Biography
Chester R. Smith Jr.
Artwork by Chet
Citrus Heights, CA., 95610
I was born, raised and educated in the Sacramento region. I have been an artist as long as I can remember. I recall how my parents – who were by far my greatest influences in creating art – would have me and my two younger brothers lie on the floor with pencils, crayons, paper and stacks of comic books. My parents would tell us to try to copy the characters from those comic books.
Another major influence on my art – outside of my family – was a grade school teacher Ms. Patricia Lehman,who was also a beauty pageant winner of the 1951 Miss California contest. I recall an incident where Ms. Lehman sent us home with examples of our school work. My mother saw how my math worksheets were incomplete and how I had stopped working math problems and drew pictures in the margins of the paper. My mother sent me to school the next day with a note saying how she did not want to see drawings on my math worksheets. Ms. Lehman promptly sent a written reply home with me saying my artistic talent was something a lot of students did not have and if I was inclined to draw instead of work math problems, I could do so.
Later, during my adult years I served three years as a U.S. Army paratrooper assigned to a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol Company. Subsequently, I was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant in 1965. Afterward, I spent over twenty nine years as a deputy sheriff with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and retired at the rank of lieutenant.
Since January, 1997, I have been working as a full time artist. I spend my creative time in my home studio working on paintings in watercolors, acrylics and oils. I also do drawings in pen and inks, pastels, charcoal and graphite. I have sculpted figurative works in stone, cast bronze, ceramics and carved terracotta bricks. But my primary focus is on drawing and painting.
I would describe my style of art as representational realism. I also consider myself a figurative artist. As a result, I try to portray objects from our visual world in a manner that allows the viewer to easily comprehend what is represented.
I have engaged in formal studies in art at Sierra College, Rocklin, and at California State University, Sacramento.