Meet Makenzi Smith | Artist/Painter and Advertising Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Makenzi Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Makenzi, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I didn’t realize I would pursue a creative career until halfway through college actually! I started as a nursing major because I enjoyed learning about the body and wanted to help people in that way. I soon realized I was no good at science and had to re-think what I was good at and what I really enjoyed. That led me to pursue a degree in Public Relations and I now have a job in the advertising industry!

I have always loved and admired art, but didn’t really think I was capable of creating beautiful artwork myself. I played around very casually with art in college for myself and close friends, but didn’t start actually painting or illustrating until after graduation. When COVID-19 hit, I was furloughed from my job and that ended up giving me a lot of free time to paint. I ended up loving it, and luckily several others did too. That is how I transitioned into being a “real” artist.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a self taught artist, this experience has been a lot of learning, growing, making mistakes, and figuring out what works for me as an artist. It took me a little bit of time to figure out my style(s), how I wanted to use color, etc. I think that is the same for any artist starting out actually.

My main goal as an artist is that I want the people who look at my paintings to feel specific emotions when viewing them. I want my paintings to feel happy/joyful (or other positive emotions like peaceful, exciting, lively, etc.). Luckily, I have heard a lot of feedback that they do make people feel those positive emotions, which makes me so thankful.

I started painting at a time in my life where I was honestly really sad. Almost every aspect of my life and my “normal” had shifted in the span of a few months. It was a lot to take in and at times it was just too much. I am typically a very happy and cheerful person, so to feel sad or negative emotions was really challenging and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. Painting ended up being extremely helpful and therapeutic for me. It acted as an outlet and an escape that I was able to dive into and truly be immersed in something that made me really happy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Such a fun question! We could start at White Rhino and grab some of their amazing coffee. We could walk around State Thomas with my pup Ollie and take him to Griggs park and people watch/have a little picnic.

Then we could head over to Flower Child or North Italia depending on what we want to eat that night (I love both of those places too much).

Finally, maybe a Stars game (I’ve still never been to one but would love to eventually) to end the week!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate this shoutout to my dad. He is truly the best person I know and has supported me throughout my whole life, but especially this past year. He has been my biggest cheerleader and I am so thankful to have him as a dad and a friend.

He is actually very artistically talented. He is an amazing illustrator and does architectural design as well on top of being a full time Family Practice and Sports Medicine Physician.

Website: https://kenzicreative.weebly.com/

Instagram: Instagram.com/kenzicreative

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/makenzi-smith-56b88013b