PATRICIA ARANKA SMITH
Born (1960) and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Smith’s upbringing gave her a unique perspective from an early age. The daughter of Hungarian immigrants who escaped the revolution by foot, she has rested hers in Budapest, Cairo, Paris, Athens and New York, among other places. Her life has evolved like her abstract paintings – it consists of numerous layers, complex patterns and a colorful background. For many years, she was an executive in the cruise industry.
After hanging up her business suits, Smith spent the next several years dividing her time between the south of France, Denmark and Costa Rica where she collected objects and observations, experimented with furniture and design, made color palettes with food and hung out with some highly esteemed chefs before moving to Paris to focus on her two great loves – art and writing.
After nearly two decades overseas, she returned permanently to the United States and settled in Florida. There, she became a newspaper columnist and restaurant critic while continuing to paint, create, invent and even cook. Her work has been exhibited in Chicago, New York, Florida and California, selected for a number of juried art shows and is collected throughout the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.
Smith relocated to Los Angeles in 2011. She is the co-author of the award-winning cookbook “In Pursuit of Excellence” with two-star Michelin Chef Josiah Citrin. The book is available on Amazon. In her spare minute, she freelances as a writer and editor.
When she isn’t knee-deep in paint or defending her right to the First Amendment, she pays close attention to the world and her intuition; they both continue to guide her journey as an artist and human being. If it doesn’t cause her to think (or crack up) it surely doesn’t find its way into her work – which is why occasionally she introduces herself as a “stay-at-home comedienne” and a sexistentialist.
You can read her musings on Huffington Post (among other sites) and follow her on Twitter as @nonconfromist. And yes, it’s spelled that way. Pay attention.
