Portrait of the Artist: Billy Smith

Artist Billy Smith, noted for his impressionistic style and sophisticated use of color, was invited to paint the latest in a series of special public art projects by the Summerville Main Street project. Smith graciously donated his time to create the bottle art themed, “Disability Awareness,” as a tribute to Spann Cordle and his service dog Finn. The art piece will be officially revealed during a dedication event on Tuesday, February 21, 11:30 am in front of the historic Montgomery Knitting Mill, 10005 Commerce Street, Summerville, Ga.

Filling canvases is something Billy Smith must do. “I can’t get away from it,” he said recently. “Like a pastor waits for his words to preach, I guess I just wait for inspiration.” Faced with a blank canvas, many would feel intimidated, but Smith is moved by his motivation to paint. His ability to fill a canvas with color and style has drawn the attention of many. Painting has become a major part of his life.

Smith’s childhood aptitude in art was influenced by talented members of the small but active Summerville arts scene such as his Aunt Joyce, a skilled portraitist and the late mural artist Rocky Ludy, who was mentored by Smith’s future art teacher John Turner. The worldwide fame of the Rev. Howard Finster and his Paradise Gardens made artistic expression seem more accessible and normal in the close-knit community.

A child of the 70’s, Smith admired heavy metal album covers and hoped to grow up to illustrate heavy metal fan magazines. In the 1980’s, Smith’s high school art teacher was John Turner who had mentored the late Rocky Ludy in painting murals on public spaces in their efforts to make Summerville “The Mural City of the South.” Turner, now retired from teaching, characterizes Smith’s dramatic use of color as reminiscent of Fauvism. When asked who should be chosen to paint the Coke bottle to honor Cordle,Turner immediately thought of Billy Smith. “Billy is talented,” Turner said. “I would have to put him up there with some of the finest Impressionists. The way he uses color is reminiscent of the Fauvists–they used color really dramatically like Billy. Even when he was a student, it was like a spark of genius. When I look at some of Billy’s work as it’s developed, to be quite frank, I’m envious. He’s got a lot of talent, but I’m glad that he has it and he’s using it. I can’t say how proud I am of him and his work ethic. He’s the full package.”

Smith is modest about his accomplishments and deflects attention from himself. He describes his art as “Backwoods Renaissance.” His subjects include landscapes under moody red skies and an extremely intricate impressionist portrait of the late Bobby Lee Cook, a nationally prominent local attorney. He approaches his art as depicting beauty in the real life appearances and proportions of his subjects.

According to Locklear, Summerville Main Street began the Coke Bottle Art Project in 2016 with nine pieces of Coke Bottle Art that were placed in Historic Downtown Summerville and designed by local artists. “The Coke Bottle Art has remained downtown, with pieces being rotated out, allowing new artists the opportunity to design and display their talents on the bottles downtown. Smith was one of the original Coke Bottle artists from 2016 and was invited to create the bottle art as a tribute to Spann Cordle and his service dog Finn to bring awareness to persons with disabilities.”

Contributed by: Kay Willingham Shiver

Feature Image by: John Dennis