Hello, I'm Charissa Smith.

I grew up in Baltimore​,​ Maryland​,​ where my love for beauty and design first took root. I studied Interior Design at the Maryland Institute of Art​,​ and after years of working with prestigious firms​,​ I earned my license and founded Charissa Seipp Interiors in Houston​,​ Texas​,​ in 1990. But my heart has always been drawn to something deeper. My passion for art​,​ combined with my psychology degree from Mount St. Mary's University​,​ led me to embrace my ultimate dream: painting. Art allows me to express the emotions​,​ memories​,​ and stories that words often fail to capture. Through both acrylic and oil​,​ I work with brushes​,​ palette knives​,​ and impasto to explore the poetry of color​,​ light​,​ and texture. When I paint​,​ I want to transport the viewer into the world I see — scenes that feel like a deep breath​,​ a quiet embrace​,​ a celebration of life’s fleeting magic. Deeply moved by the devastation of the recent Los Angeles fires​,​ I poured my grief​,​ anxiety​,​ and hope into my paintings​,​ channeling raw emotion into every brushstroke—creating what I believe to be some of my most powerful and heartfelt work. Now​,​ more than ever​,​ I believe in the power of art to heal​,​ to uplift​,​ and to bring people together. My hope is that my work offers a place of refuge—an invitation to pause​,​ smile​,​ and step into a world where beauty reigns. I was also recently featured in VoyageLA if you’d like to delve deeper into my story.