{"id":196882,"date":"2026-05-07T10:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/?p=196882"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:51:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T19:51:42","slug":"artist-jessica-smith-says-do-what-you-love-even-if-it-takes-you-35-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/arts\/art\/interviews-features\/artist-jessica-smith-says-do-what-you-love-even-if-it-takes-you-35-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist Jessica Smith Says Do What You Love, Even if it Takes You 35 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally from Texas, <\/span>Jessica Smith<\/b><\/a> is about to open her first SLC art show. Returning to a childhood dream of becoming an artist, Smith is exploring new parts of herself as she creates joyful, unique portraits.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pedro
“Pedro Pascal” by Jessica Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Smith can\u2019t paint just anyone. It needs to be someone she admires \u2014 like<\/span> Mr. Rogers<\/a>, Tupac Shakur<\/a> or Stevie Nicks <\/a><\/b>\u2014 to feel right to her. \u201cIt\u2019s the expression of love,\u201d she shares. \u201cThat connection has to be there for me to enjoy the process.\u201d It\u2019s intimate, too. \u201cWhen you\u2019re painting someone, it\u2019s kind of like you\u2019re touching their face over and over again,\u201d Smith says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smith specializes in instantly recognizable portraits. A painting isn\u2019t finished until she\u2019s confident about the resemblance. Her first subject was <\/span>Richard Brautigan<\/b><\/a>, a personally beloved writer. Positive reception online, and a few other early wins, gave Smith the confidence she needed to keep going.<\/span><\/p>\n

The title of <\/span>her show<\/span><\/a>, \u201c35 Years of Not Painting,\u201d is exactly what it sounds like. As a child, Smith wanted to be an artist. But in high school, an art teacher censored her work and took some joy out of the process. (Smith turned to theater instead.) Later, when her son was diagnosed with autism, Smith made him personalized picture books rather than spending on the expensive resources available.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Stevie
“Stevie Nicks” by Jessica Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It wasn\u2019t until COVID-19 that Smith picked up a paintbrush for herself. She bought minimal paint supplies and sat at her kitchen table rather than use an easel. \u201cWhy buy one?\u201d she thought. Smith recalls thinking, \u201cThis won\u2019t go anywhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe cool thing about becoming an artist in your 40s,\u201d Smith shares, \u201cis that I don\u2019t really have an identity. It\u2019s flexible.\u201d Smith does recognize her unique perspective. It\u2019s a collage of every part of her: being a single parent in poverty for so long, being an enrolled tribal member and growing up in Texas, to name a few.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an adult, Smith is reconnecting with her roots in a way her family wasn\u2019t able to. Her grandparents were both enrolled tribal members of Cherokee Nation, but the circumstances they grew up in (Smith\u2019s grandmother was born about four years after the Tulsa Race Massacre) meant they preferred to identify as white. Two generations later, in a safer place, Smith feels she can \u201cbe exactly what I am \u2026 and if you don\u2019t like it, that\u2019s on you.\u201d Part of reconnecting was getting<\/span> TERO (Tribal Rights Employment Office) Certified<\/span><\/a>. This means Smith is presented as a potential option, among other certified artists, if someone approaches her tribe looking for a Cherokee artist.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tom
“Tom Petty” by Jessica Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Salt Lake City, Smith has found an incredible support system: the<\/span> Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake<\/span><\/a>. Providing crafts, dinners, speakers, healthcare and more, the <\/span>UICSL<\/span><\/i> has become a beloved resource for her. In terms of food? Smith gives a shoutout to<\/span> Navajo Hogan<\/span><\/a>. \u201cI cried eating my fry bread taco \u2026 Definitely go [to Navajo Hogan].\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For her exhibit, Smith is going all in with a collection of everything she\u2019s made \u2014 that hasn\u2019t sold yet. She\u2019s stayed true to what she loves to paint and hopes that love is felt by all. Still, Smith wants the show to be less about her and more about saying, \u201cYou could do something like this. I know you can.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Battling a major creative block, Smith hopes that every visitor will share what the show inspires them to do in her guest book. With the courage to try something new, Smith knows people can unlock new potential. You might be unaware of a talent that\u2019s \u201calready in you,\u201d she says. \u201cMaybe there’s something to be said for making a five-year-old you happy. And maybe that’s the thing that’s going to transform your life.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c35 Years of Not Painting\u201d will be on display in the <\/span>Lower Urban Room Gallery <\/span><\/i>at the main branch of the <\/span>Salt Lake City Public <\/span><\/i>Library <\/span><\/i><\/a>from May 11 to June 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read about other local art exhibits:<\/strong>
\nThe Lost and Found Utah Alphabet<\/a><\/strong><\/em>
\nHear! Hear! Kimball Art Center’s (Re)sounding<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

To help SLUG continue to support local artists, consider joining our community of donors<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jessica Smith is about to open her first SLC art show. Returning to a childhood dream of becoming an artist, Smith is exploring new parts of herself. … read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":196883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[],"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12430,12429,376],"tags":[32616,18940,9324,29746,13940,32615,23671,32617],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slugmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}