Clara Smith, Western artist and alumna of the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts, depicts cowboy culture through her drawings, paintings, and digital art
Clara Smith
By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - April 23, 2025
A self-described “horse girl,” Clara Smith, ‘18, grew up in NE Portland, but would visit her aunt, Joelle Smith, outside of Bend each summer. The two of them would ride horses in the high desert for weeks on end; then, as Smith’s creative side and interest in art grew, time spent outside transitioned into joining her aunt in her home studio. Smith now carries on her aunt’s legacy as a Western artist, documenting Western life and depicting culture and traditions of the American cowboy.
When looking at colleges in the Pacific Northwest, Smith considered a handful of schools for fine arts, but only at Oregon State could she receive a fine arts education alongside a graphic design degree. While a student at College of Liberal Arts’ School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts, Smith had a series of instructors that helped her advance her design skillset, including Marianne Dickson, Yuji Hiratsuka, and Evan Baden. Some of Smith’s most influential lessons weren’t in illustration or typography, but in Baden’s photography classes.
“For my work now, I find it advantageous to have a working background in photography,” explained Smith. “Understanding light and movement specifically helps me to capture reference photos, which allows me to interpret the still image onto paper.”
During her time in Photobook Design and Production, taught by Baden, Smith co-designed Terra Matter, a printed photobook containing essays of English students combined with objects in OSU’s natural history collections.
“Printing is a whole other aspect of design,” said Smith. “Bringing photography into the physical world in the form of a printed hardcover book gave me a new perspective on not just how to take the best photographs, but also in producing my own art.”
Additionally, while at OSU, Smith worked as a designer with the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in the Valley Library, which allowed her to utilize the skills she was learning in class in real time on campus.
What all art and design classes had in common was a section dedicated to thoughtful critiques of each student’s creations. Smith attributed that critiques from instructors and staff improved her own art and to design with intentionality.
“When you offer up your own art, you have the opportunity to hear outside perspectives and see what others are seeing in what you created,” said Smith. “Design is always about problem solving and you make something better by understanding public perception. Needing to thoughtfully explain my own artistic decision has made me a better artist and designer.”
Right out of OSU, Smith landed a part-time designer role at Hound Creative Agency, in Bend, working with Bend-based brands, including Sunriver Brewing and other local small businesses. After two years at Hound, the Covid-19 Pandemic was starting and Smith began working from home. As business coming to the agency slowed down, Smith was making and selling her own drawings, paintings, and digital art, which were consistently selling out.
Due to the success and interest of her art online and at art fairs, Smith decided to leave the agency. In a complete 180°, creating fine art now became her full-time career, while still running a freelance graphic design business on the side.
“Being confined to my home during the initial years of Covid permitted me to slow down, regroup, and think about what I really wanted to do,” said Smith. “I had all this time to focus on my art and, luckily, it became financially sustainable to work on it full time. It was a huge turning point.”
Smith now brings themes from her Western art into her graphic design work, which has both broadened and guided her design career.
“I now get to work with businesses and brands that align with the style of my art,” said Smith. “Western art has allowed me to brand myself as a graphic designer.”
In the beginning of her freelance career, Smith admits that it was daunting and scary, where most of the time she was trying to solicit work. Now, after a few years under her belt, she’s setting boundaries for herself and turning away projects out of respect for her own time and art.
“I’m fortunate to have two different sides of my business, which have both led to more work opportunities,” said Smith. “Some of my design clients have commissioned art and others who have purchased my art have reached out about branding work for their or their friends’ businesses.”
A few of the design clients Smith has worked with include Bend-based Backporch Coffee, Smith Rock Records, and the Humane Society of Central Oregon. A connection from Smith’s art community gave her the opportunity to design a tour poster for country artists Justin Moore and Randy Houser, as well as the official 2024 t-shirt for the renowned Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Southern California.
“Social media has also been a huge factor in creating friends and connections in the art and design community,” said Smith. “I’ve been able to reach out to people who I align with stylistically and personally, which has led to more and more work.
Receiving a fine arts education with a graphic design degree from the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts helped Smith find her own style, voice, and confidence.
“Freelancing is difficult, there’s no doubt about that,” said Smith. “You will get a lot of ‘no’s,’ but that’s what the graphic design classes prepared you for, finding out your strengths and weaknesses through rejection and adaptation.”
