Becky Smith Spotlight
Becky Smith
Written by Nor Osborne, October 2025
Nestled in the corner of the historic Newark Arcade is the Sagebrush Studio, a vibrant collection of colorful and imaginative art. Carefully curated ceramics, jewelry, and sewn goods line the shelves, original paintings and graphic art covers the walls, all created by independent artists. Just beyond the retail space is a cozy workshop, filled with community members learning to paint.
Behind the checkout counter stands Becky Smith, the owner and founder of Sagebrush Art Studio. The studio opened its doors this past April, fulfilling a life long dream of Becky’s.
“I’ve always wanted to do art. This is a dream job for me, to create a retail space to create art and connect with the community,” she says.
Becky has been creating art since childhood, always drawing and painting. She began connecting others with art in high school, going to grade schools and teaching kids how to create.
“I’m a very creative person. I always have been. Everything I see I think about what it would look like as a picture,” Becky explains. “I can’t even help myself. I just need to get it out.”
Becky took an extensive journey to get to where she is now, switching paths multiple times. She married young, had children, and put her artistic ambitions on pause while raising and supporting her family.
“I’ve been a bookkeeper, I’ve been a realtor, I even ran a remodeling company with my husband for 20 years.”
Throughout these different career paths, Becky still tried to keep art in her life when she could, painting in her free time and designing murals on her daughters’ bedroom walls.
Now that Becky’s daughters have their own kids and her remodeling company closed down, she was able to explore her passion for art again.
Becky’s artistic style reflects her warm and inviting personality, whimsical landscapes featuring sunsets, animals, and flowers, painted with bright, contrasting colors. She works in acrylics and pastels, often inspired by the natural world.
More than a business, Becky sees Sagebrush as a way to share the healing power of creativity.
“For me, art is an outlet for stressful life situations. It allows me to see situations in a different light,” she says. “Art is a deeply important form of expression. That's one of the reasons I started the store, to give people the opportunity to paint and express the art in them.”
“I feel like I've given the gift of art and I want to share it with my community.”
Her message to the community is simple and passionate: “Support local artists. Before you buy a painting somewhere else, buy something that someone locally has created. Support the arts, they’re important.”