KNOXVILLE – Alex Smith has been chosen as the artist for the 2013 Dogwood Arts Limited Edition Print for his painting, Tennessee Dream.

Alex Smith's painting, Tennessee Dream, was chosen for the 2013 Dogwood Arts Limited Edition Print.

Smith is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee and a 2010 graduate of Carson-Newman College where he majored in art and was a member of the National Champion varsity football team. He has completed post-graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and at the Idaho studio of renowned American landscape artist Scott Christensen.

Though his passion is the intricate detail, light, and color of realism, he occasionally unwinds with more abstract and impressionistic work. He has commissioned works in a number of private and public collections. He is currently featured at The Richard Stravitz Sculpture and Fine Art Gallery in Virginia Beach, Bennett Gallery in Knoxville and at his studio in the Emporium Building on Gay Street in Knoxville. He was the featured artist at The Schilling Gallery at Westminster Church in Knoxville in September, 2011 and his painting, Olds, was the Purchase Prize winner at the 2012 Norfolk Academy Art Show.

Alex says, “I’ve been drawing and painting my homeland all my life, most often from a photograph. When I was asked to paint my version of our countryside for the Dogwood Arts Festival print, I went to my head and not to one specific scene. I began with the sky on a perfect morning because that’s my favorite kind of light. Rolling hills and distant mountains help any East Tennessean feel a sense of knowing and home. The water was tricky and changed often over the course of this painting’s creation. When I was finished, my Dad saw a spot on the old Little T, where he fished with his dad as a kid.

So, like this river, my painting rambled from wide to narrow, from coming at you, to bending from you to where it ended up. I’ve never seen this place in person; it only evolved over time and in my dreams – and brought at least one good memory to the permanence of paint. This painting’s palette and light belong to East Tennessee; those of us lucky enough to live here can find in it a certain familiarity. I’m honored to have my work selected for this year’s Dogwood Arts Limited Edition Print and hope it evokes the same sense of gratitude and calm for those who see this piece. I hope it makes any one who lives or visits here grin and feel connected to this fine part of creation. And for those who have never been here, I hope it makes them want to visit.”

With only 1,000 Tennessee Dream prints available at $100 each, prints are available at the Dogwood Arts Festival in April or at www.dogwoodarts.com or call (865) 637-4561. Prints will also be available at Fast Frame, Bennett Galleries, and Liz-Beth & Co.

An opening reception showcasing Alex Smith’s work with be held April 5, 5-8 pm at Bennett Galleries.

More information about Alex can be found at www.alexsmithstudios.com.