
After nearly three decades and a diverse career at Troy University, an adjunct professor finally shared her love of art with the school she calls home.
Kitty Amanda Smothers has been with the university for 24 years. She received a bachelors in studio art and a masters in psychology and counseling. SincInformation Technology Department.
Smothers comes from a family of artists and has spent the last 26 years painting portrait commissions. However, she recently found a desire to paint something other than portraits.
“After I’d get home from work, I would get on my floor or at my easel and I would work on commission portraits,” Smothers said. “I’d been doing that for so long, just really focusing on realism.
“Deep down, I really wanted to do something more expressionistic, more of an impressionist approach, so I started painting things for myself.”
In early 2024, Smothers’ artwork was on display at a local boutique, where it was noticed by Troy University’s First Lady, Janice Hawkins. Hawkins bought a piece and later found out Smothers was an employee at the university.
This gave Mrs. Hawkins the idea of commissioning Smothers for artwork to be displayed in the new Center for the Materials and Manufacturing Sciences. Smothers decided to adjourn the halls of the building with landscapes featuring fields full of colorful flowers.
“I love sunflowers, landscapes and nature. I was raised on the Pike and Bullock County line out in the middle of nowhere when I was a kid, and there were times in my life that were a real struggle,” Smothers said. “Living out in the middle of nowhere, I wandered a lot in the countryside alone and spent a lot of time in the field with my dog just kind of processing things that were happening.
“I decided one day that I wanted to paint some of those scenes that gave me so much peace when I was a kid. This is a huge dream come true for me, to have my artwork displayed in my alma mater alongside so many coworkers and people who I’ve grown to really know and respect.”
Smothers plans to continue her art career after her time with the university is finished. Smothers is the current president of the Pike County Art Guild, whose members of were recently featured at the Johnson Center for the Arts. Smothers have also found a new passion for live wedding painting and hope to pursue it as part of her full-time art career.
To view Smothers’ artwork, visit www.kittysmothers.com.
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