A little bit about myself.....

My name is John William Smith and I am 34years old. I live with my family in a town named Spennymoor in County Durham, which is in the north-east of England. We have a strong family history of hard workers who like many, worked down the pits, mining for coal. It was a hard way of life, where families had very traditional roles, and although this is an era I have not directly experienced myself, the stories of my forefathers, with my artistic interpretation are combined to create my art.

I have been painting, drawing and sketching since primary school, and been producing work for exhibitions since 2008. I find inspiration in our local history and culture of living and working in the north east of England, in a bygone era, which has slowly disappeared.

My “Smudge” artwork is a more quirky style which evolved at a later date and is more of a reflection of my life and experiences, hopes and dreams. Men with flat caps and women in headscarfs, often appear, and “Smudge” always has his hood up.

To date, I have produced work for 2 exhibitions, the first in 2009 at the McGuiness gallery in Bishop Auckland, which was a sell-out, and had a more recent sell-out exhibition at the Spennymoor settlement theatre gallery.. My next exhibition is scheduled for October 15th till 3rd november 2012,at the Mcguinness Gallery Bishop Auckland town hall co durham.preview evening friday 12th October contact me for invitation and i will send you one out.

I hope you enjoy browsing my website and any comments would be most welcome.

kind regards John William Smith ( Smudge )