Liz Rundorff Smith

About Liz:

Liz Rundorff Smith received a BA in Studio Art with a concentration in sculpture from the College of Wooster in Wooster, OH and an MFA in Painting from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She studied abroad at The Marchutz School of Painting in Aix en Provence, France and the British Institute of Florence in Florence, Italy and was awarded a fellowship and residency at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts.  

Her work can be found in private and corporate collections including the Marilyn Monroe Bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Sun City Showa Kien Koen, Tachikawa, Japan. Rundorff Smith is a member of the Painting Center Art File in New York. Her work has been featured in Southern Living and Create Magazine Issue 20.  Solo exhibitions include the University of South Carolina, the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Art & Light Gallery, the Metropolitan Arts Council, and Furman University in Greenville, SC. 

Grand Image: How did you get your start in art?

LRS: It’s really hard to think of a definitive beginning to my start in art because making art and thinking of myself as an artist has really been a constant in my life. At times in my life I have had more hours in the day to devote to actually making work but I’ve always found ways to connect to my practice in some small way. I’ve always called myself an artist even when that wasn’t as apparent to the rest of the world. I think of “being an artist” as something private that may not always be public facing. The journey doesn’t always need to look successful to be an integral part of who you are as an artist.

Grand Image: Where are you from and how is that reflected in your work?

LRS: I was born in Sharon, PA but spent most of my childhood living in Littleton, CO. My family moved back to Pennsylvania just before I started high school. I moved to Greenville, SC after completing an MFA in 2005 and I have been here ever since. So although I wasn’t born and raised in the South, I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere and I do think of the South as home. I think living in South Carolina gives my work a sense of eternal optimism. Southerners are incredibly resourceful and resilient in a way that makes even the darkest times hopeful. I think that moving around a lot also gave me a sense of longing for the past. I suppose that’s because I didn’t really want to move but I had to, so I’ve spent a lot of my life missing places and people. A sense of nostalgia is constant in my work along with the desire to find meaning in the everyday - I think these themes are probably tied to my experience and a longing for the past.

Grand Image: How has your relationship with art changed the way you view the world?

LRS: I find beauty in everything. I’m especially interested in finding moments that are accidentally visually engaging. I love finding an interesting composition in something seemingly unplanned – like grass growing in a repetitive pattern in cracks in the pavement or the garden hose draping elegantly over an inflatable toy in the backyard. I think of these moments as visual altars that celebrate the everyday.

Grand Image: How do you balance giving space for creativity while meeting deadlines and consistently producing new work?

LRS: I’ve started to realize that creativity comes from curiosity so, as an artist, you have to remain curious and you have to keep asking questions of yourself and your work. It is really difficult to stay curious when your life is full of demands but you have to find ways to connect to curiosity. For me this means constantly challenging myself to try new things in my work - sometimes it’s trying a different medium or simply changing the surface I’m working on. Staying open to ideas and allowing my work to evolve as I question my decisions helps me to feel more creative. I am also very regimented with my time in the studio. So I don’t let myself stop working because I am not sure of my direction, I just work through it! That probably helps me to consistently make new work. At some point I realized that no one was ever going to encourage me to spend more time painting. If I want to commit to being an artist in a practical way I have to claim that and show up for myself the same way I show up for my family, friends and work. I think all my life experiences show up in my work in some way.

Grand Image: Do you stay up to date on trends? Why or why not?

LRS: Yes! I love trends! Trends are like a cultural thermometer and I love seeing, hearing, wearing, living with new ideas. I also realize that trends are recycled and have a historical connection culturally so there’s an element of nostalgia for me in every “new” trend. I’m really into checkered patterns right now - I’m seeing a lot of checkered patterns trending - but the pattern reminds me of so many of my things growing up. I mean I must have been really into checks because I had checkered shoes, a backpack, sunglasses, a hat - even my bike was black and white checks!

Grand Image: How has your time studying and traveling abroad influenced your creative journey?

LRS: Well I studied abroad at a painting school, The Marchutz School in Aix en Provence, France so I learned a lot about painting and the history of impressionism there. Color theory and mixing color, a way of mark making, and the importance of sketching and studying to prepare for painting were foundational skills that have stayed with me. I think traveling gave me a bigger worldview and hopefully opened my mind to different ways of thinking and living.

Grand Image: What is your current source of inspiration?

LRS: I’m currently inspired by the idea of creating personal memorials. Public memorials are an interesting and hotly contested topic in the South presently. I think it’s interesting to consider the idea of what and who a public memorial actually represents. Recently I’ve been inspired to create memorials for my daughters. The pieces are based on personal memories that I want to save and celebrate with my family in the same way that public memorials attempt to celebrate a historical event. The more I try to dig into why I’m making the work I’m making, the more I find that there are experiences that we can all connect to – like love and loss and the need to remember those experiences.

Grand Image: How do you stay connected in your community?

LRS: That’s tough because I work full time in a gallery, try to maintain my own studio practice and I have two daughters ages 10 and 12 - so there isn’t a lot of time for showing up to events and openings for other artists. Luckily because I have worked in public art spaces I interact with a lot of people and a lot of artists on a daily basis. I try to share my experience openly and I think that helps to feel connected.

Grand Image: What does your artwork say about you as a person?

LRS: A teacher once told me that as an artist, your work is successful if describing it sounds like you’re describing yourself. I hope that’s true because I would describe my work as vibrant, thoughtful, bold and optimistic. I think there’s an underlying sense of melancholy in my work but I think of it as optimistic melancholy.

Grand Image: What artists inspire you? What do you like about them?

LRS: Oh my. It’s really a list too long to share but I’ll try. Early on I loved Matisse and Georgia O’Keefe. In school I studied Eva Hesse obsessively as well as Rachel Whiteread. I love the work of Felix Gonzalez Torres and I return to the conceptual nature of his work repeatedly and find something that resonates every time. There are so many contemporary artists who I follow and admire - really too many to name but I think there is a lot of really exciting work being made right now!

Grand Image: If you could have your artwork hung anywhere in the world, where would you like that to be and why?

LRS: In a room designed by Kelly Wearstler. I’m obsessed with everything she designs. Most recently Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel.

Grand Image: What is your favorite way to implement self care?

LRS: Bath soaks! I did a whole series of paintings about self-care and most of them reference a bathtub. Also reading in bed at night is one of my favorite daily rituals. I am trying to make meditation part of my daily routine but that’s a work in progress.

Grand Image: What advice would you give someone starting out as an artist?

LRS: Just keep working! Artists commit to a lifelong pursuit so find a way of working that you can sustain. You may not always have the money for the supplies you really want or the space to make work in the scale you envision but you will get there if you keep working. An artist’s greatest asset is the ability to be a creative problem solver so work within the limitations to find a creative solution. Also, learn to be your own best judge. You’re going to get a lot of feedback and not all of it will be good so learn to trust your own opinion.