"Rubber Duck" by Jay Schmetz is guaranteed to make you smile. More information on Schmetz' work can be obtained by calling Left Bank Art Gallery, (912) 638-3017. 3600 Frederica Road, St. Simons Island.

This is a story about a young artist who earned his MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design and now resides with his five dogs and six potbelly pigs.

He would like to have more animals, but time and space won't allow. His life is simple, by his own admission, with each day devoted to painting and caring for the animals, which are the inspiration for his work. He calls his life routine, but he loves the routine he is in and enjoys the luxury of doing the two things that please him most.

In discussing his work, Jay Schmetz explains that it is a "fusion of formal painting, specifically Van Gogh post-impressionism and life" and adds with a droll grin, "If there is one thing I want my work to do, it is to make people smile and laugh out loud."

He goes on to reveal when he first began his artistic career, it was his intention to come up with something that was commercial (but not ordinary), original, yet still genuine, in that it related to his life, and, perhaps most importantly, was capable of connecting to the viewer's humorous side. What he came up with, he calls his "animal narratives."

At first it was just dogs carrying out people activities such as playing checkers or reading the newspaper in cozy interior household settings. A typical work might show a dog comfortably seated in an overstuffed chair in a living room where a painting of Grandfather Dog hangs over the fireplace. From dogs the metaphor was soon expanded to pigs, then to any animal he could conceive of placing into a human situation.

In his paintings, Schmetz strives first to create a pleasing image and then to infuse it with content and representation that is of a humorous nature. In other words, if the animals were extracted from the work, it would still be a painting that is pleasing to the viewer. For this artist color, composition, paint quality, space issues and technique are all considered and important to the success of his paintings.

Van Gogh once said, "What is required in art is something very much alive, very strong in color and very much intensified." It's a sentiment that relates directly to the paintings of Schmetz.

Although he describes his life as routine, when he takes brush in hand his paintings are anything but routine. Every painting is an experimental work in progress for the artist. He concedes there is risk involved with this approach, but feels it well worth it when his creative explorations lead to a successful new style or technique.

For example, one time he exasperatingly wiped much of the paint from a canvas he had been laboring over to find, to his amazement, that the removal of the paint was just what was needed to complete the work to his satisfaction.

Unlike the many artists, or formula painters, who take the easy way out by finding what works best for them - the best palette, the best subject matter, the best medium, the best size - Schmetz is not ready anytime soon, or likely ever, to settle into a comfortable routine.

Schmetz's art is non-programmed, non-serious, non-elitist and non-egotist. It is very viewer friendly and just plain fun. Take a look and smile.