Smutz hopes his paintings provoke thought

— WILL AYERS, THE TENNESSEAN

June 2009, Nashville, TN 

Considered by many to be most well attended openings a Nashville gallery has witnessed. This last Saturday, June 6th, at Tinney Contemporary was the place to be seen and to see the much debated, ".gov" (pick up this weeks issue of the Scene to view the piece or check out, http://www.artofobama.com/2009/06/04/gov/, for details of painting).

The crowd was in full force and throughout most of the night, every corner of the room was spoken for. 

Between the rise in temperature of the room from the crowd to the rise in questions and remarks about ".gov", it was an astonishing night to remember. It was great to see so many recognizable faces but I was taken back by how many new and excited people made their way to the opening. Thank you so much for the support, interest, comments and questions.  I even want to thank the few protesters that stood just across the street!

I am truly honored to be a part of the Nashville art scene and community. I will continue to create and bring a new level of energy, awareness, quality, and relevance to the vibrant art scene that is unfolding here in Nashville.

Thank you.

I am currently working diligently towards my Nashville solo show at Tinney Contemporary on Saturday, June 6th.

I am excited and thrilled for this opportunity but a bit nervous about all my friends, fans, and family who will be attending. My only hope is that I have enough pieces for everyone to take in and enjoy without sacrificing quality. Expectations that I put on myself, when it comes to my work, will only be met if my audience appetite for the unusual, originality, quality, and unparalleled uniqueness is met.

Earlier this year I was working on a commissioned job that involved two, five foot by nine foot, paintings. I finished them both in February. Those two pieces were a success and I was very proud to release them to the owner. They will be posted soon in my gallery pages.

As soon as I was finished with the two monster pieces, I started plotting out my new works for my June opening. As of today I have a handful of works completed and still more to come. There is nothing worse then going to an art show and having so much work crammed in one room that each piece is lost in all the mess of colors and textures. Unfair to the piece and the viewer. 

As of today, I feel like I have so many ideas but not enough time left to get anything done. I assume that's with any project, big or small, though.

I am ecstatic for this show and I do hope you make it out for the event!

Again, it will be on Saturday, June 6th 6-9pm, (Art Crawl weekend) at Tinney Contemporary, 237 5th Ave North, Nashville, TN 37219. 

Bring your friends, family, and a camera. I'd to shake some hands, hugs some bodies, and take some pics!

See you in June!

-donny

I have on my plate at this time a major art show in June of 2009, in Nashville, Tennessee.

My quest is to pull off the greatest visual experience known to man since God created the heavens and earth. I have 3 solid months of long hours in the studio to accomplish this feat. God took 6 days and one day to sit back in his God throne, sip his God martini, and realize it was all good. 

I have more days but less brains.

My goals are clear: Create paintings that send a message, relate to people, and don't scare children. Time, of course, is the enemy. Like many other artist, I have to get into the "mood", "zone", "groove", or "happy place", like some artist call it.

Finding the right music is key for me. The likes of Radiohead (Thom, if your reading this, I would love to create your next album cover. Stanley Donwood, a.k.a. Dan Rickwood, is fine and all but lets expand our minds and our checkbooks, eh?), Scottish alt band Travis or even David Gray would suffice. Pretty much any music that's not American Pop. Good music always conjures up unique moods and imagery I otherwise would have to find at mental hospitals or bingo halls.

Having the right subject matter is important but not imperative. I have found that starting in on a piece with no plan, much like a relationship, seems to work much better for me. If I start with this off-the-wall idea of what I want and think I need, it always takes a different turn, good or bad. No expectations, no stress.

And my last key ingredient for a successful piece is: Uniqueness. I know, it's a bland entry but it is the most important to me. If I have something floating in my head and I want to put it on canvas, it has to be an unique enough idea to be mine. How many landscape scenes with mountains, "happy little trees" (props to Bob Ross), a river, and a lonely cabin can one more person endure? If you want to stand out be unique, genuine, and a bit controversial.

This is a tall order for me but I will hopefully pull it off for the June show in Nashville at Tinney Contemporary.

Otherwise, I'll be the guy at the end of the bar on my own little throne sipping on a martini realizing it wasn't all that good.

See you in June.

-Donny 

Greetings fellow art lovers!

This Saturday, Donny Smutz will be exclusively showing with one of the most recognized figures in twentieth-century art, Pablo Picasso!

Inspirosity Gallery, Beaver (Pittsburgh), PA., Saturday, Jan 10th, 8am-8pm. Admission $5 at the door.
If you are in the greater Pittsburgh area, don't hesitate to see this One-Day-Only exhibition of original works by these two great artist.

Will be posting new works soon, as well!

Thanks for visiting!

I drove up to Pittsburgh, PA this weekend to deliver three of my paintings to an amazing gallery, Inspirosity Gallery. 

I was completely impressed with the owner, John Paul, and the gallery itself. Take a look at, www.inspirosity.com , to see why.

I delivered three works Inspirosity were interested in, including, "Troika", "Califortune", and "Underwater Documentary". These pieces were hung while I was there and press photos were taken with me and the works. A few art collectors were called by the gallery and came in to see the work. I had a chance to talk with them. True art lovers who were very excited about the work.
I left soon after and headed back to Nashville Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday, I got an email from the gallery telling me "Troika" already sold! Then Wednesday, I was informed a reproduction of "Troika" also sold.

For a big bonus, Inspirosity is having there largest and most prolific show running in January (Jan 10th) and ask me to show exclusively with the other artist, Pablo Picasso!
If your in the area, please make plans to attend this show! All original works by Picasso and three originals by me. I will be attending of course and would love to see you!

On a side note: This Friday (Dec. 19th) night I have a show with the Untitled Group in East Nashville at the 5 Points on Woodland St. in Gallery East. I will be showing a 24x48 that will be for sale! AND I WILL BE SELLING 5 SMALL WORKS UNDER $75 EACH! Don't miss this last show of mine with the Untitled Group! Next year is a whole new ball game!

Thanks for the support!

-donny

This week I have been working in the studio on one of two large paintings. Both sizes are 5 ft x 9 ft. My goal is to finish them by Christmas. So far so good.

As for the business side of my art, I have been in contact and working on a contract with a gallery in Nashville to be exclusive through them. The gallery I'm signing with is, Tinney Contemporary, who I am thrilled to be involved with. I will be with them in 2009 and beyond. You will only find my work in Nashville at this gallery. Check them out at, http://tinneycontemporary.com.

Got to get back into the studio.

Thanks for stopping by.

-donny

As you may have already found out, my website is alive. So thanks for wasting a few minutes of your employers time to visit my site.

Like any new toy, small issues or items will need to be ironed out with my site. The store is not open yet. I am working on the best solutions to offer prints, posters, originals, shirts, and who knows what else. I want to make it as painless as possible for you to get your hands on my work!

As for any of you using Macs, I have run across some issues with my paintings not showing up in it's full Zoomify feature, below the thumbnails, in the gallery pages. This will be fixed. Other than that, a few tiny things will be tamed as well. If you have any suggestions to make your life better roaming around my site, do send me a message.

Right now, I'm heading into the studio. I finished a piece last week, which I will be posting soon, and now starting on my largest pieces to date.

Two, 5ft x 9ft commissioned paintings are on the agenda. Exciting, it is.

Love, peace, and pancakes.

-donny