Interview
Eva Smith
Eva Smith is a mixed-media artist, Naturalist, and lichen enthusiast. She paints and photographs surreal landscapes influenced by her work as an arborist and a steward of Chicagoland forest preserves. She creates to connect herself and viewers with the natural phenomena that make her feel sublime. Her art prints and t-shirts are available on her website shop.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I grew up in an artistic family in Chicagoland; my parents are both creatives and art collectors. So, I have been drawing since I was a young kid. I went to college in the Pacific Northwest and my time there really shifted my creative focus toward combining art and science- painting, printmaking and forest ecology in particular. Upon returning to Chicago I missed the rainforest and shunned the urban. I took a break from artmaking to pursue a career in Forestry Consulting in Chicago; this was the link I needed. Working in the Midwest environment further enhanced my interest in biological forms and natural patterns. I am continuing my work in this field by becoming a certified Naturalist, with which I can be an environmental steward and study my local ecology to share with others through art. The concrete jungle is not devoid of nature- it is unique and complex and I just had to look a little harder.”
What inspires you?
“Natural patterns inspire me. The art of nature inspires me. Intricate lines or branching angles or color juxtapositions, all there for a specific biological reason. Especially sometimes the ‘weirdos’: lichen, carnivorous plants, toxic sea slugs, bald cypress knees; very different organisms living in symbiosis, mutual or otherwise. I love finding landscapes, designs and fractals in everyday things, like discarded onion skins or ice formations on a frigid windshield or a seed pod that looks alien; they may look like AI or dreamy surrealism, but they are wonderfully naturally occurring.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“The idea that patterns are self similar and also common across species and fields. My underlying message is to look closer, you will find beauty or interest. I like to create art to investigate and reveal what may not be evident upon first glance. A bit like a scientist does, but in a way that science alone can’t. Art and science together to me are synergistic this way. And therefore both making and viewing art can be ways to learn about, connect to, and ideally support one's surrounding natural environment.”
How would you describe your work?
“I like to describe my work playfully: Science Fiction. Super Natural. Organic Surrealism.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Classic artists: The Pre-Rahpaelites, Remedios Varo, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, [Roberto] Matta, Georgia O’keefe. Many musical artists but a few heavy hitters: Radiohead, PJ Harvey, Jeff Tweedy/Wilco. Animators/filmmakers Jan Svankmajer, David Lynch, Tim Burton. And contemporary visual artists Anselm Kiefer, Stanley Donwood, Inka Essenhigh, Elliott Green, and my sculptor-husband Jay Smith.”
“My underlying message is to look closer, you will find beauty or interest.”
What is your creative process like?
“I study ecology through art. I take inspiration from the floral, fungal and animal life forms around me, meanwhile researching interesting characteristics, adaptations and symbiotic relationships. These concepts and patterns then continue to shape what I create, resulting in a kind of feedback loop. This, combined with the unpredictability of watercolor and ink, sends me wrangling randomness and drawing connections. Subjects of my art change and reveal themselves over time. I aim to immerse myself and the viewer in the unnatural natural environments I create, my own personal science fiction.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Artists see differently; we can help reveal hidden or quotidian beauty or reframe our subject matter to show it in a new light. Now more than ever we need connections to the natural world and to human intimacy and personal creativity. As our world is more and more automated and people rely on AI for creation, we should promote artists and honor the hard work, vision and passion that goes into making art.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“My work was featured in a solo show at the Oak Park Public Library gallery in the fall of 2023. I have also participated in group shows at the Oak Park Art League, notably ‘Poetry of Place: Landscape & Sacred Space,’ summer of 2024, in which my piece won first prize.”
