Nicholas Smith

Saint Lucy of Syracuse (283 – 304 AD) was a young Christian woman who, having consecrated her virginity to Christ, refused marriage to a pagan man, who, angry at her rejection, betrayed her to the authorities. After an attempt to burn her alive failed, she was killed with a sword; later traditions add the removal of her eyes, and it has become common to portray her holding out her eyes on a plate — a convention I follow in this painting. She also holds a cross, symbolizing her confession of faith; from the cross hangs a red banner, with the motto, “Beati mundo corde: quoniam ipsi deum videbunt” — “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” — a fitting Beatitude for St. Lucy. Her foot is placed on a sword, the instrument of her martyrdom, symbolizing her triumph over the death dealt out to her by the dying pagan world, in hatred of the strange new life which Lucy strained her eyes to see. I chose to depict the saint against a wintry background because her feast day is December 13, just before the Winter Solstice. It comes just before the winter Ember Days, three days of penance in the Catholic calendar, which mark the turning of the seasons. It is a time of failing light — just like the world in which St. Lucy lived, the dying Roman Empire, in which all the inspiration of Augustus was spent, Virgil’s stylus was long still, and legions fought each other with bloody futility, while barbarians prowled the borders. But, for the likes of St. Lucy, there is, even when the earth is dark, always light….

An acrylic still life composition of three dark green poblano peppers with four tomatoes, against a reddish-brown background.

A still life composition of winter root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, radishes) on an orange background.

This decorative screen was commissioned to hide the client’s trash and recycling bins from visitors arriving in her driveway. It depicts her two dogs, using a stylized, slightly cartoony method of representation. One dog, a good natured golden retriever, looks playfully at the other, who is worrying one of the dogwood flowers which forms part of the decoration (my pun on the painting’s subject).

This painting portrays three birds, a cardinal, a chickadee, and a downy woodpecker, together on the wet, mossy branch of a dogwood tree in flower against a light green background. Below, a Pinxter azalea bush explodes in a cloud of white and pink flowers. The red cardinal, in the middle of the composition, dominates the painting; the other birds are visible on closer inspection. I painted this work with artist’s acrylics on three cradled plywood panels I constructed myself. The panels are supported on a timber frame sunk into the ground. The work is a commission piece, located in my client’s back yard, visible from her back porch.

This large mural is painted on the sliding doors of an old garage which used to be a livery stable, where various types of horse-drawn conveyance could be hired by people travelling to and from the nearby train station in Germantown, MD. The structure dates from about 1880, a few years after the B&O Railroad came through town. The mural’s intention is to honor the building’s history by portraying the vehicles and attire of the period. The chestnut trees which frame the painting refer to the neighborhood’s official (though now largely forgotten) name: Chestnut Ridge, in reference to the chestnut trees which used to grow there, and were wiped out by disease around the turn of the century. The two cats on the left-hand door belong to the owners of the property. The mural is painted with exterior-grade acrylic paint on a plywood surface.