Doug Smith

(1941 San Francisco - 2023 Los Angeles)

The power of nostalgia coupled with the essence of the American landscape creates the two poles of Doug Smith’s captivating imagery. Early inspiration and a love of natural shapes originate from childhood visits to the Midwest where the young artist glimpsed fleeting patches of geometric land from the backseat of a car or train window.

After his first trip by plane, he was mesmerized by the textures and patterns of the crops as they split the world into blocks from above. This fascination becomes articulated through the artist’s combination of realistic and miniature paintings of barns and farms within an abstract impression of the landscapes imprinted on his soul; environments begging for connection within the viewer on visual, intellectual, and emotional levels. 

His signature body of work has garnered enthusiasm and interest from private collectors worldwide as well as museums including the Rockwell Museum and the Booth Museum of Western Art for their permanent collections.

It is with great sadness, that we learned about Doug Smith's passing at the very end of 2023. He was an extraordinary painter and a great friend, and he will be dearly missed. Read more.
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Video

Video of  "Your Lucky Star" in our Village Court Gallery.

 

VIDEO

Contemporary Rural American Landscapes

A brief introduction to the work by Doug Smith

 

Biography

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 had 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.

Throughout his long and successful career in graphic design and art direction, Smith continued to paint and allowed his artistic “voice” to evolve. In 2000, he made the transition to focusing full-time on his passion for painting.

His signature body of work has garnered enthusiasm and interest from private collectors worldwide as well as museums including the Rockwell Museum in New York and the Booth Western Art Museum in Atlanta for their permanent collections.

Doug’s strong composition, bold technique, textures, and vibrant colors evoke the traditions of Richard Diebenkorn and Wayne Thiebaud of the early Bay Area Figurative School.