DOUG SMITH - STATEMENT

Born and raised in San Francisco, Doug Smith was fortunate to have talented, creative parents who recognized his own talent from an early age and encouraged him to pursue his art.  His mother, herself an accomplished impressionist painter, exposed him to the wealth of San Francisco’s art exhibitions as a youngster, introducing him to the masters in their regular visits to the city’s outstanding museums.  By age nine he sold his first oil painting.

Smith received his first formal artistic instruction at San Francisco City College as a fine art major.  He then furthered his education at San Francisco Academy of Art University.  At 19 he participated in his first group exhibition in the city’s Artist Cooperative Gallery.

After service in the U.S. Army, Smith returned to San Francisco and joined a firm as a graphic designer.  The company relocated to Southern California and he continued his training at the Art Center College of Design and the California Art Institute.

While he excelled in a succession of graphic design and art director positions over a long career, Smith continued to paint seriously.  His work has found collectors throughout the country including, most recently, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning, New York.

Enthusiasm for his current contemporary rural American landscapes has allowed Smith to transition entirely from commercial art to his passion for painting.  The works’ strong composition, bold technique, textures and vibrant colors invoke the traditions of Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn and Wayne Thiebaud of the early Bay Area Figurative School. 

Recent exhibitions:
2010  Art of the New West, Watts Fine Art, Zionsville, IN
2010  Two Person Exhibition, Campton Gallery, New York
2010   21st Century Regionalist: Invitational Art of the Next West,
             Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning, NY
2009    Solo Exhibition, Caldwell Snyder Gallery, San Francisco
2009    Three Person Exhibition, Blue Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2008    LACMA Wet Paint Exhibition, Beverly Hills, CA
2008   Group Exhibition, Melissa Morgan Fine Art Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
2008    Group Exhibition, Left Coast Galleries, Studio City, CA
2007   21st Century Regionalists, Invitational Art of the New West,
             Booth Western Art Museum, Atlanta
2007   Group Exhibition, Modern Masters Fine Art Gallery, Palm Desert, CA
2006    LACMA Wet Paint Exhibition, Beverly Hills, CA
2006   Boston International Fine Art Show, Wynne Falconer Gallery, Boston
2006   LACMA Four Person Exhibition, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
2005   Group Exhibition, Patricia Rovzar Gallery, Kirkland, WA
2005   Solo Exhibition, McLean Gallery, Malibu, CA
           
Museum Collections:
Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning, NY

Publications:
2010  Western Art Collector, September, Art of the New West, Watts Fine Art
2010   American Art Collector, July, Rockwell Museum of Western Art Exhibition
2010   American Art Collector, June, Rockwell Museum of Western Art Exhibition
2009    American Art Collector, July, Artist Focus
2008    Southwest Art, January, Best of the West - Art of the New West 
              - Booth Western Art Museum
2008   Western Art Collector, January - Booth Western Art Museum Exhibition
2005    Southwest Art, February, Best of the West