WLM
| Wyoming Woman
I was born in Sheridan, Wyoming,
but my (Smith) family hails from
Lodge Grass, Montana. After my
early years near Ekalaka, Montana,
we moved back to the Crow
Reservation, ranching near Lodge
Grass and in the beautiful Pryor
Mountains. We moved to Wyoming
so I could attend high school, and I’ve
never left. I’ve been married
to my high school sweetheart,
Terry, for 24 years, and we
have two grown children.
Growing up, my family
ranched in the forgotten
ways--with a mess wagon,
tents, teepees and a rope
corral. Spending summers in
that environment (no electricity
or running water -- our tie to
the outside world being Paul
Harvey on the radio at noon)
allowed me time to study and
develop an appreciation for
the landscape. I’m blessed
with memories, and credit
those summers spent on the
wagon as the source for my
artistic vision.
The more experience I
gain, the more I rely on the
fundamentals learned in my
year and a half at Sheridan
College. I supplement my
lack of formal education with
occasional workshops, and
I learn a lot from the local
artists in my life. Studying
and critiquing art I see in
magazines, exhibitions and
on the web helps me sort out
my value system and pare
down my paintings to express
what’s most important to me:
an honest affection -expressed
in painterly strokes and vivid
colors- for my surroundings
that I hope causes viewers
to look more closely at the
world outside their windows.
It’s rewarding when a viewer
exclaims, “I know where
that is!” The next time they
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