His first influence was his junior high band director, who was also a visual artist created abstracts. His high school art teachers, however, delved more into realism - with a cultural flare. It was a fusion of the two that he gained direction in his styles. Ron works in acrylics while exploring with textures in his abstract works by using paper, and burlap. After a 29-year hiatus, after breaking both wrists in a motorcycle accident, Ron has found joy and peace in being able to paint again. It was his son Austin, who is also a visual artist/illustrator, that gave Ron his biggest inspiration to pick up the brushes again. This arduous adventure has given him the opportunity to truly appreciate the journey back to visual arts.