Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Media South Creative Director featured in this month’s Tennessee Conservationist magazine


This month’s issue of Tennessee Conservationist magazine chronicles the creation of Ken Smith’s series of paintings commemorating the 250th anniversary of the life of Fort Loudoun, a French & Indian War-era fortification, built and occupied by the British army near Chota, the capitol of the Cherokee nation (just outside present-day Vonore, Tennessee).

In the article Oil and Sweat: An Artist’s Perspective of the History of Ft. Loudoun, Smith provides a behind-the-scenes look at the process of creating these works of historical art. Commissioned by the Fort Loudoun Association, this is a five-year project, with each year adding a new depiction of the time when Redcoats and Cherokees worked and lived together in East Tennessee. The article discusses the very human aspects of Smith's work including his models and their experience in the artistic process.

“I always find it interesting to see the behind-the-scenes activity that goes into a piece of visual art, and I’m happy that Tennessee Conservationist readers will have a chance to see a little of the artistic process of the Fort Loudoun series” Smith says about the article.

Tennessee Conservationist is published bi-monthly by the State of Tennessee’s Department of Environment and Conservation. For information about the magazine, visit http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/tn_consv/.

For information about Fort Loudoun (and to buy a limited edition print of these paintings), go to www.fortloudoun.com.

Smith holds a BFA from the University of Tennessee, an MA from Syracuse University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Hartford. To see more of Smith’s artwork, visit www.kensmithhistoricalart.com.