Today we’d like to introduce you to Kim Schmitt Thomas.
Kim, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born in the Hell’s Kitchen area of NYC in 1970 (later raised in NJ) to two young actors and spent much of my childhood in theatre wings and dressing rooms. I always had to be quiet as the show was going on, so I was never without a pencil and blank paper. An Al Hirschfeld drawing of my mom in The Sunshine Boys particularly inspired me to start drawing caricatures of family and cast members. I also spent many afternoons as a young child, studying graffiti covered billboards on the streets of NYC while bar hopping for Shirley Temples with my babysitter, a retired longshoreman. Those colorful early years, along with my own extensive training in dance and acting, have had a great influence on the energetic line quality, and exaggerated, distorted figures and faces that are intertwined throughout most of my work.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
While influenced by graffiti, torn layers of old city billboards, figures and faces, I float between allowing a painting to organically determine its own direction and expression, and deliberately choosing subject matters that range from personal to controversial, painful to provocative, ironic to bizarre. I always have a very strong connection to the stories that I paint, whether they’re taken from the everyday lives of others, or from my own. While to some, the “everyday” is something that often gets overlooked or seen with indifference, I usually find it filled with paintable moments of humor, love, passion, and anger. I therefore fill my paintings with controlled commotion, and simplified exaggeration in order to grab the viewer’s attention and cause them to really observe, decipher, and hopefully see the everyday from a new perspective.
With the use of acrylics, latex, joint compound, spray paint, wax pastels, pencils, and sometimes newspaper/magazines, I overlap and intertwine figures, faces, shapes, text and objects. By doing this, I feel I have almost unlimited space within the confinement of the four walls of the canvas. My work is often filled with action and chaos, while still maintaining a certain balance and control, much like life itself.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
To me, “success” is such a definitive word. A well done finished painting can be a success. A profitable art opening might be a success. But when describing an artist’s career over a span of years or decades, at what point does the artist get that seal of approval, or that stamp of “success”? It really is all up to the individual artist and what their goals and dreams are. For me, the feeling of success is a constant never-ending ebb and flow. I find it essential to always challenge myself and always progress, whether it be in my actual work or in my business and marketing skills, both of which I am always learning about and always will be. As an artist, I don’t think I will ever be truly settled. I can only speak for myself, but I find that a career in the arts is such a tall and infinite ladder to climb. There are moments or stages of feeling successful as I pull myself up to the next rung. But there are also down times when I feel like I may fall off that ladder and crash to the bottom.
I’ve found myself dangling many times, questioning my decisions in life, and doubting myself as an artist. That is when I ask myself one single question- if I quit, will I forever regret it? The answer is always YES. And it is at that moment (insert the theme song to Rocky here) that I not only force myself to the next rung of the ladder, but I tend to do some of my best work and find new opportunities that further my career. The key to being a successful artist are two things- fierce dedication, focus, stamina and determination, and the ability to always be unapologetically yourself. Create what you know, what you love, what you have a connection with and a passion about. Never worry about what others will think or how they’ll react. Your work is an extension of you, not anybody else. Follow that path and you will do your best work and reach your next level of success.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
While I sell and exhibit my work locally (in NJ, just outside of Manhattan) my most recent exhibitions have been in Chelsea, NYC with MAD Gallery, and Dallas, Texas (Design District) where I am represented by Cinq Gallery. I typically always have several commissions in the works and sell privately by appointment. My work can also be seen on my website, Instagram, or Facebook.
If I may add, I do sincerely hope to exhibit in Boston sometime in the near future! It is a wonderful city for the arts and I would be honored to have the opportunity to show my work at one of the many outstanding galleries that call Boston their home.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kimschmittthomas.com
- Email: kimschmitt@me.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimschmittthomasart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kimschmittthomas/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/KimKimschmitt
Image Credit:
Kevin O’Connor
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