Second-hand Embarrassment?

This section was the only part of the website that was harder to write than the code. And the code was extremely hard to write! I'd literally rather have naked photos of myself online, but this is the life I've chosen, I suppose. Internet rules apply here: if you know me IRL ... no you don't.

Under where? Under there »

Lake Blues and Murky Values (2025) · Prints available

Nick Smith

I take intentionally unconventional pictures of unique textures, light and color, and combine them into striking works of abstract digital art.

The secret to my art — and what makes it truly unique aside from my "perspective" — is a library of over 1,100 textures that I have observed and captured in my travels around the world, which I use to evoke new images and emotions, often based around place.

I am Nick Smith, born in 1982 in Lexington KY. As a photographic expressionist, I take intentionally unconventional pictures of unique textures, lights and colors and combine them into striking works of abstract digital art.

In 25 years as a hobbyist, I produced a mountain of “practice works” before refocusing my attention to making art full-time in 2023. Since then, I’ve created over 100 pieces of original digital art, with most coming in at sizes larger than 4K resolution. It looks terrible on your phone.

As a graduate from Rochester Institute of Technology (NY), my studies in Science, Technology & Society have helped me pursue greater depths in creating hand-coded generative artworks and animation as well as research into the social and cultural factors at play within them, an extension of my belief that all art is inherently political.

Today, my art is focused on TLC: texture, light, and color. I am passionate about how art makes the viewer feel, and the future of human-created art. Don’t let my use of em dashes fool you — AI can’t make art like this.

My art is a reflection of my travels, my influences, and my brain. Ultimately it’s a reflection of my humanity, of our shared humanity.

The goal of my art is simple: to get you to see the beauty in the mundane.

It’s an acknowledgement that everything around us is capable of being “art,” whether it knows that or not.

Nick Smith (b. 1982 in Lexington, Ky.) is a photographic expressionist, taking intentionally unconventional pictures of unique textures, lights and colors and combining them into striking works of abstract digital art. In 25 years as a hobbyist, he produced hundreds of “practice” pieces before committing himself to professional artistry in 2023.

In those 25 years, he also joined the US Navy, then conscientiously objected to the war in Iraq, and began a struggle with addiction, which led to a move back home and ultimately a brief stint of homelessness before attending college with his grandfather’s help.

After graduating in 2013 with a socially-focused Information Technology degree from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, he moved with his family to the national capital region, quickly ascending to national prominence as an information security & transparency advocate in a municipal government communications role before refocusing his attention to making art full-time.

In the intervening time, he has honed his artistic skills in short bursts, and with the support of his family & friends (and almost six years of sobriety) advances in technology have made it more possible than ever to create the massive, intricate art he has worked toward for decades.

His most recent juried physical exhibition was in 2025 at the Circle Gallery in Annapolis with the Maryland Federation of Art, where he is a member.

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