Different in a good way

There are a lot of styles of work at the Susan Barnes Studio at 1025 19th Street, but Michael D. Smith’s paintings are, well, different. Up until November 11, in the midst of landscapes and figures, Smith’s work seems to be out of this world. Hung upside down with his signature at the top, “Evolution” is a perfect example: Amorphous purple and silver shapes with painted-on textures seem to explode out of a cloud-speckled sky, like something you’d see on television’s Smallville. While there are no superheroes in his pieces, there is a mercurial, fluid quality Smith has harnessed via computer. That’s another reason his work is different. He does all his paintings on computer and then has them printed on canvas. But you’d never know it unless you read it on his Web site, where he confesses the whole process. For more information, visit www.uptownwebs.com or call (916) 300-5488.