The Smyrna Public Library will host an art exhibit from area artist J. Oliver Langston in April 2022.

Langston did not start his art career until later in life, but the artist has created and sold hundreds of works over the past decade. He employs various creative methods and textures in his art, from using melted crayon as a medium to painting on both sides of a pane of glass for a depth effect to generously piling on the paint in a work to create visible peaks on the canvas.

The library exhibit should contain about 30 works, Langston says, including some sketches.

“Now, when I am sitting with my wife watching TV, I do sketches,” the artist says.

Art fans in the area can also view some of Langston’s work—often featuring forests or seas in bold and vibrant colors—at the Smyrna Outdoor Adventure Center in Smyrna and at Burning Acre in Columbia, Tennessee.

“To me, ‘wonder’ is the essence of art. How better to describe art?” Langston says. “A feeling of surprise mingled with admiration caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar or inexplicable.”

The Smyrna Public Library is located at 400 Enon Springs Rd. W., Smyrna; it is open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m.–8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.–5 p.m.