Homage paid to local art teacher

Teacher, mentor, a blessing — these were only a few words that described the late Walt Smith. An artist that left a long lasting impact on all those he encountered throughout his life, Smith leaves a legacy that will live on forever inside his many students.

Recently a small group of those art students, after finding out their art teacher, who was also special friend, had died, gathered together for lunch to share grief at this great loss. They all shared a deep love for Smith and recalled how he had impacted their lives through his knowledge of and talent for art.

Noting him as a gentle and kind person who treasured being able to hear how he had made such an impression on each of them and that impact. The students payed tribute to their mentors memory by sharing their stories on the life of a man they called family.

While they remained anonymous to keep the focus on Smith. There wasn’t a single one that didn’t singing praise about his character and the positive influences he had on Sampson County.

“Walt Smith was, an amazing teacher, friend, and yes Walt was like family,” one student said. “We were all a family in Art class. When you have been with a teacher for over 30 years, you are family!”

“Walt was a very patient, considerate person who seemed to know the best approach to teach each individual,” one student attested. “His knowledge of color was spot on!”

“Walt Smith was an extraordinary person who willingly shared his abundant knowledge of art and his wisdom in so many areas of life with anyone open to learning,” remarked another of his students. “I am honored to have been one of his students; I am especially thankful to have been able to call him my friend.”

Smith was an art instructor at Sampson Community for decades where he would eventually retire from. In an article provided to The Sampson Independent in 2017 from SCC’s Janna Bass Smith’s teaching history was highlighted, one that dated back to the 1980s.

It noted that Smith first joined SCC in 1986 teaching studio visual art classes. In this role, he conducted classes in Clinton, Roseboro, Newton Grove and Plain View. His journey with SCC continued as he began teaching continuing education classes, titled “creative art”, where he tailors to each student’s individual ability, choice, interest and goals. Throughout the years, he has also taught courses including Art Appreciation and Drawing I/Painting I for both curriculum and the Early College. Not to mention before that he served the county as a member of the Marine Corps.

“What can I say about Walt Smith,” another of his students said. “Walt was a soft-spoken gentleman and he was always so knowledgeable and helpful to all the students. Not only was he an instructor but he was also a friend. He loved history and was very much a big part of the Averasboro Civil War Battlefield and Museum. Walt Smith wore many hats and one of them was in the Marine Corps as an Officer. To know Walt Smith was an honor for so many reasons. I know he was a hero to many who came to know him. As for me, Walt Smith was one of a kind and he will always hold a special spot in my heart.”

“I was already at SCC when Walt started teaching — I immediately liked him, he just seemed to be a people person and made everyone feel at ease,” another former student remarked. “We just didn’t know how blessed we were to have this teacher come into our lives and the community as a whole. Walt was a professional Artist. He studied abroad while he was in the Marine Corps and later he went back for lessons from famous artists and teachers in Italy and Rome. His love for painting horses was amazing. I never knew how important muscles were or how many there were in a horse, but I found out as I painted a Clydesdale later on.”

Smith’s way of teaching is something his former students touted when reminiscing over their teacher. They said he had a style that was one of kind that was catered to every students individual needs at any level. A style they noted always brought out the best in each of them and they’d shared what it was like learning from him.

“In the years I knew Walt Smith, I would pick out something that was too hard for me to draw,” his student said. “I knew it as soon as I was presenting it to Walt. In each case he would gently, then firmly urge me to start with — ‘put a mark on the paper, Lin’. And so it went, I would put a pencil mark on the paper and another and another. Turns out the picture I wanted to draw was not too hard after all. All thanks to Walt’s gentle and firm urging to ‘start’.”

“Mr. Smith was an exceptional teacher,” another student agreeably said. “He had such a gift for drawing talent from students! Although I had never done any painting prior to studying under Walt, after several classes two of my paintings were chosen at different times to be on display for a year at the community college headquarters in Raleigh. In class early on, I was at a standstill and couldn’t figure how to proceed. I remember sitting for a while waiting to have the teacher’s assistance and getting a little agitated over the wait. (Of course, there were only about 30 other students wanting his attention as well!) Then I realized that he was standing behind me — without me even having to ask him to come over. He solved my problem in such a wonderful way. He didn’t lecture me on what I was doing wrong. He just asked me a simple question. He asked if I thought a touch of green in the paint I was mixing would help. Of course, I thought! Why didn’t I think of that? And by that time, he had moved on to another student. And why not? I could move on with my painting on my own now. He knew exactly what I needed and exactly how much help I needed.”

“Walt Smith was a professional artist that loved his work teaching others,” another student added. “He was admired by all as a teacher and an artist. This gentle and patient man was there to help others learn and taught each student on their own level. He increased their learning as they were inclined at that time. He loved to show off their work and had art shows every year and encouraged the community to attend. I remember him as a gentleman and a mentor to many. I personally met him in 2006 after retirement in Nursing and continued classes with him until his retirement. Many others did the same thing, but he always welcomed new students to his class. Mr. Smith will be missed by many.”

“I just came to Mr. Walt’s art class at Sampson Community College in the fall of 2016,” remarked a student. “Over the years I had taken other art classes and except for the friends I made there my time was pretty much wasted. The instructors were “good old girls” who just like to paint, Mr. Smith on the other hand had the talent and the education for the job. You saw that almost immediately and I will always regret not coming to his class earlier.”

As for what it was actually like in one of his classes and being one of his pupils his students shared what their own personal experiences were like.

“When I was approaching retirement, a close friend invited me to join her in taking an art class at SCC,” a student said. “She had studied under Walt Smith for several years and was very complimentary of his teaching and thought that I would enjoy taking his class. She told me to buy a canvas, some paintbrushes and oil paint, and show up at class and Walt would take it from there. Although I had no art background, I decided to take her advice. When I returned home that night after my first class, I remember telling my husband that should I die during the night, not to worry about the tuition money that I had paid for the semester because I had enjoyed it so much that I would have been willing to pay that amount if I could have had only the one class. I have continued to feel the same way since that night and after retirement traveled weekly to Clinton from Hampstead to have the privilege of taking art class from Walt Smith.”

“Walt was the best artist that I have ever known,” another student said. “When I was in his class he would always offer us his thoughts about what we were working on and often he would come by your seat and say ‘Do you need to ask any questions about what you are painting? Let me see if I can help you on this one.’ I feel so fortunate to have been in Walt’s class. He was a wonderful artist and art teacher. I believe we all loved him dearly.”

“One of Walt’s requirements of his art students was that they name their work,” another student highlighted. “This is sometimes difficult as was the case with one of my favorite pieces that I painted in his class. I consider my brother to be a master fisherman because he can catch a fish when no one else is catching anything. As a Christian I associate fishing with my master Christ. Further I believe that it would be hard to find anyone who ever watched Walt’s hands as he painted who would object to referring to Walt as a master artist. Consequently, I decided to combine all three concepts by painting a fisherman’s hands. With Walt’s agreement, I used his hands as a model for my painting and named the painting “The Masters’ Hands.”

His gentleness and patients was also something they continuously called attention to. A testament to that was shared in a funny story one of his students told.

“Somehow in dealing with his many art students over the years, Walt was still able to maintain a sense of humor,” the student said. “One student, when exasperated that her paintings weren’t turning out as she hoped, would take her brush, and fill it with black paint. She would then cover her painting with it and throw it in the trash can. On one such occasion, Walt happened to be walking by just as she had covered her outdoor scene that did not meet with her approval with black paint. Instead of criticizing her rash act, Walt just calmly continued to wander on to another student, but not before he asked her if she was through for the night since she had turned out the lights!”

While Smith was glorified by students for being a great mentor with exceptional teaching skill, that wasn’t all. He had a deep love for art in general and used that love to not only support those he taught, but also to those all across the county and beyond. Something he was also more than happy to have his students involved in.

“When an art student has a place to display his/her work, a magical thing happens,” another of his students stated. “The product ends up much better than if he/she stores it away somewhere at home where no one will ever see it. Something about having others view (and possibly purchase) an artist’s work stimulates motivation to demand a higher standard for the artist. Mr. Smith provided such motivation by having an art show open to the families and friends of students in his classes as well as staff and students of SCC plus citizens of Sampson County and neighboring counties. In preparing for the art show, Walt would most often utilize the services of Tarheel Challenge (?) in hanging the paintings to help the Tarheel young men with a project that would allow them to contribute to our area. As a part of our art shows, Walt would assist us in the preparation of our paintings by conducting a framing clinic.”

“Walt did so much for the community and SCC,” another of his students similarly said. “He started the very first art shows at the college, and trust me, they were work! We worked for weeks preparing and framing our work plus the work of his curriculum students. It was a professional art show for the citizens of Clinton and surrounding counties. We were very excited to be displaying our artworks and it also brought more students to the college. It became an annual event. Among his many contributions to our community was his reaching out to the Sampson Art Council in various capacities in addition to his gifting them a printer which was very useful to them at the Small House. In addition to all of the contributions to our area, he still made time to serve as an elder in his home church in Dunn where he served on many committees.”

“We were so blessed that Walt wanted to expand our art horizons beyond Sampson County and introduce us to different art experiences outside of our classes,” another of his many student said. “He took us on several field trips. We went to the Raleigh Museum of Art several times. Some of us had never seen famous paintings in person. We were introduced to different types of mediums and art. Some were so big that they filled up. the whole wall. We were amazed! He took us to Jugtown and Seagrove pottery near Asheboro to introduce us to another type of art…but i think our most exciting (or Mine) field trip was to Art of the Carolinas in Raleigh at the Hilton Hotel. This is a yearly event that Jerry Art Aroma sponsors. Artists from all over the world come and have workshops that you can sign up for or just get advice at the show. There is an abundance of art supplies at discount prices. It was quite an experience — our cars were full!!”

After all the reflecting on their former mentor what was left were loving words about Smith, words two more of his student left as memento to his inspirational talent.

“I am so glad that a few of us art students and friends got together to remember Walt and what he meant to us and so many people — because he was so deserving,” a student said in their remarks. “Nowadays there are not many people that you can trust and look up to but this gentle giant is definitely one to be remembered. I haven’t seen Walt since last year at Christmas. but had kept up with him since his sickness. I will never forget the last words that he said to me, Linda NEVER STOP PAINTING!” and I never will!”

“I had a friend that wanted me to paint a motorcycle for her husband’s birthday,” a students story began. “I wasn’t sure I was up for this challenge, as I had never attempted a painting with chrome in it. After talking to Walt, I was on my way to learning how to paint chrome, Walt would say a challenge is learning new ways of thinking and painting. He had me studying and practicing for weeks before I ever put any paint on the canvas. Needless to say, it was an awesome painting, one of my best! We had an art show that month and Walt hung it in the perfect place, it was a 36 x36 oil that I could have sold 10 times over. I am not a bragger as anyone can tell you, but Walt had a way of helping you see the beauty in your work and the confidence in yourself as a person and artist. Walt would never paint on your paintings. After that I called myself an Artist. As Dee (another student) called him the gentle giant that’s what kind of a man he was. We all got that confidence from him in class. I have had the honor to have paintings displayed in the capitol and in the North Carolina Community College headquarters several times. I must give Walt Smith most of the credit because he inspired me to do my best and never give up.”

The last of these came in the form of a love letter to Smith and all he’d done for one of his students simple titled “Tribute to Walt Smith”. These words, though expressed in one form already, give a clear overall picture into just the kind of impact Smith had on people and this community.

“When I was getting my teaching degree, I remember reading an article saying that as a teacher sometimes you never realize the impact you make on your students till years later.

I don’t think Walt Smith had to wait that long because he could see the progress you had made from your first class, and with each class after, how much you were improving, learning, and gaining confidence in your abilities. He was there guiding you, making suggestions to help you decide what direction you wanted to take your at work.

“Walt was a very accomplished artist in his own right. He was able to work with students in many mediums; pencil, charcoal, acrylics, oils, just to name a few.

His style of teaching, I believe, came from his years of experience as a teacher/instructor, and also as an artist. He moved around the classroom , pausing, , but taking time with each student to guide them, never making them feel like “he was looking over their shoulder all the time.”

Because I enjoyed his teaching style, his expertise in art, and him as a person I continued to take classes from him from 2009 until he retired, often taking three classes daily, because I enjoyed them so much.

When Walt retired, I had mixed feelings, on one hand I wanted him to enjoy his retirement, but I knew that no one would be able to replace him as an instructor, or most of all, my friend and mentor.

I must give Walt credit for teaching me to have more confidence in my abilities and my talent. Most of my paintings are of animals, usually cats and dogs. I generally end up doing my paintings for family members.

Walt’s belief in my abilities as an artist gave me the confidence to continue painting and work to try and improve with each painting thereafter.

In closing, I want to say that when I learned of Walt’s death I was heartbroken. After getting over the initial shock I felt that I had to be a part of making sure, if possible, that he be recognized for all the years of teaching at Sampson Community College, his contributions the Arts in Clinton and Dunn, as well as the many contributions made to civic organizations and churches that he was a part of, but most importantly, the contributions he made to his students. Walt, over his many years as an artist and teacher imparted his love and talents to his students, giving them confidence teaching them and nurturing their creativity.”