Meet Jonpaul Smith | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonpaul Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonpaul, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
I enjoy any time I can get out in nature. Every time it improves my mood. I love being out in the garden and watching in astonishment at the complex beauty encapsulated in a plant as it grows. These same awe-inspiring observations are found on a great hike or walk with my wife. I have been an avid cyclist most my life. Many rides give you that slower pace of observation that can only come from a bicycle. Slowly cruising on back roads or secret urban alleys, and the little discoveries that come from both. It is that feeling of smallness while also feeling connected to the natural world that I enjoy while being in nature.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Growing up in a small town in North-Central Indiana where craft was appreciated gave me an innate interest in art versus craft, and the dialog inherent to that discussion. As a child I always admired and watched my mother create beautiful things. The blending of traditional craftsmanship with modern technology surrounded me. My family also owned a liquor store, and I was inundated by the resulting consumer packaging at an early age. I found the process intriguing of how my father would display the products to the masses in organized rows and detailed color grid patterns. Consequently, making me acutely aware of peoples’ brand loyalties. My fascination with the system of creating product for consumer consumption was also fueled by my wife who worked in packaging design for years.
I consider my process to be one of gathering and disseminating information, rooted in the paper scraps and ephemera of our consumer culture. Through the use of traditional and alternative method printmaking with the combination of other mixed media and found/discarded paper I try to explore open-narrative, visual experiences. I do not want my work to make definitive statements. Instead, it should highlight these juxtapositions of surface, color, and broken imagery to allow the viewer to create their own visual narrative within my work. My most recent work involves the use of found and
discarded paper from our consumer-based culture. Which are transformed into a complex, tapestry like construct, made up of hundreds of interwoven strips of discarded consumer packaging, traditional and non-traditional prints, and other paper ephemera. Which similarly make use of (and, in a sense, refine) pop culture imagery. I work with private clients/collectors, commercial galleries, designers and many art consultants. I love working with people to help them design and execute my work in their space.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely visit some of the cities amazing museums for sure. Like The National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and of course the High Museum of Art. Not many cities also get a presidential library, so it could be a great visit to stop by the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. After, take a stroll down the Beltline and enjoy a sunny Atlanta day in Piedmont Park. There are so many wonderful things in Atlanta it is difficult to see it all in a few days, Ponce Market, Georgia Aquarium, Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Park, Fox Theatre, the Botanical Gardens…just to name a few of the culturally enriching institutions in Atlanta.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have been fortunate enough to have many influential instructors in my life. Not only in the academic sense but also in those people you meet every day that share their knowledge and experience within a subject. My high school art teacher was one such person for me. She gave me an early appreciation for art and introduced a professionalism in the field that I carry with me still today. I also had two terrific college art professors that fostered my creativity and helped me develop my work to apply to graduate school. After school so many fellow artists have been kind enough to share their knowledge and passion within in their field with me, allowing me to gain new skills and techniques. Within my own family my grandfather could make and create anything out of metal, my aunt made beautiful oil pastel portraits, and my mother can create anything she puts her mind and hands to. It is all these various instructors/mentors throughout our lives that I believe deserve a shoutout.

Website: https://jonpaulcsmith.com

Instagram: @jonpaulsmithart

Facebook: jonpaulsmithartist

Other: https://www.lilypress.com/artists/jonpaul-smith