Tina Ousley – Tina Ousley is a contemporary Appalachian artist residing and working in Salyersville, Kentucky. Ousley, a native of Eastern Kentucky, received a Masters of Science Degree in Biology, with a research emphasis in Microbiology, from Morehead State University in 2004. Ousley has taught Human Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology courses for 19 years at Big Sandy Community & Technical College and has an infinite passion for both art and biology.
Tim Smith – A native of Pike County, Tim Smith is a accomplished contemporary artist now residing and working in Salyersville, KY. Smith has devoted a lifetime to making, learning about and teaching art, and has exhibited both regionally and internationally. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture, with an emphasis in drawing, at Eastern KY University in 1991 and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro in 1993. As a Professor of Art at Big Sandy Community and Technical College for over 18 years, Smith shares his passion for art with others in the Art History, Drawing and 2-D Design courses he teaches. Smith’s recent works include sculpture, painting, printmaking, and drawing. He is deeply interested and devoted to both his professions as an Artist and Art Professor.
Tina Ousley is a contemporary Appalachian artist residing and working in Salyersville, Kentucky. Ousley, a native of Eastern Kentucky, received a Masters of Science Degree in Biology, with a research emphasis in Microbiology, from Morehead State University in 2004. Ousley has taught Human Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology courses for 19 years at Big Sandy Community & Technical College and has an infinite passion for both art and biology.
“Art and science certainly have unique differences, but at their essence, they can both seek to answer questions about, or express ideas and concepts related to the natural world and the living organisms that inhabit it. In many ways, both follow a somewhat structured and creative process. Biology allows me to remain grounded in an analytic reality of observations and facts whereas art opens the door to an expressive world of magic and enchantment. As a biologist, I am fascinated with the interactions that take within a cell that make life possible. There is a world inside each cell and a beauty to each pathway and molecular interaction. As an artist, I feel the dynamic beauty in which the line, color, textures, and shapes interact and the emotions that inspire or result from each. There is a parallel between the worlds of art and science and my paintings are merely an expression of how they merge and coexist for me.”
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
For me, the act of making art is a very intimate and a completely magically immersive experience. Each painting starts with a stimulus; a color, a line, an image or a texture, all tied to a very personal event, emotion, idea or memory. I rarely approach my work with a predetermined conclusion, but choose rather, to engage in a dialogue between the shapes, textures, and colors, with no definitive destination. I embrace the images as they form or evolve on the canvas and allow them to tell my personal stories. Images: stairs, windows, roses, steeples, floating figures, defining images from my life, are common motifs in my paintings. Bold lines define and separate form, bringing balanced order from unstable chaos.
I am not interested with the representation and the reproduction of a literal image, but in referencing elements of the natural world to express the gloriously overwhelming emotions tied to the splendors and tragedies encountered on life’s journey. I work primarily with oil paints because they represent a boldness and permeance that contrasts with the fleeting fragility of life. Oils lend themselves perfectly to layering and blending to create diversity in color and texture, while still allowing vulnerable expression.
Although it is important that the formal elements culminate into a cohesive body of work, the relationship between each color, image and texture independently conveys a connection and emotion to the viewer. As a collective body of work, they act as a harmonious record of, or silent witness to, life experiences.
The images, colors, textures, and lines that unfold on the canvas, are an expression of memories, experiences, and ideas not defined by boundaries of science or constraints of society. Although each painting expresses my personal stories and the emotions to which they are tied, the viewer has freedom to embark upon their own journey as they interpret each artwork with their own stories and associations.
Tina Ousley
Professor of Biology and Artist
A native of Pike County, Tim Smith is a accomplished contemporary artist now residing and working in Salyersville, KY. Smith has devoted a lifetime to making, learning about and teaching art, and has exhibited both regionally and internationally. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture, with an emphasis in drawing, at Eastern KY University in 1991 and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro in 1993. As a Professor of Art at Big Sandy Community and Technical College for over 18 years, Smith shares his passion for art with others in the Art History, Drawing and 2-D Design courses he teaches. Smith’s recent works include sculpture, painting, printmaking, and drawing. He is deeply interested and devoted to both his professions as an Artist and Art Professor.
“Throughout my journey in art and art education, I have worked in various methods of drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. My interest is in the visual aspect of the subject, focusing on formal aspects of the image. I’m profoundly immersed in the literal process of engaging in the development and arrangement of the image, changing, and exploring the forms throughout the process, using various techniques and media. The characteristics of each medium, the spontaneity of abstract and expressive forms, and the type of art, whether sculpture or 2-D art, are important to promote experimentation and creativity. This is the most important aspect for me to continue making art.”
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
I am interested in the subject, focusing on formal aspects of the image, beginning with an idea which results in an alternative logic. I’m sincerely immersed in the literal process of engaging in development and arrangement of the image and am open to change and exploration during the process. I work with several various processes and media, ranging from color pencil to bronze casting, and work in various scales.
Throughout a lifetime of interest in art and art education, I have worked in various methods of drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture. I embrace the processes to create images without restrictions or inhibitions, and am not committed to any particular manner of how the image appears in my art. My concepts develop during the process of evolution to realize a final image.
“The process of experiment is the most important aspect of art making”
I often work with mixed media when drawing and enjoy the various characteristics of each medium’s spontaneity, sometimes experimenting with abstract forms and vibrant arbitrary colors. The woodblock prints display an expressive image while requiring a controlled execution to effectively capture the emotional character.
Being primarily a sculptor, I most often begin by modeling forms in clay which allows much experimentation, then cast in plaster or other material and continue to refine the image further in order to make expressive changes of form.
I find that working with these basic disciplines of art; drawing, painting, printmaking, and sculpture, combined with the processes, is an integral component in the finished image.
“Life has limitations……art does not”.
Timothy Smith
Professor of Art
Big Sandy Community & Technical College