Pikeville art exhibit to feature works of Paula Smith

The University of Pikeville will feature the works of Paula Smith in its Weber Art Gallery.

The cultural exhibit, which is called “Appalachian Brush,” will run through September.

 “As an artist, I draw my inspiration from my life as a child of Appalachia,” Smith said. “I stand in awe of our beautiful, ever changing mountains and the secrets they hold. I strive to bring life to forgotten moments of our people … people that are as strong as the very landscape that surrounds them.”

The works by Smith feature the Eastern Kentucky landscape. The daughter of a coal miner, Smith uses coal and coal dust in her watercolor paintings.

“I started using coal as a medium since it has been embedded in my life,” Smith, whose family -- just like many from the region -- have been coal miners for generations, said. “Each seam of coal works differently with the watercolor. Coal changes the texture of the watercolor. Some coals are grainy and include dirt while others are extremely black in color depending on which seam the coal came from. Coal miners bring coal to me or I travel to mine sites to collect samples.”