Gary Ernest Smith grew up on a farm in Oregon determined to be an artist. He worked on the farm developing a knowledge and respect for farm workers and for the land. Both continue to be the subjects of his paintings.
Cowboy in Red, oil, 24 x 18 in.
Looking through old family photos he “found pictures of people out working in the land and if you look at people outdoors you just don’t see the detail, so everyone sort of becomes symbolic. I wanted to pay homage to the people who really made America,” he says. “To me, the first generation was cowboys and they tamed the West. The next generation was farmers and they cultivated the West. My work is meant to commemorate those involved with this generation.”
Man with Shovel, oil, 20 x 16 in.
His painting Man with Shovel is a minimalist depiction of a farmer pausing in his work, his face shielded from the hot sun by his hat that also obscures the details of his face. “I simplify detail and allow structure and color to dominate,” he explains. Cowboy in Red celebrates the mythic monumentality of the western cowboy. “I like these paintings with single individuals to read as representatives of a lifestyle or a group of people. They have a timeless look and go beyond the moment.”
Smith’s minimalist representation of figures carries over into his depictions of the Western landscape as well. His small paintings, including Sunset in the Desert, reduce mountains and mesas to cool geometric silhouettes against the warm light of the setting sun.
Sunset in the Desert, oil on canvas, 12 x 16 in.
Traveling from his home in Utah to Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, he and his wife drove through Red Rock Country. “I was so impressed,” he says. “It was twilight when we drove through, so I just stopped and had to start sketching. I love what I saw, but what also struck me was just the quietude of the desert, the solitude of these places. When I saw that low light and it all became so quiet, so beautiful. I just needed to capture those big shapes.”
Grazing in the Canyon, oil, 24 x 48 in.
The exhibition, Land Labor Light, New Paintings by Gary Ernest Smith, opens at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale on October 8 and continues through November 7. —
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