ABOUT TERESA SMITH
Teresa Smith, also known as Tareca, is an oil painter based in Montreux, Switzerland. Her work is rooted in landscape, atmosphere and the emotional charge of place, with a particular focus on the shores of Lake Geneva, the Alps and historic architecture.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Drawing has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. What began in childhood as a fascination with copying the characters and images around me gradually became something more instinctive: a need to create, observe and translate the world through images.
Painting now occupies a much deeper place in my life. When I spend too long away from it, I often dream in colour and images, as if my subconscious were reminding me to return to the studio. For me, creating is not simply a pastime. It is a way of processing experience and maintaining a sense of inner balance.
My paintings often begin with a place that carries a strong atmosphere — mist over the lake, early morning light, an alpine pass after rain, a historic building marked by time. I am drawn to moments when something familiar becomes briefly transformed by light, weather or memory.
A PRACTICE BUILT IN LAYERS
I am especially interested in traditional oil-painting methods, including glazing and the slow build-up of translucent layers. These techniques allow light to travel through the painted surface and create depth, luminosity and subtle shifts in colour.
That dialogue between old techniques and contemporary experience is central to my work: observing the present through methods that have been refined over centuries.