Macon Magazine

62 maconmagazine.com | February/March 2025 couple opened a sundries store named – fittingly, given Smith's varied, obsessive interests – the Rabbit Hole, by H&H Restaurant. They sell candles, jams, plants, chocolates, and a "sprinkle of antiques." "We had the pandemic to contend with and then getting the store off the ground, where she handles the business end, and I do the creative stuff," Smith says. "But I'm ready now to get back into the groove of painting." Macon, he says, has been "the most embracing and generous place I think I've ever experienced," he says. Wesleyan College plans to exhibit his work in September. "That will be my first 'hey, I'm here' introduction to the city," he says. Meanwhile, he starts his day by walking his two dogs. Then he puts brush to canvas. "I don't sleep much because at night I'm constantly on the hunt for ideas for painting, being a sponge." A controversial Cheerios commercial caught his eye in 2013. Its cheerful depiction of a mixed-race family was hailed as a barrier-breaking departure from the norm, that opened the way to more diversity in advertising. "I'm in a mixed relationship," he says, "and I see how people respond to us. So I have been thinking about painting some white people. I go back and forth on it. But I haven't yet. I'm still playing catch-up, depicting Black people. There's a lot of work to be done yet." He still feels an obligation to his community, hoping his efforts at cultural representation kindle both hope and pride in young people. "Even today, a lot of Black kids feel disowned by America," Smith says. "As I see and paint what we've contributed in America, maybe it will help guide them in a positive direction, to see how valuable and great we were – and still – are." Rock bought a painting, and broadcaster Gayle King sought a proposal on some work. "It was all Black subject matter, but it resonated with everyone who saw it," Jacob said. "When I first encountered his work, he was taking old photographs that he'd found in antique shops and was making these beautiful collages with them," the gallerist continued. "He put one woman on a mock cover of the Sears-Roebuck catalog; he had a little girl eating peanut butter. He said he wondered why people would throw away photos like that. And he said, 'I don't know their names, but their faces will not be forgotten,' and I thought that was a beautiful attitude and way of imparting dignity to people whose stories were otherwise lost to time. He is preserving culture." Smith and his girlfriend Autumn Van Gunten, a social media specialist, moved to Macon just before COVID-19 hit. "My mother wanted me to be closer," Smith explains. He paused his work to be an entrepreneur. The "I'm still playing catch-up, depicting Black p e ople. There's a lot of work to b e done yet ." Smith's creative storefront venture with Van Gunten, Rabbit Hole, was our cover story for the Dec/Jan issue. Read more about it at maconmagazine.com LEFT Smith's brushes and paints as he works on a painting of a girl savoring a summer popsicle among the hydrangeas.

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