Best of Missouri Hands

Illness Promted Art

Posted at August 18, 2006 11:22

By Kristy G. Flick

Denis Smith grew up in the state of Oregon where dramatic natural landscapes abound. She moved to Missouri to pursue degrees in journalism, advertising, and graphics. After college, she settled in Union. Her motivation and inspiration came from her high school art teacher in Oregon. “She told us to never stop experimenting and investigating,” Smith says, “I took that to heart and love to try different mediums and techniques.”

Her artistic pursuits had to be put on hold in 1982 when her oldest child developed leukemia. She had to concentrate on earning a paycheck to pay for mounting medical bills. She worked for several companies as an art and graphics director and quickly adapted to graphic design using computers. “This was a major turning point in my skill development,” she recalls. “I was one of the first in the St. Louis area to learn and use the computer for design.”

Since her child’s recovery, she has become a freelance artist and began her own business known as OptiMax Design. Her strongest and most interesting area of business has become large format scanning of original artwork and giclee prints. Giclee is a method of making fine art prints using a seven-color archival inkjet process.

Her watercolor paintings are mostly still lifes and natural scenes and are geared toward those who like dramatic color and symmetry. She draws inspiration today from her own garden, wildlife, and landscapes. Her jewelry line uses intense colors and color variances.

It’s rewarding when someone chooses her artwork to enhance his or her surroundings or appearance, Denise says.

See this Best of Missouri member’s art at www. optimaxdesign.com.

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