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john smither

Video Installations

These are of few of my wall mounted installations that are inspired by rural and urban wild areas near my home in Seattle. They consist of video, audio, painted panels, and the occasional woodcut print. Overlaid on the location video is a continually changing collection of stenciled imagery from the paintings.

To see samples of the videos used in these installations just click the camera icon below each image.

The installation consists of two-inch deep painted panels, video and audio. The 12-minute looping video captures a late morning in September along the Hoh River just outside of the Olympic National Park in Washington State. The video incorporates stenciled layers of the imagery in the paintings. These fade in and out in different patterns. The audio captures the morning sounds of the rainforest along with the rain gently falling on a tarp which covered the campsite. This piece is extremely soothing.

"Hoh Oxbow"
oil on panel, video 80" x 48" 2016

"Whidbey Island Rhododendron Park"
oil on panel, video 48" x 108" 2026

The inspiration for this work comes from Seattle's iconic Seward Park on a spring afternoon. It has a looping video, audio and painted panels of varying depths.

"Seward Park Spring"
oil on panel, video 38" x 28" 2026

This work is based on Tacoma's (Washington State, USA) Point Defiance Park. There is a wooded trail in this large park which features rhododendrons. On an afternoon in May, I shot the video, took lots of pictures and brought it all back to my studio. This installation leans in on the gestural forms of the flowers and the plants.

"Point Defiance Rhododendron Trail"
oil on panel, video 64" x 76" 2024

The installation consists of two inch deep painted panels, two inch panels with woodcut prints, video and audio. The 12 minute looping video captures an afternoon in March on Asahel Curtiss trail which is about an hour east of Seattle near Snoqualmie Pass. There are two different views of the trail which alternate during the loop. The video incorporates stenciled layers of the imagery in the paintings and woodcuts. These fade in and out in different patterns. The audio captures the morning sounds of the forest along with a river and the distant highway which can be heard at some spots on the trail. This piece creates a very quiet soothing all-encompassing experience.

"Asahel Curtiss Trail"
oil on panel, woodcut, video 68" x 76" 2017

A morning in November at Seattle's Seward park is captured in this multi-discipline work. The imagery of the paintings is captured in stencils that are composited into the looping video.

"Seward Park"
oil on panel, video 56" x 42" 2020

This installation is based on a trail in the foothills of the Cascade Range near Seattle. There is a looping video along with an ambient soundtrack. The multiple painted panels vary in depth giving extra motion to the piece.

"Boulder Loop Trail"
oil on panel, video 96" x 40" 2020

The inspiration for this work comes from the trails that wind their way up into the Cascade Range near Seattle. There are three looping video panels and an ambient soundtrack of a forest stream.

"Cascadia"
oil on panel, video 68" x 68" 2020

An abstracted glimpse of a typical lowland forest of the Pacific Northwest. Forms of maple, Oregon grape, and trailing blackberry can be seen.

"Tradition Lake"
oil on panel, video 60" x 100" 2023

The installation consists of two inch deep painted panels, framed woodcut, video and audio. The 12 minute looping video captures an October afternoon a in bit of urban wild in south Seattle. The video incorporates stenciled layers of the imagery in the paintings and the woodcut. These fade in and out in different patterns. The audio captures the sounds of the greenspace along with some distant coyote howls from the canines that are known to frequent the area. This is a quiet, contemplative work which provides a full immersive experience for the viewer.

"Cheasty Fall #3"
oil on panel, woodcut, video 60" x 72" 2017

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