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Sight words 1st grade you tube4/21/2024 “I’m attracted to his use of dancers, fabrics, and in Toulouse (where Kware lives) he shoots in the cathedral. Photo by Patrick SmythMore recently, he and Doré were in Tuscany, Rome and Florence, where Smyth enrolled in a four-day workshop led by Damien Lovegrove, yet another UK photographer, “who wrote a book and got the attention of Martha Stewart.” Smyth also singles out the work of Haze Kware, who lives in France. Model in a Tuscan barn, the shot inspired after encountering Caravaggio’s works in Rome. That said, he’s acquired some personal instruction along the way. He also notes that one can pick up pointers from YouTube. “I’m self-taught,” Smyth replies afterwards when asked where he learned his photographic expertise. from Harvard to appreciate the beauties of nature. However, trips as a youngster with his family to the mountains and so forth instilled in him “a sense of wildlife and landscapes.” And one doesn’t need a Ph.D. “I’ve never studied art,” he says, only adding that while he did indeed enjoy art class in grade school, he was more into sports. Looking at Smyth’s body of work, one may be forgiven for assuming that he also has a background in the visual arts. I want to be in a position to retire to something, not necessarily away from something.” And what that means is: “Photography and more photography and travel.” “Well, I’m still enjoying it,” Smyth replies. So you should be retiring at some point soon? “Then I came out here as an engineer, and have been here since 1980.”Īnd you’ve been an engineer all that time? “So I went to high school in Littleton, Colorado, and I went to the Colorado School of Mines, which is a small engineering school in Golden, Colorado.” That’s where he picked up a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering. My father was an educator and my mother was in education as well.” Then they moved a couple of states west. Photo by Bondo Wyszpolski“I went through 8th grade there. Smyth was born and raised in a town of about a thousand people, tucked away in mid-America Kansas. If so, it’s a passion that most people - and I think most photographers - would envy. “I’m a full-time chemical engineer,” Smyth says, “and this is just a passion I have.” But, no, it didn’t unfold in quite that way. Therefore one would expect to hear tales of art classes, darkroom adventures and photography courses, let alone accounts of hours spent in photo galleries. It’s an extensive body of work, the images artful, often colorful, crisp and precise. We didn’t exchange more than a few words that day (despite scowling or sneering at one another), but that chance encounter several months ago led to us sitting in his Torrance backyard and discussing his photographs. Photo by Patrick SmythThat was how I first met Patrick Smyth, a member of PADA (Photographers and Digital Artists), one of the seven artist groups associated with the Palos Verdes Art Center. Matriarch from the Kayan tribe in Myanmar, March 2019, prior to the coup.
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