b'Richard C. SmithUntitled 2011. Crayon on found paper, 9.75 x 13.75 ins.Smiths figures are wedded to nature as a living organism, revealing them-selves to him as visionary presences, often as faces in the wood of treesaround him. In his drawings and sculpture this is transposed in images thatflicker like embers on tough, physically present materials, urging us close tolisten to their mute voices. Some are quite dark, Smith offers, But all aremeant to be friendly. Some of them look more severe than the others. Maybesome are more in pain than others. None of them are supposed to be bad.They are not meant to be menacing. Theyve all got their own individual looks.They are all friendly, honestly. In fact, he describes the figures, faces andbestiaries as protectors: They protect against everything bad. And like hisvisionary fellow travellers, the intuitive, visceral connection to primal forces isvery often manifested in distinctly erotic imagery.7'