Artist Joel Smith truly does it all
When you think of a cobbler, you might think of some old English man in a village who mends and makes shoes. In our digital era, most people buy their shoes at a store or online where information is available in a click.
Since the invention of the internet and software programs like Photoshop, paint has spilled onto the computer screen and artist Joel Smith has found a way to merge both worlds to become a modern-day media cobbler. His story starts with graphic design and incorporates commercial painting, fine art, Photoshop and even woodworking.
“Growing up, me and my cousins thought comic books were really cool and we used to bounce sketches off of each other,” says Smith. “I really excelled at art in school and won awards here and there.”
Smith then moved to Murfreesboro to attend Middle Tennessee State University. Graphic design piqued his interest. He completed several commissions during college, then found a unique outlet for his creativity in the Murfreesboro Mellow Mushroom.
At the time, Mellow Mushroom needed someone to paint an old-hippie era school bus located in their restaurant. “Mind you, this is just a big open space at the time,” says Smith. “There are no drop ceilings and the bus was cut in half. But only the front part of the bus stood inside the space.”
The restaurant wanted a Merry Prankster, Grateful Dead, Summer of Love vibe.
“They offered me a lifetime supply of beer and pizza or money,” laughs Smith. “I thought if I eat pizza and drink beer all the time, it wouldn’t be too good for me. So, I took the money!”
It’s still touted as Murfreesboro’s only indoor dining bus with seating inside a hollowed-out shell.
As he reflects on his journey from keyboard to dining bus, it’s clear that influences and ideas come from everywhere for Smith.
“A lot of it starts as fantasy,” he explains. “It can begin as a feeling I’m trying to express visually.” And in cobbling media together, Smith really uses his art as a tool.
“I sketch to express something I’m thinking,” says Smith. “It could be to promote a business, which can be all-encompassing for entrepreneurs.”
Smith also draws inspiration from water and its transient characteristics.
“Its reflective properties and the way it moves intrigues me,” says Smith. “There are so many representations of water to be explored.”
One technique Smith champions and experiments with is marbling, in which the artist paints on top of the water—whose surface tension serves as a canvas of sorts—and lays a canvas on top of the water, then lifts the paint right off.
Smith has always been an animal lover and currently enjoys painting pet portraits. He is a fan of dogs, specifically Golden Retrievers.
“Of course, pets aren’t going to sit still for a portrait,” laughs Smith. “I just have to paint from a photo of the animal and add some digital touches later.”
Being a media cobbler, Smith uses all kinds of objects in his art and understands the benefits of using Photoshop as well as painting by hand. Easier and faster than painting, Photoshop turns the computer into canvas and studio. Smith understands Photoshop can never completely replace paint, brushes, and texture; still, being active in both digital art and traditional visual art is necessary for him as an illustrator and painter.
“Digitally, there are so many brushes and colors it can become dizzying,” says Smith. “You can mimic any style so much that you can’t tell the difference. It’s like cheating but everybody does it.”
Smith makes sure he stays grounded and sees painting as a time-honored craft. “Painting on a canvas is almost more noble,” says Smith. “It’s more emotionally rewarding than creating digitally.”
Similarly, Smith has turned his hand to venerable crafts such as carpentry.
“When I lived on the Southside, there were a bunch of carpenters and they needed woodworkers,” he remembers. “I used to frame houses in college for extra money and I used to build houses with my dad growing up.”
One thing led to another and soon Smith was involved with the famous Chattanooga artist Wayne White. Smith played a small part in what became Wayne-O-Rama, White’s love letter to the Scenic City. The installation included interactive sculptures, giant puppets and immersive sound design.
“It was great, hands-on experience and a great way to network,” says Smith.
Being a self-described media cobbler means you’ve got a lot of balls in the air and are always looking for the next opportunity. Smith realizes visual artists must stick together, so he started Chattanooga Artists Collective on Facebook.
“I follow this guy calling himself Mural Joe on YouTube,” says Smith. “He does these tutorials on how to paint great scenery and portraiture.”
A true cobbler of art, Smith seems powerfully driven to meet every art lover and explore every art form.
“With this art game, it’s about meeting the right people,” he says. “There’s never enough time sometimes, is there?”