Fiery Red Inspiration: Ilona Royce Smithkin

Why “Fiery Red?” One look at artist, teacher and free-spirit and you’ll certainly see; her bright red hair and inch long red eyelashes give it away. This octogenarian [yeah – go look that one up!] artist is as lively as ever and still doing what she loves – passing along her knowledge of art and life.

Some of you may remember Ilona from her days in pioneering art instruction on TV. Ilona’s Palette aired on PBS in the early 70s, and still does in some locations. If you ever have a chance to see an episode or two, definitely have a watch. In some episodes of Ilona’s Palette, you’ll hardly see any painting as Ilona is as much a storyteller as she is an artist, but these episodes are still very worth it as she passes out valuable life lessons. In painting, her style lies mainly in impressionism in oil, and I’ve found that some of her painting lessons can even be extended into digital painting. You can catch a glimpse of her art in person at Wohlfarth Galleries in Provincetown, MA and online at Ilona’s Official Site.

One evening recently, I was channel surfing to see if I could catch Ilona. Unfortunately, I didn’t, but I started to wonder what she was up to these days and if she was still around. Two days later, channel surfing again, I hear a very distinctive voice… there she was! It wasn’t Ilona’s Palette, but something a little different. From her New York City apartment building, one of Ilona’s neighbors, filmmaker Melissa Hammel had created a wonderful documentary of Ilona. The documentary itself has won many awards and is still on tour at film festivals the world over. Head over to Becoming Pictures for a peek at the film through the trailer.

From the documentary, we get a peek into Ilona’s life and the lessons she has learned throughout her days. Her glowing personality really shows throughout the 24-minute film. She really is a lovely, strong woman and a true inspiration, to both artists and non-artists, for her positive outlook and by truly living life to the fullest. I mean, how many people over 80 do you know that can and will do a split!? [It’s in the trailer, if you don’t believe me!]

Coincidentally, the answer to my question of “what is Ilona up to these days,” was answered by a quick web search. It appears Ilona still teaches painting with annual workshops across the Eastern United States, including one workshop here in South Carolina, though most of her teaching is conducted in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts. If you have the opportunity to attend one of her workshops, or have in the past, please do and let us know how it goes!

In closing, I leave thanks to Ilona for the wonderful influence and to Melissa for sharing her film with the world. I think we can all learn a lesson from Ilona’s story and apply that bit of inspiration to our own lives.

UPDATE: (I know, that was quick!) – Melissa Hammel has contacted me privately regarding DVD sales. To quote her, “Folks can contact me directly at mel@becomingpictures.com. Cost is $25 including shipping and handling and I will be happy to fulfill all orders.”

Links:

Ilona’s Official Site
Ilona, Upstairs Documentary